Every now and again we look back at AFC Fylde’s past results in particular weeks of the season. Here we look back on the 4-1 victory at Eastwood Town in the Northern Premier Division in February 2013…
Eastwood Town 1-4 AFC Fylde (26/02/13)
The Coasters climbed to eighth in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier after this comprehensive victory over the bottom club in the division, Eastwood Town.
New signing Sean Cooke scored his first two goals for the club in the space of two first-half minutes to set the Coasters on their way to a fourth successive victory, before James Dean smashed home a brace of his own in the second half either side of a Vijay Selvam consolation.
James McCarthy set the tone with two attempts in the first 12 minutes, firing an audacious overhead kick over the bar from the edge of the Eastwood box before heading a free-kick into the arms of the thankful Richard Stainsby. James Dean then tested the home keeper from a long way out but Stainsby caught it comfortably, and as the match reached the quarter mark Piliero forced a save from Ben Hinchliffe.
But then Cooke showed his class in a two-minute spell that had Eastwood stunned. McCarthy did all the hard work on the left side and sent a great ball into the box which Cooke happily smashed home for his first goal in Fylde colours. He added his second just a minute later, when a brilliant through-ball from Booth tore the home defence in two and Cooke had time and space to fire past the onrushing Stainsby to make it 2-0 after only 23 minutes.
Eastwood captain Mitch Hanson had a chance to pull one back for the home side but he saw his effort cleared off the line by Coasters left back Adam Sumner. McCarthy came really close to adding a third six minutes before the break, when Stainsby almost spilled his cross into his own net. Cooke also came close to notching his hat-trick on half-time when he curled a free-kick inches wide of the post.
The second half was a more even affair but it took just 16 minutes for Fylde to add a third – Booth sending a well-worked cross into the box which Dean didn’t think twice about smashing past a motionless Stainsby from 12 yards. Eastwood pulled one back three minutes later, when Selvam got the last touch to Piliero’s free-kick as the Fylde defence stood still.
The game started to filter out towards the end, but the fourth eventually came for The Coasters and it was Dean who added a second for himself on 81 minutes, blasting home Aaron Fleming’s cross at the second attempt.
Coasters XI that day: Hinchliffe, Haslam, Sumner, Hughes, Carden, Dunn, Dorney (B. Barnes 63), Booth (C) (Farrell 83), Dean, McCarthy (Fleming 74), Cooke; Subs not used: Taylor.
Let’s hope we can write more history today later this week against Tamworth!
Other results from this week:
28/02/2009 – AFC Fylde 1 Ramsbottom United 1 (NWCL Premier Division)
27/02/2010 – AFC Fylde 2 Ossett Albion 0 (NPL Division 1 North)
26/02/2011 – AFC Fylde 1 Garforth Town 0 (NPL Division 1 North)
25/02/2012 – AFC Fylde 5 Ossett Town 0 (NPL Division 1 North)
23/02/2013 – North Ferriby United 0 AFC Fylde 1 (NPL Premier Division)
01/03/2014 – Blyth Spartans 1 AFC Fylde 1 (NPL Premier Division)