Hapless Coasters are crushed by league leaders

​Craig Mahon made four changes to the starting eleven from last week's 5-0 victory against Atherton Collieries at Mill Farm in the Emirates FA Cup, with Ethan Mitchell, Chris Merrie, Danny Mayor, Corey Whelan returning to the side from the off in Hertfordshire.

Fylde certainly began the occasion the brighter, with Millar Matthews-Lewis offering himself as a focal point, and posing a threat in two initial instances, managing to get a shot off in the first, which was well stopped byTed Curd in the Boreham Wood goal, before going to ground under pressure inside the area on the second occasion, though his appeals were waved away by the referee.

Pat Boyes was first called in to action after 17 minutes, with Fylde still in the ascendancy, though facing their first threat, which was diffused by a combination of the shot-stopper, making a smart save before Corey Whelan was quickest to react, sliding the ball clear with danger looming from onrushing white shirts.

Luca Thomas and Danny Mayor each flashed attempts narrowly wide of both posts inside 25 minutes as the Coasters searched for a breakthrough. It was the home side who would find it though, as Zak Brunt finished expertly.

Moments later, it looked as though Fylde's afternoon could go from bad to worse as Max Taylor was judged to have bundled over his opposite man inside the area, though Brunt, looking for his second of the day, blazed over from twelve yards, handing the Coasters a lifeline.

Fylde's moment of hope would be short-lived though, as Tylor Golden's well-timed arrival into the box and jump on the Coasters' defence resulted in a headed effort nestled in the near corner to double the Wood's lead six minutes before the break.

Jay Bird would add insult to injury just two minutes before the half-way point as he latched onto a short back pass, raced clean through and slotted beyond Boyes to give the Boreham Wood a comfortable lead heading in to the interval.

Mahon rung the changes at half-time to counteract the Wood's pre-break runaway, introducing four fresh faces from the bench in the form of Theo Upton, Cedric Main, Luke McCormick and Kyrell Malcolm, all looking to make the desired impact in the remaining 45 minutes.

Boyes was alert to the danger posed by the home side after the restart, getting down quickly to his left to prevent Whitfield from adding insult to injury. The fourth goal would come just nine minutes in to the second half though as Brunt doubled his tally for the afternoon, slotting home a pull-back from close range to eliminate any hopes the Coasters had remaining of getting back in to the game.

Despite the extending gap in the scoreline, Fylde continued to give all they had in the latter stages of the affair, hoping to give the travelling fans something to cheer if nothing more, with Aaron Drewe leading the charge from the right flank and delivering crosses at will, though each narrowly evading their intended targets.

Half-time substitute Luke McCormick, made his presence felt from a central role, and also proved to be a goal threat in the closing stages as he was denied by Curd, before seeing a free kick whistle past the near post, refusing to give up on the game, no matter how out of reach on paper.

Luca Thomas also forced Curd into a smart stop from point-blank range with ten minutes to play, forcing the Wood 'keeper to parry in the sodden conditions, making life difficult for the shot-stoppers at each end to add the desired authority to their saves.

Jack Morris was the fifth and final introduction for Fylde with seven minutes to play, reducing Luca Thomas in a further bid to find a response to the hosts' dominance.

Three minutes were added at the end of regulation time, during which Boyes had to be alert once more to ensure the league leaders weren't able flex their muscles any further and find a fifth, making an initial good stop and closing the gap to ensure the rebound couldn't sneak in at the near post.