FYLDE showed why they are near the top of the league, with a determined and resolute display at Wharfdale on Saturday.

They went in at half-time with a slender lead, even though they had been reduced to 13 men for ten minutes, after a red and yellow card.

It was a game marked by cards and Fylde ended the game with only 12 men on the pitch. The first half was a close affair , but the visitors dominated the second half to run out worthy winners. Fylde coach, Alex Loney, said after the game that: “We are very happy with the result. It had been a game when we had struggled to play fluently in the first half and were disrupted by the cards. We came out and controlled the match in the second half”.

Dale just about contained Fylde in the first quarter, before pushing the visitors back for a dive-metre line-out.

A good rolling maul led to Dan Stockdale going over for an unconverted try. Fylde struck back with two penalties by Greg Smith to lead 5 -6.

The majority of the second half was played in Dale’s territory and Tom Carleton crossed for their first try. Smith converted. The second try was scored by Matt Sturgess with Smith again adding the extras.

Dale had the better of the last few minutes and managed a late try from Oscar Canny.

Not a pretty game, but Fylde managed to play some good rugby in the second half including some good handling and support play.

They were quicker in their recycling and worked together as a team, especially after their first red card.

Harry Bullough’s positional selection today means that he has played in every back position except scrum half for the first team. He leaves the scrum half berth to brother Jimmy.

Fylde ended the game with two players having been shown red cards, the second red was for a second yellow.

Dale also saw yellow a couple of times and this also disrupted their continuity, with the scoreline finishing 20-10 to Fylde.

Wharfedale Head Coach, Jonathan Feeley, said after the game “Indiscipline from both teams can allow for very different interpretations of the outcome.

"This is uncharacteristic for us as our discipline has been strong in recent weeks. I will look at ours and why the second half was dominated for 30mins by Fylde.

"But the injury to our captain and hooker meant we were denied a solid platform from set piece for 60 minutes of the game, and that was tough to overcome against a very good side.

"We never got a foothold in the game after that, following a really good first quarter up the hill. "The boys were hurting and exhausted in the changing room after because they have high expectations of themselves, especially after back to back wins.

"There was certainly no lack of effort-statistically we made more tackles in the second half than in any other game this season, however we need to change that into possession. Managing a game is not easy without the ball.

" I thought Oscar’s performance after an injury lay off was outstanding, he was desperate to make a difference and deserved his try”.

Wharfedale: W. Davidson, Bullough, Blakeney-Edwards, Moore, Canny; T. Davidson, Mcnab; Beesley, Stockdale, Dickinson, Hedgley, Borrill, Green, Carlson, Burridge Replacements Altham, Hirst, Jackson, Blackwell, Bullock