Fylde RFC 32 Preston Grasshoppers 29: Fylde have final say in derby thriller

​The game had a bit of everything in it, some excellent tries mixed in with all the emotions and pride that these matches bring, and in the end it was a Greg Smith penalty a minute from full-time which gave Fylde the win, and broke the hearts of Grasshoppers.

The visitors powered there way over the line with a rolling maul to open the scoring, Ben Dorrington spinning his way over to touch down. Will Hunt converted, and the visitors had certainly started the game on the front

foot.

Fylde did manage to respond to the early pressure quite quickly though with a score of their own through Ben Turner, Smith couldn’t convert but they were up and running.

An arm wrestle would be one way of describing how the game was shaping up, and it was Fylde who gained the upper hand with two tries in the space of four minutes.

Former Preston player Jordan Dorrington scored before Cole Potts dived over from close range to take it to 17-7.

Grasshoppers hit back though when centre Harry Swarbrick intercepted a Potts kick through and raced away up the left edge to score, Hunt converted to reduce the deficit. Hunt then slotted over a penalty goal on 37 minutes to bring Fylde’s advantage down to two.

With the lead they had built up almost eroded entirely, Fylde needed a response before half time and they did just that thanks to a well finished try by Adam Lanigan, which was converted by Smith to make it 24-15 at the break.

A nervy start to the second-half was brought to some form of calm when Olli Parkinson went over in the left corner to extend Fylde’s lead to 29-15 with just over 25 minutes to play.

However, Grasshoppers hit back and two tries from winger Will Clapham, who showed a superb turn of pace in both efforts, alongside two good kicks from Hunt made it 29-29 with only five minutes to

play.

Both sides threw everything at it late on, but it was Fylde who managed to win it, a composed Smith slotted over a penalty goal to put his side back in front, and with Parkinson retaining the following kick-off, scrum half Potts grabbed the ball and sent it over the side-line to bring a close to play and seal a Fylde win.

Fylde: J. Dorrington, Lanigan, Wilkinson, Stott (Rawlings 21), Turner (Stott 60), Smith, Potts, Bowker (Barrow 64), Gregory (Parker 64), Ashcroft (Lewis 40), Parkinson, Garrod, Harrison, Higginson, Fairbrother. Replacements: Barrow, Lewis, Parker, Rawlings, Forster.

Preston Grasshoppers: Pearson, Clapham, Swarbrick, Kehoane, Spence, Hunt, Moulding, Mabaya, Trippier, Orry, Murray, Naylor, Norrington, B.Dorrington, Richardson. Replacements: Holden, Guest, Procter, Jones, Squirrell.