Fylde RFC's first match of the year ends in defeat
Fylde began the new year with defeat, having made the short journey to Hare Lane following a four-week hiatus in National Two North.
The visitors shuffled their line-up on Saturday, bringing in Matt Ashcroft and Sam Parker up front and fielding exciting prospect Sebi Krippner on the left wing.
Chester kicked off and immediately had Fylde on the back foot in their 22, where they elected to run the ball out of defence.
After several phases, the ball went to ground and the hosts were able to gather and cross for the opening try, scored by Daffyd Williams and converted by Sam Rogers.
From the restart, Chester made their way back into Fylde’s half as they managed to defend their line.
However, once Fylde turned the ball over, they were unable to keep possession as Williams intercepted to score again.
Having regained possession from the restart, Fylde kept the ball for a number of minutes before the hosts were penalised.
Patrick Bishop kicked close to the Chester five-metre line, with the resulting catch-and-drive lineout seeing Parker emerge as the scorer.
That was to be his last involvement as he left the field with a hand injury, replaced by Tom Davis.
That try was followed by a spell in which both sides had plenty of possession but the play was somewhat disrupted by errors.
During this period, Krippner saw his afternoon ended early by a hamstring injury with Alex Clayton his replacement.
One of Chester’s forays into the Fylde 22 ended with a missed tackle allowing Sam Earl-Jones through to score, Rogers adding the conversion.
Fylde hit back after a well-worked move saw Freddie Reader put through a wonderful grubber kick.
Chester knocked on and were then deemed offside before another catch-and-drive lineout followed.
On this occasion, it was Davis who squeezed in at the corner and Bishop was on target with his conversion from the touchline.
Rogers responded by kicking a penalty for Chester on the stroke of half-time, giving them a 22-12 lead at the break.
Fylde’s travelling supporters looked for an improved second-half performance, which was certainly the case in the opening moments.
Jordan Dorrington gathered Bishop’s restart and Fylde were immediately on the attack.
Chester managed to clear their lines but the kick found Reader who, as so often the case, made some good metres to set Fylde’s position.
Although Chester turned the ball over, their clearance kick was charged down by Matt Garrod who then followed through to ground the ball.
Bishop was on point with the conversion, making it 22-19 and game on as play went back and forth with both sides looking to gain the advantage.
Rogers extended the home side’s lead to 25-19 with a fine penalty kick from the halfway line, but Fylde were still in the contest and launched a series of attacking raids on Chester’s line.
The home side defended in equal measure before a final penalty conceded by Fylde enabled Chester to kick the ball into touch and end the game.
Chester: Earl-Jones, Williams, McMinimee, Ivory, Tomlinson, Rogers, Ellis (Hampson), Woods (Sanderson, Woods), Hanson (Robson), Furnival (Hanson), Hurn, Deehan, Graham, Roberts (Harrop), Jones. Not used: Heaton.
Fylde RFC: Dorrington, Turner, Reader, Stott, Krippner (Clayton), Bishop (Quinn, Bishop), Gould, Bowker, Parker (Davis), Altham (Rudkin), Walton (Morgan), Garrod, Ashcroft, Harrison, Fairbrother.