AFC Fylde boss takes positives from Blackpool friendly

The Seasiders ran out 2-0 winners at Mill Farm on Tuesday thanks to goals from Jerry Yates and Beryly Lubala.

Speaking afterwards, Rowe outlined his gratitude to Blackpool: not only for agreeing to the game but also the team they fielded.

“It’s important to build strong relationships with our neighbours,” he said.

“Thanks to Blackpool for coming over and bringing such a strong side. When we saw their side it was exactly what we wanted to go against at this stage of pre-season.

“Against some quality opposition players, I thought we stuck to the task really well.

“We limited them to not many chances at all in the first half but not tracking a run at the end of the half has cost us a goal and we’ve come in a little deflated.

“I reminded the lads how well we’d done. We’d created two clear-cut opportunities but made the wrong selection of final pass.

“We were bright until the end, even though we were hanging on a bit at the end with a few knocks

“I thought Blackpool’s pressure in transition was outstanding if you want an example of what to do when the ball turns over.

“They certainly pressed hard and we had to be brighter with the ball to find a way through that pressure.

“When we did that we went at their back four well and there were some real positives.

“It was a learning curve and we have to be better at penetrating the middle third.

“We weren’t quite at the standards I require but, all in all, a really productive exercise for us.

“I was really pleased with the young players, who conducted themselves well, and we won’t come up against that quality of opposition this season.

“We’ve got a good spread of minutes across the squad and everyone is vying for that shirt against Kettering.

“Even if they aren’t in that starting XI, they know I rotate it a lot and everyone will get game time this year.

“With the fixture congestion at the start of the season, everyone will get minutes and needs to be sharp.”