AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley enjoys great night at York before season is abandoned

Tuesday's 3-1 win in the first game at York City's LNER Community Stadium was Bentley's first since heart surgery 11 weeks earlier.

It also turned out to be Fylde's final match of 2020/21 as less than 48 hours later the clubs' vote to scrap the season for National League North and South was confirmed.

It was Fylde's first match for 39 days and saw the Coasters climb to second in a league table now declared null and void.

At least Bentley was able to enjoy a fine performance by his side after a lengthy period at home recuperating after his operation.

And the manager spoke to The Gazette just a couple of hours before the vote results ended Fylde's season with barely a third of their NL North fixtures played.

"Yes, York was great. From a personal point of view, I didn't want to miss too many games.

"I'd have been back for the Guiseley, Chester and Gateshead games too in the past two weeks had they not been postponed, so I had to wait a little longer than I'd hoped.

"I was toying with spending some of the game in the directors' box on Tuesday but they wouldn't let you move from one to the other, so I thought I'd go in the dugout and it was just like old times.

"It was exciting, it was a big game and with it being the first match in their new stadium it had a bit of everything. It was a good performance and great to get the result we were desperate for.

"And after everything I've been through it was great being back among the lads, and to score the goals we did and win the game just capped it off."

Bentley had planned to leave most of the shouting from the dugout to deputy Nick Chadwick, though it didn't quite work out that way.

"I got to test vocal chords too, which is part of the process of getting back to normal," Bentley added. "I'm not the quiet type in the dugout and I thought I'd open up a bit. I went from strength to strength and got louder as the game went on, so that was all good."

Not so good for Fylde was the vote result which denied them a chance to return to non-league's top tier at the first attempt.

Bentley added: "We understand other clubs' concerns and they all have their own agendas. We are fortunate to have a wealthy owner who is running the club the right way and we are determined to carry on.

"We felt a little hard done by last year when we were relegated and we want the opportunity to bounce back.

"We had wanted to carry on last season and we want to carry on again this season, but if we can't we'll just have to take it on the chin.

"It's very concerning and frustrating for us because we are a full-time club. We don't have other jobs. We have staff and players who just want to play football."

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