AFC Fylde held to goalless draw

Both sides had chances to take all three points through Cedric Main for the hosts and Alex Whitmore for Fylde, who saw a header cleared off the line in the dying embers of the 90.

Adam Murray made three changes to the side that secured a 3-1 victory over Farsley Celtic, with Pierce Bird, Dan Malone & Will Hatfield replacing Jordan Cranston, Danny Whitehead and Siya Ligendza.

As both sides were feeling each other out in the opening stages and looking for areas to exploit, the first chance of the game fell the way of Blyth when Main picked up a loose Whitmore pass to cut inside and hit the post from outside the box.

Fylde were yet to threaten the Blyth goal, and after bookings for Danny Philliskirk and Pierce Bird, the hosts almost found the opener.

Main turned cleverly inside the area and prepared to shoot inside the six-yard box, but Chris Neal was there to charge the effort down and keep the score level.

It took until the 44th minute for Fylde to register their first shot on target, and it came through Mo Faal, who managed to wriggle free of his marker and strike at goal, only to be met by the outstretched leg of Alex Mitchell.

The Coasters were hoping to come out and threaten a little more in the second half, and after Nick Haughton was brought down around 30 yards from goal, he picked himself up and struck into the hands of Mitchell from the freekick.

Blyth could have had the lead moments later, though, when a long ball upfield was latched onto by Main, who saw Neal off his line and lifted over him from 12 yards out, but Emeka Obi covered his goalkeeper superbly and cleared off the line.

Murray’s men thought they had the lead in the 73rd minute when Alex Whitmore towered above everyone to meet Haughton’s corner and head at goal, but as it looked to have travelled over the line, Blyth cleared at the last second.

With three minutes left on the clock, the Coasters somehow weren’t ahead after Luke Charman burst down the line and picked out a free Haughton for a first-time strike towards goal, which Mitchell did well to react quickly to and save strongly, ensuring the points were shared.

Blyth Spartans: Mitchell, Evans, Liddle, Lees, Hickey, McGowan, Deverdics, Main (72’ Richardson), Chiabi, Cousin-Dawson, Spellman (87’ Round). Unused subs: O’Donnell, Gillies, Elsdon.

AFC Fylde: Neal, Obi, Whitmore, Bird, Conlan, Barrett (71’ Whitehead), Malone (57’ Charman), Philliskirk, Hatfield, Haughton, Faal (57’ Ligendza). Unused Subs: Davis, Cranston.

Other results: Alfreton Town 2 Darlington 2, Brackley Town 1 Southport 0, Buxton 2 Gloucester City1, Chester 4 Banbury United 1, Farsley Celtic 0 AFC Telford United 0, Hereford 1 Kettering Town 0, Kidderminster Harriers 0 Boston United 0, King's Lynn Town 3 Scarborough Athletic 2, Leamington 4 Curzon Ashton1, ​​​​​​​Peterborough Sports 1 Bradford (Park Avenue) 0, Spennymoor Town 2 Chorley 1