Fylde end Brighouse Town Women's unbeaten run

Rob Mitchell’s depleted team were 5-1 down inside 40 minutes in rain-swept conditions and although they put in an improved performance in the second half they were well beaten.

Brighouse went into the match without injured full-backs Darcie Greene and Kayleigh Bamforth and the first 15 minutes turned into a Halloween horror show.

Playing with a strong wind and torrential rain behind them Fylde opened the scoring after just two minutes when Emily Hollinshead found Faye McCoy unmarked on the back post and she headed home from close range.

The home side doubled their lead after 14 minutes when McCoy turned provider and Amy Hughes smashed it home from 10 yards out.

Brighouse, who went into the match with one of the tightest defences in the division, were being opened up at will but reduced the arrears with a well worked goal of their own with a smart finish by Ellie White on 18 minutes.

However, any hopes of a comeback were snuffed out within 60 seconds when Hughes found herself unmarked and fired home to restore their two-goal cushion.

Goalkeeper Imogen Maguire made a full length save to deny Fylde a fourth in the 28th minute but from the resultant corner found Lauren Merrin on the edge of the box and she swept it into the top corner.

The referee, who baffled both sets of supporters with his erratic decisions, awarded Fylde a dubious free-kick after 40 minutes and Merrin stepped up to score her second through a congested area to make it 5-1.

Leah Embley had a chance to reduce the arrears before half time but was denied by a smart save from Fylde’s 17-year-old goalkeeper Ellie Etheridge but the home side missed another three gilt-edged chances of their own in a one-sided opening 45 minutes.

At half-time Mitchell restored his familiar centre-back pairing of captain Annabelle Cass and Shauna Legge and the visitors looked more solid defensively.

With the wind in their favour, Brighouse made it 5-2 straight after the restart when top scorer Amy Woodruff scored her 10th of the season after good work by Embley.

However Fylde defended resolutely and could have added a second from McCoy after 78 minutes but was thwarted by a one-handed save from Maguire.

At the final Mitchell had no complaints with the result, saying: “We weren’t at it at the start and Fylde were and they really punished us.

“As well as being a really good footballing side they’re dangerous from set pieces and crosses and we didn’t deal with them in difficult weather conditions and they capitalised on that and were good value for the win.

“We were much better in the second half but they were the better side and you won’t get any arguments from me.

“I’m realistic and I said at half time the game was gone but I wanted the side to play with a bit more passion, pride and intensity, which they did."

Brighouse now have a run of three cup games starting with a visit to Newcastle United next Sunday.