AFC Fylde boss Jim Bentley relishes Gateshead test after pleasing first week in 'crazy' season

Jordan Lussey was signed yesterday, three days after the arrival of fellow midfielder Liam Nolan, and Bentley’s side head to Gateshead tomorrow in high spirits.

Tuesday’s Mill Farm game was Fylde’s introduction to competitive football without any spectators and manager Bentley was satisfied with the 1-0 win courtesy of Nick Haughton’s late strike.

The Coasters boss said: “I’m pleased with a good start, considering we’ve had six months without football and now the game is completely different.

“It’s a crazy time. You can see that with the results in the Premier League and it goes right down. There were always going to be mad results and all teams won’t be playing at their top level.

“It was a good win on Tuesday, with a clean sheet, plenty of possession and a fantastic goal by Nick.

“I don’t think we started particularly well and they were the better side for 10-15 minutes. We then got to grips with the game but credit to Darlington – they threw bodies on the line and strangled us a bit.

“But it was always the plan for Nick to come off the bench against a tiring side and he scored a good goal for a victory we deserved.”

As Fylde face another Saturday-Tuesday week, with a midweek visit to Farsley Celtic in the FA Cup, Bentley believes a bigger squad with versatile players will be key.

He added: “We’ve got more bodies in and we needed them with games coming thick and fast. We may need players to self-isolate – though hopefully we don’t – so it’s important to have players to come in.

“We will need to be adaptable. Jordan Hulme came in and led the line against Darlington. He’s more of a target man who gives us something different. There are times when you will have to go bigger and stronger – you don’t want to be a one-trick pony.”