AFC Fylde defender Josh Langley believes he is getting back to his best form as the Coasters aim for a third consecutive clean sheet on the road tonight. 

Fylde were held to a frustrating goalless draw at the weekend away to struggling Brackley Town – a stark contrast to the 4-0 demolition of Stockport County on Easter Monday.

However, Langley is delighted with the form of his backline and hopes to continue that against Stalybridge Celtic.

Langley said: “I thought we did very well as a back four at the weekend and we managed to keep a clean sheet, which is always pleasing.

“We struggled a bit going forward but the pitch wasn’t the best so we had to really dig in at the back and thankfully we managed to keep them out. As a defender you can’t ask for much more.

“Sam (Finley) had a great chance of going through on goal towards the end and the ball bobbled over his foot which pretty much summed up our performance.

“Rowey also had a couple of chances when he could maybe have got a shot away a bit sooner, which he usually does and it usually goes in the back of the net, but it wasn’t to be.

“We picked up a point at the end of the day and now we move on to the game against Stalybridge.”

Langley and his defensive partner Tom Hannigan have both spent a portion of the campaign side-lined by injury, but the pair look to have rediscovered their fantastic form from last season.   

“Last season we kept a lot of clean sheets,” said the former Wigan Athletic ace. “We have now kept two in a row and hopefully we can keep another tonight. If we can do that it gives the lads up front a great chance to win us the game. Hopefully we can put one away this time.

“Tom and I are definitely settling back in together now after a stop-start season for the both of us. We work well together and it’s pleasing to be starting to get back to where we were last term.”

Tonight’s fixture at Bower Fold was originally scheduled for mid-February, but was abandoned just 12 minutes into the match due to awful weather conditions and a waterlogged pitch.

The last meeting between the two sides ended 5-0 in Fylde’s favour and Langley knows exactly what to expect from this evening’s opponents.

“We know what we are getting from Stalybridge. They like to get the ball forward quickly and they are a big side but they have some decent players in there too so we know to be wary of them. It’s our job to keep them quiet and extend our unbeaten run further still.”