Otley 19 Fylde RFC 18: Fylde pay a late penalty in defeat
A late penalty saw Otley seal their fourth win on the bounce as Fylde’s committed and spirited effort meant they ended a fierce battle with a solitary bonus point.
Although Fylde outscored the hosts by two tries to one, Otley’s two kickers had a 100 per cent success rate which allowed them to seal the narrowest of wins.
A fast start saw Fylde’s man of the match, Tom Forster, make the first meaningful line break on seven minutes.
From the resulting phases, Will Hunt took the ball to the line and fed Adam Lanigan a nice inside pass which gave him space to scorch over for a converted try.
Otley then had a good period, keeping Fylde under pressure in their own 22 and culminating in a penalty which Joe Rowntree kicked to make it 7-3.
The home team then kept their foot on Fylde’s throat in dominating possession and territory for the next 15 minutes.
However, stout defence meant Fylde could either earn a penalty or force an error just when it looked like the dam would break.
Then, on the half-hour, Fylde showed their ability to turn defence into attack and strike from deep.
Dave Fairbrother stole possession at the breakdown and Greg Morgan carried strongly before quick ball gave Freddie Reader space on the left.
He chipped the last man and beat the cover to the bouncing ball before regathering to score a try and give Fylde a 12-3 lead.
Otley did not panic and stuck to their game plan, splitting the Fylde defence on 34 minutes as Sam Taylor went over for a converted try.
With Otley’s pressure now relentless, they took a 13-12 lead at half-time as Rowntree kicked another penalty following Adebowale Ademakin’s strong run.
The second half started badly for Fylde when a loose pass was intercepted in their own half, allowing Otley to set up multiple phases of play.
An indiscretion close to the line saw Fairbrother yellow-carded on 44 minutes, but manful defence meant Fylde only conceded three points from Callum Irvine’s penalty seven minutes later.
Trailing 16-12, Fylde improved their accuracy and created pressure of their own in the last 20 minutes.
Having finally forced Otley into conceding penalties in their own territory, Hunt kicked one to leave Fylde 16-15 behind on 61 minutes.
Hunt’s attempted drop goal fell short before another penalty drifted wide, but he was successful with another kick on 77 minutes to give Fylde an 18-16 lead.
Their challenge now was to manage the restart and exit effectively but, having gathered the kick-off, Fylde then conceded a penalty for not releasing.
Though Irvine faced a difficult kick in terms of the distance and angle, he showed nerves of steel to send it between the posts and restore Otley’s advantage.
While there was time to restart, Fylde over-chased the kick in their efforts to forge a last chance and Otley broke upfield before setting up a few phases and kicking the ball out with time up.
Otley: Irvine, Taylor, Derry, Holmes, Graham, Crossland, Rowntree (Connor), Warren-Lambert, Hodge, Mullin (Ademakin/Lunn), Malthouse, Green, Baxter (Moss), Gibson, Jarman (Nicholls).
Fylde RFC: Reader, J Dorrington, Clayton, Forster, Lanigan, Hunt, Kincart (Smith), Fairbrother, Harrison, Quinn (B Dorrington), Morgan (Ashcroft), Walton, Altham (King), Williamson (Deeks), Rudkin.