3 solid wins in a row at Mill Farm from the Men's 1's, Ladies 1's and Ladies 2's.
Fylde 1 3-1 Leeds 1
After last week's 5-0 goal fest against bottom of the league Harrogate, Fylde Ladies 1st team had a very different challenge in welcoming top of the league Leeds to Mill Farm. Leeds came into the game unbeaten, and Fylde off the back of two victories with clean sheets, so it was poised to be a competitive event.
Fylde pressed well from the outset, leaving Leeds with few outlet options other than to ball carry out from the back. Fylde had more possession from the outset, and the pressure was building but there were few clear chances created.
Against the run of play, Leeds scored a controversial goal after the ball appeared to be clearly out of play, but the umpire waved play on and Leeds had a 2 v 1 situation on goal, slotting the ball away to make it 1-0.
This only served to energise Fylde, who responded with vigour. Lisa Perry played a fantastic through ball carving open the Leeds defence and leaving Wildish through on goal, who produced a fantastic finish to smash the ball into the far corner of the goal. Still unhappy with the scoreline, Fylde continued to press effectively and created numerous opportunities to go ahead, but the game went into half time at 1-1.
Early in the 4th quarter, it was Wildish who found the back of the net again with an absolute rocket of a strike from the top of the circle on a penalty corner. Fylde were deservedly 2-1 up, but Leeds were not going to go down without a fight and missed a great opportunity at the back post to even the game up.
In the last minute of the game Fylde were awarded a penalty corner, and a well executed corner routine was superbly deflected by Victoria Rukin to make it 3-1 to Fylde and leave Leeds pondering their first defeat of the season.
A fantastic team performance, moving Fylde into second place in the table and only 1 point behind league leaders Leeds.
Fylde 2 2-0 Lancaster University 1
Down on Mill Farm, on a cold, grey, still Saturday afternoon, the Ladies’ 2s squad delivered another exciting win to add to their recent collection of victories.
Fylde dominated the first 35 minutes with most of the play in Lancaster Uni’s half. Their passing was slick, fast and accurate but Lancaster University’s defence and goalkeeping denied Fylde several goals.
Very early on Grace Tomlinson struck a cracking shot that tore through Lancaster’s defence and went straight into their net. However, after deliberation from the ref, Fylde’s celebration was short-lived as the shot was ruled to have been just outside the D and it entered the Lancaster net without touching a Fylde player.
The first half of the match, while fast-paced, exciting and dominated by Fylde, remained frustratingly at 0-0. After a successful team talk from all with suggestions to play in our triangles and 1-2s the second half also provided an actioned-packed 35 minutes with Fylde determined to convert their dominance into goals.
Lancaster Uni’s defence remained strong and there was a point where a goalless draw seemed the most likely result. However, this was not to be as Fylde’s long-awaited first goal came from Izzy Malyon. Relief for players and supporters alike! Izzy’s play throughout the match was extremely confident and exhilarating to watch. It was clear from the outset that her determination and drive were powering her on at 100%, to the extent that a “bump” into a Lancaster player sent her airborne. Fortunately, the Lancaster player landed safely with no injuries.
Fylde’s confidence of a win grew, but they knew they needed a second goal to make victory certain. This came mid-way in the second half when Emily Greenwood, at Lancaster’s post, nudged in a cheeky goal to make a Fylde win more certain.
As always, EJ Dunkerley and Sally Livesey orchestrated another strong team performance. EJ’s strikes always powerful and accurate. A big call-out to Holly Farquharson who totally controlled the play on the right wing. Olivia John-Haslam, who played midfield, got out of defence to play one-step closer to her preferred position in attack.
There were odd occasions when Lancaster broke through Fylde’s defence, threatening to score. However, Sophie Slawson, who kindly played up as Fylde Ladies 2 goalkeeper, proved solid in goal and let nothing in. Sophie was the picture of super relaxation throughout the match as Fylde keep Lancaster in their own half for most of the game.
