A 15th-minute strike from Luca Thomas was enough to give AFC Fylde a tight 1-0 victory against travelling Bedford Town on Saturday, condemning them to a third straight loss in National League North.
The fact that all of those losses have been by a single goal will be of little comfort to Eagles manager, Lee Bircham, who was full of praise for his team’s efforts against South Shields on Bank Holiday Monday ahead of his 100th game in charge at Fylde.
Read: Valiant Bedford Town lose out to early pace setters South Shields
AFC Fylde were the only team relegated from the National League last season to end up in the regional North, and on paper, represents one of Bedford Town’s toughest assignments of an already difficult division.
To only go down by a goal once more shows that Bedford Town have been able to match many teams already this season, although some defensive frailties have come to the fore which have cost them dearly.
For Fylde and their fans, an automatic return to the National League must be their target, and they registered their fourth win on the bounce on Saturday to climb to second in the table with five wins and a defeat.
They set their stall out early; a penalty appeal inside the first minute was waved away after Lincoln McFayden went down in the area, before the same man sizzled a cross in for Danny Ormerod who could not get a final touch.
Craig Mahon’s side would not have to wait long for the breakthrough as a cross from Ethan Mitchell just evaded Dan Wilks in the Eagles goal, and brought down with aplomb by Luca Thomas who proceeded to slam home his second goal of the season.
It would prove to be the winner on a damp day near Blackpool, as chances were few and far between at the other end and with the rain now falling, the day was turning into a damp squib for the Eagles.
Bedford finish well but draw blank
The second half began in the same vain as McFayden continued to cause problems in flashing a shot past Wilks’ far post, before he then turned provider for Dan Mayor who missed in similar fashion.
Lewis Green, on as a substitute, saw an effort float over the crossbar before the Eagles’ best chance of the game fell to Lewis Coyle who connected with an Ellis Brown cross only to see his strike suffer the same fate.
As the second half wore on, the visitors were slowly getting into the game; a Josh Dawodu cross hitting the top of the woodwork, while an Ellis Brown shot from an acute angle was easily saved.
Zac Jones in the Fylde goal was rarely called in to action in the Fylde goal, as he kept a first clean sheet of his campaign.
A late free kick from Junior Gyamfi, six minutes into injury time, found the safe hands of Jones in what was the final act of a compelling if disappointing game for Town, who now must regroup.
Lee Bircham’s side have dropped into the bottom four for the first time in these early stages of the season, but will hope not to be there for long as they face another long away trip to 18th-placed, Hereford on Tuesday night (2 September).
They then return to The Eyrie next Saturday (6 September) as they host Curzon Ashton.
