Match Preview: Doncaster Rovers Belles v AFC Fylde Women

Photo: John Shirras

AFC Fylde Women hit the road again on Sunday with a visit to Retford to face Doncaster Rovers Belles.

This away fixture will be played at the home of Retford United FC on Sunday 23rd March, with kick-off at 2.00 pm.

Last time out, Danny Murphy’s Coasters travelled to Cheshire for their rearranged meeting with Stockport County Ladies. Fylde had hoped to narrow the gap on the teams directly above them in the table, but their hopes were dashed after the Hatters ran out 3-0 winners at Stockport Sports Village.

After trailing to Jess Brady’s first-half opener, Fylde weathered the early storm and stayed alive in the contest until the closing stages. As the game entered the final quarter of an hour, Natalie Watson bagged a quick-fire brace to put the game out of sight and wrap up a huge win for the Hatters.

That result left Fylde five points from safety at the foot of the division. Despite back-to-back defeats, the Coasters remain determined to finish the season as strongly as possible with three games left to go.

As for their next opponents, Ciaran Toner’s Doncaster Rovers Belles also find themselves at the wrong end of the table and sit just one point above Fylde in eleventh place. The Belles also head into this weekend’s relegation six-pointer off the back of a 3-0 loss in their previous outing.

A fortnight ago, the Belles entertained promotion-chasing Cheadle Town Stingers at Denaby Main. The current league leaders underlined their title credentials with a dominant first-half performance, in which they established a three-goal lead before the break. The Belles acquitted themselves well in the second half to prevent any further scoring, but the damage had already been done in the opening 45 minutes.

When the Belles last travelled to the Fylde coast at the end of October, the Coasters left it late to secure a 1-0 victory at Kellamergh Park. On that occasion, Fylde created plenty of goalscoring chances but were repeatedly denied by some resolute defending from the visitors. Just as it seemed that the game would end in a stalemate, Karri Chan stepped up to grab a dramatic winner in the 89th minute as Fylde recorded their second win of the campaign.

When the two teams lock horns again this Sunday afternoon, the Coasters will be looking to claim all three points in their quest for survival.

Words by Scott Jones