A huge thank you to Lancaster University for being fantastic opponents and for providing a challenging 70 minutes of hockey for Fylde and for making the match thrilling for the spectators.
Another convincing win from a strong Fylde team that enjoys competition and continues to go from strength to strength. Every player contributed in the game to deliver an exciting performance for the vocal supporters. Our player of the match went to a well deserved Sophia Murray. 2s maintain their team’s strong position near going 2nd in the league.
Garstang 2 5-2 Fylde 3
Fylde started with 4 of their players rushing back from a school match to their early morning push back at Garstang.
We had a lot of of availability this week which meant that the match started out strong and Fylde had a lot of attacking presses, as Garstang passes the ball round the back, Fylde shifted across as a unit to attempt to keep the ball in their defensive half. Fylde tried to keep this up throughout however the experience of the Garstang side was apparent as they started to click onto our style of play and skill and which meant we struggled to get shots off at goal.
Garstang unfortunately had high forwards which the defence tried to manage but their breakthroughs and press meant that they managed to find the back on the net on two occasions before half time.
However Fylde’s heads didn’t drop and Issy Gut received the ball and used her speed to drive the ball round the Garstang defensive and passed the ball to Natalie Smith who was in perfect position on the back post, she tapped it in! Half time score was 2-1 to Garstang.
After a positive half time chat this saw Fylde going into the second half with lots of hope, we kept pressing the ball high and trying to work together to send the ball round our players and working as a team. When we practised this we could definitely see positive outcomes as more shots on goal were coming but we just couldn’t seem to find the back of the net. Garstang managed to score 3 more goals, however in the final 30 seconds of the game Fylde managed to gain a short corner in which Cathy Fewson-Reeve took a strike scoring our second goal.
It’s was an unlucky loss but we go into next week looking for 3 points.
MoM was given to Issy Gut which was well deserved!
DoD goes to Abbie Southern for arriving 45 minutes late for the meet time, along with the team kit bag, meaning a 20mi round trip for the coach to pick up some training balls in the morning so we actually had something to warm up with! Leaders, Lead, Abbie….Leaders, Lead.
Brookfield 1 3-2 Fylde 4
Brookfield started the match strongly, taking control early on. They managed to break through Fylde’s defence twice in the first quarter, catching the Fylde backline off guard with swift, well-coordinated attacks. By the midpoint of the first half, Brookfield had established a 2-0 lead, putting the pressure on Fylde to respond.
Fylde, however, showed remarkable resilience and determination. Driven by the midfield's hard work and some standout saves by the goalkeeper Alice Bishop to keep Brookfield from extending their lead, Fylde began to gain possession. Just before half-time, their persistence paid off with great attacking work from the whole team to push the ball forward into the D, with many shots and rebounds from their keeper, Caroline Bell eventually tapped it in making the score 2-1. Shortly after, a brilliant team effort resulted in another goal. Hermione Edwards passed the ball into space in the right corner, Sophia Melling sprinted over and crossed the ball to the back post where Hollie Guthrie tapped it in, bringing the score to 2-2 at half-time.
The second half was a tense affair, with both sides creating chances but finding it difficult to break the deadlock. Fylde’s defence held strong against several Brookfield counterattacks, while the Fylde forwards pressed tirelessly in search of the winning goal. Both teams battled for dominance, but with time ticking down, Brookfield finally capitalised on a late opportunity, scoring their third goal from a short corner to take a 3-2 lead.
Despite a final push from Fylde, Brookfield held on to their narrow lead until the final whistle. Although disappointed with the result, Fylde showed grit and determination, particularly in fighting back from the early deficit.
The match ended with Brookfield edging it 3-2, but Fylde will take positives from their performance and look to build on it in the coming fixtures. Player of the match was awarded to the whole team as everyone worked well together with great communication and persistence for possession.
Lytham St Annes 2 2-3 Fylde 5
An away game at Lytham uncovered a few school rivalries and an old club one too so we were secretly hoping for some success despite starting out with 10 players. Lytham brought a full squad of 16 balanced with experienced adults and youngsters but Fylde were not intimidated.
