Preston Grasshoppers 20 Fylde RFC 24: Derby day ends with Fylde's first win
Fylde followed up their opening day home draw with a first win of the season as they defeated near neighbours Preston Grasshoppers.
It could have gone either way, both teams crossing the whitewash three times, but it was two conversions and some fierce goalline defence that shaded it in Fylde’s favour.
A couple of early penalties to either side led to the first opening, when Fylde missed touch with their kick and Hoppers returned with interest in winning another penalty.
A lineout catch and drive was initially defended well but multiple phases followed, ending with Hoppers’ Hugo Castle crashing over for the try and a 5-0 lead.
That advantage didn’t last long as Hoppers immediately knocked on from the restart, gifting Fylde a scrum on the 22 from which Gabe Maguire’s long pass was collected by Leo Gilliland.
He cut back inside and scored near the posts, Will Hunt converting to put Fylde 7-5 in front before they were swiftly caught offside on their own 22 and Greg Smith’s penalty saw Hoppers back in front at 8-7.
A deliberate knock-on in the 20th minute saw Hoppers’ Sam Freeman yellow-carded, with Fylde choosing the scrum.
Maguire swivelled to exploit the gap left by Freeman’s departure and dotted down for his debut league try, Hunt’s touchline conversion seeing the lead change hands once again with Fylde now 14-8 up.
The second quarter saw both teams wrestle for supremacy without converting pressure into points.
Hoppers turned down a couple of kickable penalties to go for touch and the catch and drive, but Fylde managed to negate these attacks.
Just before half-time, Hoppers regained possession from an unsuccessful Fylde crossfield kick and set up shop.
A full five minutes of extra time and penalties followed, during which Hunt was yellow-carded, with Jordan Dorrington’s last-ditch tackle keeping Fylde ahead at the break.
Hoppers started the second half strongly, ramping up the pressure, and saw Castle grab his second try on 44 minutes, converted by Smith to see them back ahead at 15-14.
Fylde struck back in the 59th minute as Maguire’s kick bounced into the in-goal area and Dorrington won the race to score, Hunt’s conversion now seeing them 21-15 to the good.
The contest’s ebb-and-flow nature continued with both coaching teams utilising their benches and Hoppers beginning to gain some ascendancy in the scrum.
They forced Fylde into conceding a string of penalties, allowing them to camp out in the 22 before Smith touched down wide out.
However, his attempted conversion drifted wide and left Fylde a point ahead at 21-20 with 15 minutes left.
Fylde responded, earning a penalty on halfway which Hunt nailed to give them a four-point cushion and leave Hoppers needing a try to overhaul them.
They tried manfully to force an opening in the final 10 minutes but Fylde fought to defend their slender lead and saw out time to earn a very hard-fought win.
Preston Grasshoppers: Keohane; Freeman, Russell, Glover (Maher 60), Haigh; Smith, Brand; Ailes, Longson, Richardson (Willetts 54), Causey, Castle (Norrington 72), Kyle-Clay (Parkinson 41), Holden (Kyle-Clay 60), Corless (Holden 78).
Fylde RFC: Dorrington; Macauley (Clayton 65), Forster, Stott, Gilliland; Hunt, Maguire; Fairbrother, Harrison, M Walton, Morgan (Greenwood 58), B Walton (Quinn 60), Altham (Trippier 59), Parker (Bowker 73), Bowker (Rudkin 59).