Wharfedale coach Jon Feeley says he is proud of his players despite the 36-26 home defeat they suffered against Fylde on Saturday.

The Greens go into the Christmas break sixth in National League One with 51 points and they are well placed to challenge for a high position in the New Year.

Feeley said: “I told the players in the dressing room afterwards that I am proud to work with them.

“Their dedication and commitment are first class and this defeat cannot diminish what they have achieved.

“We may not have the resources and finance that other clubs have, but we do have a wonderful team spirit.

“All the squad members have been absolutely magnificent in the way that they they have taken on board the ethos and style of rugby that I want them to play.

“There is a real determination among the group to push for a strong finishing position in the new year.”

The coach singled out versatile Phil Woodhead as typifying the spirit of the squad.

“He has played scrum half, full back and centre this season and I asked him to play tighthead prop he would do that too,” joked Feeley.

“He is Wharfedale through and through. He came up through the junior ranks and is what our club is all about.

“He just loves playing for Wharfe- dale in whatever position we ask him to play.”

Saturday’s match was certainly eventful with Wharfedale having lock Richard Brown sent off after being handed two yellow cards, while Scott Jordan and Aaron Myers also had spells in the sin bin in the second half.

Despite this, Feeley would not let his players’ disciplinary problems be used as an excuse for the defeat. He said: “Frustrating as it might have been, we learned a hard lesson during the game that retaliation was going to be punished by the referee.

“Our discipline has been good for much of the season and it is up to the coaching staff to assess how to address the issues we had on Saturday.

“It was disappointing to lose and I felt it wasunfortunate that all the yellow cards meant that we didn’t see the best of ourselves or Fylde.

“We have been the best two footballing sides in the league this season but I felt the tension that was running through the game meant that we didn’t see the best of either team.”

l Match report – Page 54