Fylde RFC 35 Luctonians 22: Hosts claim another Woodlands win

Fylde had raced into a 28-10 half-time lead and it looked as though a routine second-half performance would enable them to see out another win.

However, Henry Hadfield’s red card with 20 minutes to play – and with no change to the half-time score – created pressure for the hosts.

When Luctonians scored moments later, it looked as though it was going to be anything but plain sailing, but Fylde dug deep and scored a further try to make it a comfortable enough final 10 minutes.

Fylde had made one change to the starting line-up from the week before, Harlan Corrie joining the back row alongside Charlie Partington and David Fairbrother, with Marcus Blake named on the bench.

Fylde kicked off proceedings and saw Greg Smith send an early penalty wide but, with four minutes gone, Tom Carleton found a gap in the defence and raced over.

Smith converted to give Fylde a 7-0 lead but they were reduced to 14 men minutes later when Hadfield was sinbinned.

Luctonians made the extra man count when Jason Watkins scored from close range but Fylde regained control as Ben Gregory crossed and Smith converted to make it 14-5.

They extended their lead further when Tom Grimes raced up the left before offloading to Carleton, who kept the play flowing before finding Tom Forster who dived over.

Smith slotted over the conversion, only for the visitors to respond with Charlie Grimes scoring.

Nevertheless, when Luctonians looked as if they would get within touching distance, Fylde extended their lead.

On this occasion, Fairbrother burst through the middle and found the supporting Matt Sturgess for a try, again converted by Smith as Fylde led 28-10 at the break.

Chances were few and far between for both sides in the second half but, with 59 minutes gone, Hadfield received a second yellow card and Fylde went down to 14 men.

Luctonians kicked the resulting penalty to touch and, from the subsequent lineout, Aiden Cheshire powered over to reduce the gap to 13 points and set up a tense final 20 minutes.

The visitors continued to mount pressure on the Fylde line, asking questions as to how long they could keep them at bay.

They looked set to score but Ben O’Ryan produced a superb piece of work on his own line.

He managed to get his hands on the ball and win a penalty for his side for not releasing, giving Fylde the boost they needed.

Tom Grimes further settled any home nerves after getting on the end of Smith’s clever kick to score a converted try.

Ben Murphy did likewise for the visitors but it was too late for it to herald any sort of comeback.

The referee blew his whistle moments later and Fylde had dug deep to record another home success.

Fylde RFC: Carleton, Hadfield, Forster, Rawlings, T Grimes, G Smith, Sturgess, Kyle-Clay, Gregory, Ashcroft, Parkinson, Garrod, Partington, Corrie, Fairbrother. Replacements: Bowker, Barrow, Blake, O’Ryan, Lanigan.

Luctonians: Bengry, Wheeler, Watkins, Owen, C Grimes, Jones, Nott, Deignan, Link, White, T Smith, Whiteman, Jones, Hackley, Cheshire. Replacements: Murphy, Smith, Kone, Pearson, Randell.

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