Fylde coast hockey review: Fylde Men and Lytham St Annes Ladies win again in thrilling title races

The poor quality of the pitch made Fylde’s usual possession game tricky and Triton took the lead from their first penalty corner after 10 minutes.

Fylde soon equalised as a strong run from Joe Neath won a penalty corner, from which skipper Simon Major beat a defender and teed up Rob Jepson for a near-post finish.

Triton were back in front by half-time with a shot which thundered in off the bar.

Fylde came flying out the blocks for the second half, urged on by coach Chris Simcock. A 20-minute spell of relentless pressure on the Triton defence followed as Oli Santamera slapped a deserved equaliser into the corner and Jepson netted his second from another penalty corner.

This proved the winner as Fylde’s defence defied Triton’s late rally. Fylde still share top spot with Timperley 2 and face third-placed Wilmslow on Saturday.

It was another tough day for Fylde 2 in North West division three north, defeated 10-0 by hosts Ormskirk at Edge Hill. Three down after 15 minutes, Fylde steadied the ship as the first half produced no further goals. However, the second-placed hosts took control after the break.

Fylde 3 fared better against Ormskirk, defeating their seconds 5-1 in division five north north at Mill Farm.

They bounced back from the heavy defeat by Southport with a dominant display, opening the scoring early when Eamon Hasoon converted captain Oli Holmes’ drive from the byline.

Ormskirk equalised but Hasoon then set up Alex Eastham, who restored Fylde’s lead from a tight angle.

Craig Nutter made some important one-on-one saves either side of half-time to keep Fylde’s lead intact before they made it 3-1 after great work by Chris Banks.

He won possession deep in Fylde’s half and dribbled through the defence before passing across for Oli Holmes to sweep the ball home. Dan Howe then had a shot saved and Phil Weir converted the rebound with a reverse half-volley. Man of the match Hasoon and Phil Hope made the most of an overlap to set up Eastham for his second as Fylde climbed to fifth.

Fylde Ladies were edged out 5-4 by Sutton Coldfield in an entertaining Conference North clash at Mill Farm.

The visitors scored first but Fylde responded with a trademark penalty corner goal from Chloe Tyler.

Skilful play by Sophia Crawshay resulted in a penalty flick converted by Leanne Sharples, then Sutton equalised only for Fylde to take a 3-2 half-time lead as Sophie Oliver finished a fine team move.

Indiscipline cost Fylde in the second half as they received three yellow cards and conceded three goals.

Crawshay pulled one back from a penalty corner but they could not force an equaliser.

Fylde 2’s home win over Liverpool Sefton 2 in North Division Two north west was more one-sided than the 2-0 scoreline may suggest.

Playing against a packed defence, Fylde forced more than 20 penalty corners but could only convert two in the second half.

Goals by Freya Sharman and in the dying seconds by Lisa Swaine preserved Fylde’s one-point lead at the top with three to play.

Two goals by Hannah Mears set Fylde 3 on their way to a 5-1 win away to Pendle Forest 3 in the Lancashire Central premier division, Rucky Mahmood making it 3-0 at half-time.

The second half was tougher as an injury to Poppy Kearsley left Fylde with 10 players but they continued to pass well and Rucky scored her second.

Amy Merrick’s had a superb goal disallowed for a strike outside the D but she was undeterred and fired home the fifth in fine style. Pendle scored a consolation goal despite the best efforts of player of the match Georgie Hampson in defence.

Fylde remain third but are now just three points off the pace with three games left.

Fylde 4 played out an exciting 1-1 draw with Garstang 3 in division one.

The hosts opened the scoring at Mill Farm but some terrific saves by the keeper prevented them adding to their lead and Garstang equalised with three minutes remaining. Pippa Rogerson was player of the match.

A young Fylde 5 were defeated 7-0 away to Lancaster 4 in division two, with captain Eve Gooderham the player of the match.

Lytham St Annes Ladies’ penultimate away match in North division two north west resulted in 2-0 win at Longridge which kept them within a point of leaders Fylde 2.

Despite dominating possession LSA struggled to get the ball over the line until Emily Adams scored one of the goals of the season, a strike into the top left corner following a run through midfield.

LSA used their substitutes well as Longridge tired and their second was another quality strike, a deflected slap by Georgia Perkins from the top of the D.

Lytham St Annes Men lost an exciting battle of North Two West's bottom two 5-4 against University of Liverpool atAnsdell Arena.

Lytham fired ut of the blocks and score twice through Neil Mallalieu inside 10 minutes.

However, they allowed the visitors to hit back and take the lead, always remaining in front as the tit-for-tat scoring continued.

Dixon defied injury to score a penalty flick and Tom Evans was also on target but LSA could not force an equaliser.

LSA 2 gained a creditable 1-1 draw away to third-placed Preston 5 as they edged closer to safety in North West division five north north.

Lytham started well and their passing was much improved, justifyingtheir half-time lead courtesy of Joe Ashton. They ontinued to play well but paid for not taking their chances as and Preston equalised against the run of play.

Leaders Lytham St Annes Ladies’ 2 ended the Lancaster Nomads’ title challenge in Lancashire Central division one by defeating them 3-1 at Ansdell Arena.

Ella Martin soon made an impact in midfield, while Lily Ganchi won possession well and was rewarded with the opening goal. Maisie Rogers made a couple of saves before Ganchi made it 2-0 at half-time following Lucy Knowles’ fine work down the right.

Nomads caught LSA on the break to pull one back but the home side added a third from Anna Tankard’s deflected shot after Harley Greene sent in a great ball from the right. It meant LSA continued their winning streak to preserve their four-point lead with three to play.

LSA 3 made a bright start in dreadful conditions away to Lancaster and Morecambe 2 in division two but ended up on the wrong end of a 7-0 scoreline.

Lara Pilling and Ellie McNally worked well together on the wing and Ruby Hodgkinson made some great interceptions as the hosts scored only once in the first half, though Lytham’s heads dropped in the second.

Rossall Ladies did well to raise a team for their visit to Windermere, with only nine outfield players available.

Goalkeepers Caz Evans and Sandra Wood answered the call for Rossall, who took the lead through Gemma Nicole after fine passing by Sam Evans and Alex Holden.

Gemma doubled the lead from a threaded pass by Debbie Slater before Windermere pulled a goal back from a free hit.

Evans restored the two-goal lead with an instinctive finish and but the hosts made it 3-2 just 30 seconds before the break.

Rossall were pegged back after half-time and conceded an equaliser before Nicole’s hat-trick goal made it 4-3 after Tracy Housley’s strong run and perfect pass.

However, Rossall seemed to run out of steam and Windermere exploited the gaps to run out 6-4 winners.

The two teams swap places in the Lancashire Central premier division, with Rossall slipping into the bottom two.