Dream goal for Blinkhorn ahead of Fylde's Stockport test

AFC Fylde goal hero Matt Blinkhorn labelled his last-gasp equaliser against Kidderminster Harriers on Saturday a dream come true.
Matty BlinkhornMatty Blinkhorn
Matty Blinkhorn

The Coasters trailed their promotion rivals 2-0 at half-time, but an explosive final 10 minutes at Mill Farm brought two goals and three reds cards as Fylde rescued a crucial point to maintain their 11-point cushion at the top of Vanarama National North.

Blinkhorn has had to settle for a place on the bench for the majority of the season due to the phenomenal goalscoring exploits of fellow frontman Danny Rowe.

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The former Blackpool man’s 97th-minute leveller was his first league goal of the season and he was understandably delighted to break his duck.

“It was an important goal, wasn’t it?” said Blinkhorn. “It’s been a long time coming for me but I’m made up for the players, the fans and all the staff here.

“It has put us one point closer to where we want to be, which is the most important thing, and hopefully we can get over the line in the next three or four weeks.

“A 97th-minute winner, or in this case an equaliser that felt like a winner, is what you dream about really.

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“To get a late goal against the team chasing you in the table is fantastic.”

Blinkhorn praised his team-mates for dragging themselves back into the game against the odds, but admits he didn’t see the incident which saw Coasters midfielder Sam Finley dismissed shortly before the equaliser.

He added: “Dan Bradley’s goal was huge because we hadn’t played particularly well.

“Kidderminster played very well first half but one little error let us back in.

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“And with the players we have, we were hopeful we could get another and get back into the game.

“I didn’t see what happened with Sam I asked the referee and he claimed punches were thrown.

“I could see Sam and the other lad (Tyrell Waite) grabbing each other but I can’t say anything more than that.”

Despite the Coasters dropping points, their promotion rivals couldn’t close the gap as Chorley and Halifax both lost, while Salford City and Stockport County played out a 1-1 draw.

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Blinkhorn said: “You’ve got to have a bit of luck in football sometimes. You’ve got to work hard and hope you get the luck as well.

“Thankfully we got that on Saturday, with other results going our way, and hopefully we can continue as we are and will get over the line soon.”

Fylde are at home again this evening against sixth-placed Stockport (7.45pm), one of eight fixtures in National North.

The top four are all in action tonight, when Salford City face Chorley in a second v fourth encounter.