Fylde Under Par

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 23 September at Mill Farm
Result	AFC Fylde 1 Woking 2
Competition	National League (Step 1)
Hopstats	Ground 617, which restores my “116” (everywhere in the top five divisions in England.
Context
I last saw AFC Fylde three years ago in the level below, and I noted their organisation and ambition back then.  They are now in their first season at the top “non-league” level.  They find themselves in the lower reaches of the table after eleven games, with a fair number of draws from reportedly decent performances.  Woking are top-half and will be another stern test for the upwardly mobile Coasters.
In one sentence
Woking turned up after half-time and scored two goals in quick succession to take the points.
So what?
Fylde remain 20th, just above the drop-zone in a table which still has many, many games to go.  Woking climb to 6th and are one of several teams sitting at one point off the lead.
Match Report
Two well-organised sides of “big lads” largely cancelled each other out.  There was very little time-on-the-ball for anyone and a lot of playing channels and percentages.  Woking struggled to come to terms with Fylde’s aerial threat and Jordan Tunnicliffe headed them in front in the 18th minute with a straightforward header from a set piece.  Tony Pulis would have loved it.  Woking never made the home keeper do any serious work, and the away fans (somewhat noisier than the home ones it has to be said) were beginning to get irritated at their team’s lack of bite as half-time drew near.  Fylde would have been happy to reach the break one-nil up. The equaliser came after 53 minutes.  It was both spectacular and with an element of good fortune.  Shortly after a softly-conceded corner, the ball came out to Joe Ward.  His volley from distance took a deflection and then went in off the post.  Jamie Philpot’s header from a left-wing cross came just a minute later and the game was completely turned round. Woking will feel they coped well enough defensively as Fylde threw men forward.  There were a couple of half-chances from corners and other set pieces but in the end the visitors will be very happy to be going home with the points. AFC Fylde 1 Tunnicliffe 18 Woking 2  Ward 53, Philpot 54
Ground Pix
It is impressive.  Has managed to be a bit “different” whilst still being modern and functional.  Early signs are that the growth and development is being managed well and will be sustainable.  The area already has old-but-troubled Blackpool, newish-kids Fleetwood and venerable old Preston North End so there is lots of local football interest.  The club are already at the stage of the £3 full-colour glossy 52-page programme, seagull mascot and barcode-reader turnstiles.  The playing surface was excellent.  A bonus was a chance to say hello to @nonleaguedogs of the Fylde faithful across the segregation gate.  Great to meet you and thanks for the badge, which will be worn with pride.
Match Pix
AFC Fylde in all white. 1-0. Left-wing corner reaches Tunnicliffe (5) at the far post. See a pattern developing? Fylde a constant first-half threat from crosses and corners. Nathan Baxter (Woking GK) is kept very busy in the last 15 minutes
Pre-Match Entertainment
It was a Steam Day at the Ribble Steam Railway on the outskirts of Preston.  Would have been rude not to.  Steam locomotives are impressive things (says he as a theoretical chemist who avoided getting his hands wet if at all possible).  It was good to see some other characters with obsessive hobbies and get a fix of nostalgia.  My childhood coincided with the gradual decline of steam in favour of diesel and electric.  Recommended to all groundhoppers – it’s about fifteen minutes from Mill Farm by car. That's a Bagnall 0-6-0 from 1942, I tell you.  Number 2680 "Courageous" to be specific. Decent range of bottled beers for your short trip...
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
Green loses to Orange.  Red still leads, orange in 6th closes gap on green in 5th.  Full table update at the end of the month.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!  Next “landmark” hop will be a trip to Spennymoor Town, hopefully sometime in October, to restore the “160” (everything in the top six English tiers).

