This Saturday
sees Lancashire's two top sides lock horns once more at Park Lane, as Sedgley
Park look to avenge their 43-10 thrashing in September.
The home side
are on a high after their second half performance at Coventry, where they
overturned a 14-0 half-time deficit to win by 24-14, while Fylde beat a
determined Stourbridge side at the Woodlands by 31-21, after losing three
players to yellow cards.
Fortunately
for Fylde, two of those cards arrived with less than five minutes of the game
remaining, and although they conceded a last minute try, they already had the
game sewn up.
The Tigers
had their own discipline problems to contend with, as prop Dan Birchall saw
yellow five minutes into the second half, but while he was off the pitch, his
team-mates pulled a try back through man of the match Matt Riley.
Sedgley are
still without club captain Garth Dew, who suffered a knee injury before
Christmas that will most likely see him out for the rest of the season. The armband
has gone in his absence to Nick Flynn, who spoke about the second half comeback.
“For me it
was what was said at half time in the dressing rooms that made the difference. There
was no punching of walls or ‘hairdryer treatments” from Richard Senior.
“As a team we
knew what we had done well and not so well and were just given the direction
what to do to put that right.
“Credit where
it is due, there was never an ounce of panic at half time or throughout the
second half; we just needed that kick start to get us going. Danny Birchall
going to the sin bin seemed to do the trick for us! Cheers Danny.”
That victory
keeps the Tigers in mid table, with a 50% win rate, while their visitors from
the coast lie in third place, having jumped ahead of Ealing after their win on
Saturday.
The top of
the table remains too close to call, with only four points separating the top
four sides; Rosslyn Park and Jersey having overtaken early pacesetters Fylde
and Ealing.
Among the top
four, Fylde appear to be the poor relations, given the financial clout of the
other three clubs.
But, their
first season back at level three for a number of years has seen them upset the
applecart, especially after their first five games, when with a 100% record,
they led the pack.
It’s the January
fixtures which Fylde need to make count, as the run-in to the season sees them
host Ealing before their final game of the season at Jersey.
Sedgley Park
on the other hand, face the big two next month; visiting Ealing before hosting
Jersey. Shock results here would certainly upset the applecart.
Back to this
Saturday, the pressure will be on Fylde to keep the momentum going, while the
Tigers will be looking to get their home form back, after losing in a
disappointing performance to Macclesfield in their last home match of 2011.
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