Fylde hockey season ends: Women's thrilling finish, Men win relegation decider

The Greater Manchester hosts fought back from three goals down in a game vital to their battle at the bottom.

Fylde started strongly, building from the back and using the full width of the patch, while Hattie Madden and Hannah Cook looked dangerous up front.

They moved the ball quickly through midfield with one-touch hockey and opened the scoring when Vicki Rukin finished off a powerful drag-flick by Izzie Milbourn.

Fylde extended this lead to 3-0 at half-time, scoring twice more from short corners by Hannah Cook.

Timperley refused to concede and came back strongly in the third quarter to reduce the deficit to one goal.

Both teams attacked in a tense final quarter and it was the hosts who scored the equaliser. The point keeps Timperley out of the bottom two and Fylde end the season in fifth place, finishing with a thank you and farewell to two departing players, Izzie and Teagan.

Fylde Hockey Club’s senior men’s team won their relegation decider with University of Liverpool 1-0 at Mill Farm to stay up in North West Division One.

In a tight first half, Fylde had slightly more possession and took the lead with Jordan Payne's well-struck goal.

Ian Swaine was unlucky not to double the lead before half-time, when his forceful strike was deflected over the bar off the keeper's helmet.

Liverpool had more of the play in a scrappy second half but Fylde defended resolutely and could celebrate at the final whistle. The win lifts them out of the bottom two as their opponents go down with Lytham St Annes, who lost their final game 4-1 to Didsbury Northern 2.

Fylde Women's 2 and the Lymm first team were as well matched in their final game as the North West Division One table would suggest.

They played out a 2-2 draw in Cheshire as Fylde finished in sixth place, just below Lymm.

The hosts led 2-0, despite some fine saves by Katie Barker, but Carly Wilde pulled one back before setting up Emma Dunkerley for the equaliser.

Fylde 4 ended a fine season on a high with a 3-2 home win over Division Three North (Central) winners Chorley Phoenix.

The hosts were boosted by Chorley's lack of substitutes and opened the scoring when Lucy Wane found the corner of the net after good passing between Natalie Smith and Lali Atherton.

Player of the match Smith was also involved in the second soon afterwards, calmly finished by Fiona Quarmby.

In a shortened second half, following an injury to a Chorley player which required hospital treatment, the visitors hit back strongly and pulled level only for Wane's second to seal victory for fifth-placed Fylde.

The honour of playing the final match of the season at Mill Farm went to Fylde Men's

3, though it ended in an 8-2 defeat by Kendal 2 in Division Four North.

The Cumbrians were three up at half-time, though Ollie Holmes went very close more than once for Fylde.

Top scorer Phil Hope did pull one back early in the second half but Kendal punished Fylde for pressing high as they added five more, despite some heroic saves from Cameron McIntyre.

Improving young players who featured included Luke Cosgrove, James Dobson, Angus Chandler, Cameron McIntyre, Connor McClelland, Ollie Greenwood and Luke Hitchen.

James Smith scored Fylde's second after Hope's strike rebounded off a post but the defeat keeps Fylde in the bottom two, just below Lytham St Annes 2, who finished with a 2-2 draw against runners-up Garstang.

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