Both teams went in hard from the first Fylde pushback and we quickly settled into our structure. Great direction from Zoe Kirkham at the back set us on track to defend against those experienced adult players. Fylde attacked well down the right hand side with several runs by Gabriella Hopley-Sherratt crossing the ball into a waiting Aimee Jennings on the penalty spot, who aimed for goal but was thwarted by the keeper. Fylde were rewarded with a short corner which unfortunately missed at the top of the circle. Lytham’s strong defender sent powerful balls down the pitch which led to their first goal of the game.
With 10 players, Fylde did well to keep not only defending but then turning over the ball and getting it up to the forwards. This paid off as Julie Knowles carried the ball into the circle and passed to Aimee Jennings poised to bypass the keeper this time, and she did.
Lytham kept coming with intensity resulting in a very large bruise on the back of Nikki Richmond's calf from being hit twice by the ball in about 3 seconds. Fylde defended short corners well and despite having a good striker, Evie Dunne and Grace Lord prevented the ball getting to keeper Jenay Gucver who made good saves throughout. Julie had her moment when she tackled the strongest player on the pitch and headed for goal! Unfortunately she didn’t score but we were very impressed.
With about 3 minutes left of the first half, Sara Tomlinson came flying onto the pitch to give us 11 as the rest of the team arrived after dash back from a Manchester school game. We made it to half time with a goal a piece and it was very hard to find constructive criticism when everyone was playing so well.
Buoyed by fresh legs on the pitch and an opportunity for substitutions, Fylde set to work on the second half. Lytham won a few more short corners but were unable to convert. Leah Richmond and Alys Williams worked hard on the right side to prevent Lytham breaking through and then carrying the ball up the circle where Sara, Aimee and Naimh Smith were waiting to pounce. Sara had a great shot on goal which unbelievably hit the far post and bounced off. Fylde set up to defend the 16 yard hit and managed to find a foot in the circle. Alys injected to ball to Leah who passed back to Alys on the post who slotted it very satisfyingly behind the keeper to put us ahead.
Lytham became a little rattled, clearly unhappy with the umpires decision but Fylde kept their composure. Fylde won another short corner and a straight strike to the bottom left corner from Nikki Richmond gave us some breathing room. Lytham did not give up, they pressed very hard and Sophia Gough showed strength in the midfield to slow down the attack. Lytham did break a few times on the right and made it to the circle. Jenay made a save but in Zoe’s own words, Zoe gift wrapped a goal for Lytham and put a bow on it. A little bit of a harsh description in this writer’s opinion! Lytham simply took advantage of having a number of players directly in front of the goal and overwhelmed the last defender.
Fylde still took our chances and raced up to their circle, Gabriella going for goal with resulted in several shots by several players on the line, with a couple of keeper saves in the middle but ultimately the umpire said no goals. Lytham really ramped up the effort in the dying minutes and had a short corner disallowed for being too high. Fylde did not skip a beat as Zoe powered up the field for a final attack. The final whistle blew and it felt very good!
Every player gave 100%, spirits were high and a very lovely win in hard fought game.
Fylde 6 Development 1-3 Clitheroe Blackburn Northern Development
Fylde 6/Development Team wrapped up a very successful day of home wins with a defeat to Clitheroe & Blackburn Development Team!
The opposition had a balanced mix of experienced adults and young girls whilst Fylde fielded a team dominated by inexperienced youth and three adults. The opposition forwards demonstrated how to hit the net whilst Fylde created many half chances and learnt increasingly more about adult hockey tactics as the game progressed.
The footballers came and went as hockey continued into the misty darkness. The pink ball proved increasingly difficult to follow in the hazy light and then up popped two Fylde forwards who couldn’t decide who had scored a late scrambled goal. Was it Sophia or Alyssa? Neither friend wanted to claim it (totally unheard of in the men’s world!) but the squeals of delight and jumps of joy brought happiness at the end of a very cold day.