Fylde Under Par But They Win Again

Hopperational details
Date & Venue	Saturday 4 October 2014 at Kellamergh Park
Result	AFC Fylde 1 North Ferriby United 0
Competition	Conference North (Step 2)
Hopping	Ground 550, and one of the two grounds I need to visit of teams promoted to Step 2 last season.  Chorley is the other, and I will be there soonish to re-complete “The 160” grounds from Premiership to Step 2 inclusive, except that it is 158 at the moment because of groundsharing by Worcester City and Gloucester City.  I am here rather than Chorley today because of a randomish event at Bamber Bridge, which is roughly midway between Chorley and Fylde.  Preston Ladies were playing Blackburn Ladies.  If they had scored an odd number of goals I would have been going to Chorley.  As it is, they scored nil, which is not an odd number, even though you might argue whether it is a number at all.  On balance, mathematically speaking, it’s even, so Fylde it is. The ground has an unusual entrance – you drive through the car park of the Birley Arms to get there.
Pre-match preparation
Both teams have an eye on promotion.  AFC Fylde lead the division by two points although Barrow have a game in hand.  North Ferriby United are only three points outside the playoff spots, but it is still relatively early in the season.  Fylde have won six league games in a row and most recently have beaten Bradford PA in a replay to stay in the FA Cup.  North Ferriby are also still in the Cup, a win over Cleethorpes ending a winless league streak lasting the whole of September. They are eighth in the league table. Like near neighbours Fleetwood, now of League Two, Fylde have shaken up the local pecking order with their ambitions of full Football League status.  Blackpool, after a difficult managerial and administrative start to their season, played Cardiff on Friday night and Fylde are offering reduced price entry to their season ticket holders today.  Competition on and off the field round here, then.
This match in one sentence
Fylde nicked a goal in a tight but uninspiring game, while North Ferriby did nothing much wrong except for missing their chances.
So what?
AFC Fylde stay top of the division. North Ferriby remain mid-table.
The drama unfolds
Much of the first half was interesting and impressive rather than exciting and inspirational.  Some would say dull.  Two well-organised teams largely cancelled each other out in midfield and there were few clear chances.  Here’s the traditional scene-setter clip.  Fylde are in white. The only goal of the game came from a break from halfway by Richie Allen down the left wing.  North Ferriby keeper Adam Nicklin got a hand to the low cross-shot but could only push it out for a tap-in for Danny Rowe.  1-0 after 36 mins and at half-time North Ferriby’s striker Tom Denton featured heavily in the visitors’ second-half attempts to draw level.  He used his height to good advantage.  First, he saw Ben Hinchcliffe leap superbly to push away his header in the first minute after the restart.  With sunshine and showers and one of the best rainbows for several seasons, North Ferriby kept up the pressure.  Here’s a clip. Fylde nearly added a second through Hinchcliffe and Allen from the proverbial route one.  Tom Hannigan caught the eye in the home defence with a couple of timely interventions and blocks.  Denton headed just wide at the far post from a corner with ten minutes to go, and then another header hit the post with a minute of normal time left.  It so nearly went in off Hinchcliffe.  To be honest, a draw would have been a fair result – there was actually very little to choose between these two teams, and the second half had been more entertaining for the passing neutral.  Final score 1-0
Ground Pix
Trophy on display in the directors' box
Match Pix
Something You Don’t Get in the Premier League
Simultaneous sheep and double rainbows.  There were cows in the next field too, but they declined to have their picture taken.
Goalkeeper Top Colour Stats
THIS orange-and-grey monstrosity from North Ferriby's Adam Nicklin has messed up my spreadsheet.  It’s not orange.  It’s not grey.  Plus, it lost.  Whereas the nice safe traditional green of Fylde won the points and gained a clean sheet.  Updated and adapted table to follow before the end of the month.
Soapbox Section
AFC Fylde would like to build a new ground but there is nothing definite as yet.  I may have to go back there one day!  Everything about this club makes an impact from the moment you arrive.  The banners, the signage, the tidiness, the quality of the programme production, the self-service “gourmet coffee machine”.  All are among the best I have seen in non-league.  Everything points to high standards both corporately and for individuals, and to attention to detail.  Having spent many years as the head of various teams or institutions myself, I applaud all of that.  They are big on hospitality and sponsorship-seeking, and even have a mascot.  I do not applaud mascots, ever, (except Junior Baggie Bird doing the pecking dance to Jump Up by House of Pain, but that is pure art). AFC Fylde's ambitions are explicit. Of course, all these things also exude the message that “Money is no Object”, and this has meant that Fylde receive a step 2 version of some of the negative feelings expressed towards Chelsea, Manchester City and maybe QPR.  Plus Fleetwood locally in more recent times.  As things stand, Blackpool exist in the Championship (but are “troubled” off the pitch at the time of writing), Fleetwood are in League Two, and Fylde are in Step Two with plans to be in the main Football League by 2022.  I can’t help thinking their biggest barrier would be to build their support base, and if they manage it then one or both of the others will have to take some damage.  The question, as ever, is whether it will all be sustainable, or whether someone’s dreams will have to crash-and-burn.  It will be interesting to watch – after today’s visit I would not bet against them.
What Next?
Watch @GrahamYapp on Twitter for details!