AFC Fylde boss sees promise in midweek performance

The Coasters welcome Wealdstone after three consecutive away matches, the last of which was Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Kidderminster Harriers.

Fylde sit 14th in the National League, five points ahead of the drop zone, with today’s opponents only two clear of the bottom four.

It could have been a seven-point advantage had Beech’s players managed to retain the lead given to them by Nick Haughton at the Harriers, who levelled through Amari Morgan-Smith late on.

Nevertheless, the Fylde boss was happy with his players’ performance on the night.

Beech said: “I was really proud of the players – a superb goal that we scored; so quick, incisive and fell to a player that’s excellent in that position.

“We’re getting a lot out of Nick Haughton this time round in the National League.

“He deserves credit for that and he scored a great goal, topping off a great move.

“Josh Kay was excellent with his run off the ball and he had great composure to pick his mate out.

“We did it a few times. We had more shots on target than Kidderminster but we couldn’t get a second, which would have made the game a bit easier.

“Ultimately, we want to win but, of course, a draw – 100 per cent – we would have taken that before the game starts.

“It wasn’t a slick game of football but you could see that we tried to bring it down, we tried to play and the goal we scored was excellent.”