The 3-1 defeat was a fair result in a game where the Fylde players put in 100% effort for little reward.
[Edit: confirmation that it was actually Alyssa Woodman who scored the goal, so she shall appear in Pete's end of season stats summary]
Fylde 1 4-2 Keswick 3
Fylde Men had their best half of the season, building a 3-0 lead, against Keswick 3’s in the first morning game at Mill Farm, before seeing out the game the 4-2 victors.
Luke Hitchen opened the scoring with a trademark reverse strike, after Ollie Holmes had fed him the ball, within the first five minutes. Shortly afterwards, Fylde won their first penalty corner, a firm push from Phil Hope allowed Ollie Holmes to take a first time firm strike from the top of the D and it found the corner of the goal.
2-0 up and dominating possession, Fylde kept on pushing, with young wing-backs Charlie Oliver and Ed Jefferson also helping the attack. One led to a crossed ball into the D for young striker Sam Asquith to have a clear shot on goal, which eluded the goalkeeper but hit a Keswick foot. Many thought it was goal-bound and a penalty flick should have been awarded but unfortunately the umpires saw it differently.
Fylde concluded the dominant half with a third goal, when Keswick tried to clear across the top of their D, but Oli Adewale was close enough to be able to intersect and gain possession. He then selflessly quickly passed the ball onto Phil Hope within the D, who controlled the ball, swivelled and powered an unstoppable shot into the net.
Despite wanting to press their advantage, the second half was a more scrappy affair for Fylde. Luke Hitchen and Fin Taylor continued to dribble and beat players but there was a lack of clear shots in the D, and Keswick had improved their play. They also started to have a few attacks of their own and managed to scramble a goal.
Fylde hit back when Fin Taylor dribbled into the D and his shot was only partially saved by the goalkeeper, with captain Richard Clarke ready to pounce on the ball for a simple tap-in, and restore the three goal margin.
Keswick scored another with a dribble along the backline eluding defenders, and a pass in front of goal leading to a well-taken shot. Fylde saw out the remainder of the game for a 4-2 win which takes them into 3rd place in Division 4 North, level on points with next week’s opposition Garstang 2’s, as well as last week’s Kendal 2’s.
Shout out to Alan Simpson & Sean Lester who made their seasonal debuts, and showed that class is permanent whatever your age. Man of the Match was another close vote with Oli Adewale winning for his play around the pitch in attack and defence.
Fylde HC Social - Annual Crazy Golf Championship
The Flower Bowl Entertainment Centre
Sunday 10th November 2025
The most highly anticipated match of the weekend came at the Flower Bowl Social on Sunday evening in the chill of night as the Crazy Golf championship would be decided. In a battle of Youth v Experience, who would come out on top?
Lola Cooper teed off first with a respectable score of 3, however Phil Hope ended with a 1 shot lead early doors.
Both Jan and Adrian Metcalf made steady progress, using their advantage of being golf members at their local club clearly paying dividends. More than could be said for Hillsy…. Who started off well but faded early with some unlucky putting.
Abbie Southern’s tee off drives were very much like her 16 hit outs, wild and with a lack of finesse, which resulted in her spending most of the evening in the rough, bunker, or out of bounds all together.
The two highlights of the day both came from Phil, firstly falling over on the ice during curling, and also hitting a hole-in-one, although largely down to a lucky route on the Windmill Hole.
As the game drew to its conclusion heads started to go, with a flurry of wild shots, and water hazards, however Jay Currey kept his cool and put a run of six 2-shot holes together to claim victory, despite the jeers from fellow competitors.
Final Scores.
Jay Currey – 45
Phil Hope – 48
Adrian Metcalf – 54
Abbie Southern - 55
Jan Metcalf – 60
Chris Hills - 60
Lola Cooper – 71
[beats the best score of 48 by Richard Clarke from the earlier group including Ollie Holmes, Jay Mayne, Jade Mottley and Pete Latimer]
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