Flanker Evan Stewart claimed a last minute try to earn Fylde an exciting 22-17 win over Tynedale at Tynedale Park, their 6th win of the campaign away from the Woodlands.

Fylde played into the teeth of a very strong wind in the 1st half and rarely broke out of their own half. Referee Andrew Jackson made his presence felt early on by sinbinning Tynedale flanker Alistair Murray in the 13th minute. It didn't hamper his side too much when, in the 21st minute, no 8 Sam Shires broke from the back of a scrum, fed scrum-half Harry Peck who sliced through the Fylde defence and a missed tackle to score an excellent try. Fly-half Matt Outson converted for a 7-0 lead. With Murray beck on the pitch, Tynedale battered away but a dogged defence from Fylde was the order of the first 40 minutes.

The home side chose to adopt a similar close handling, attacking game that Fylde favour. In the 29th minute a sustained period of Tynedale pressure ended with centre Thomas Bramwell bursting over for a try. This time the conversion was missed but the home side had a 12-0 advantage. Fylde's players did not drop their heads and fought back with spirit.

In the 35th minute Fylde countered a Tynedale kick from deep, one of the few kicks Tynedale had used even with the strong wind at their backs. With a few phases of attack following the kick, and with the Tynedale defence scrambling to cover, the ball was worked to Mike Waywell on the right wing who handed off his opposing number before outpacing the cover defence for a deserved try. Fylde deserved this for their sterling defensive effort in the first half although it had come from their first real attack

Fly-half Steve Collins had retired from the fray briefly to receive treatment for a cut head. He returned but missed the conversion in the very difficult wind. In the circumstances, with the prospect of the gale behind them in the 2nd half, Fylde went into the break no doubt satisfied with a 5-12 deficit.

But they suffered a severe reality check when after just two minutes of the 2nd half, Tynedale hooker Stephen Ridley plunged over for his side's third try. Once again, kicking into the wind, Outson's conversion was missed but Tyne had a lead of 17-5.

But four minutes later Fylde were back in the contest with a try by hooker Jonny Roddam who was subsequently named as Man of the Match by The Rugby Paper. By now Fylde now putting Tynedale under pressure with the help of the strong wind at their backs they set up a powerful driving maul close to Tynedale's line. It splintered with three metres to go and Roddam shot over for a good forwards try. The conversion was missed but the deficit had been reduced to 10-17. A minute later, earlier hero Ridley turned villain when he was the second Tynedale player to be yellow carded.

Despite increasing territory and possession for Fylde they couldn't take advantage of the extra man. But just after Ridley returned to the fray in the 58th minute Fylde made the crucial breakthrough. Outstanding work by Evan Stewart saw him hand off two tacklers before drawing the winger in and offloading out of the back of his hand to Oli Brennand from 50 metres out left. With just the fullback to beat, the winger scorched round him on the outside. The conversion drifted wide but Tynedale's lead was now just 17-15.

Replacement Alex Loney was yellow carded in the 69th minute and this looked as though it might break the visitors' resolve. But they battled back and, with the advantage of a series of penalties in their favour, hammered away in the closing minutes. With Tynedales defence at breaking point deep in injury time, several mauls were set up and brought down illegally. A penalty try would not have been a surprise. After one such driving maul, diminutive fly-half Steve Collins, of all people, appeared to have grounded the ball for a try. However, it was not given. From the resultant penalty, lock Paul Arnold set up a driving maul from five yards out and 13 Fylde players piled into it. After a great team effort, a try was awarded with Evan Stewart emerging with the ball and Fylde with all 5 points. And this 4th try secured the Claret & Gold's 16th try scoring bonus point of the season. Steve Collins kicked the conversion down wind and the final whistle blew immediately afterwards.

It was Stewart's 15th try in his first season at the Club, and he's still one behind top try scorer Oli Brennand.

Fylde have found Tynedale extremely difficult to beat over the last decade, especially at Tynedale Park. This is the first double victory they have achieved over the North Easterners in six seasons of trying so it's a case for particular celebration.

Head Coach Mark Nelson said: "The very strong wind was a dominant feature of the game and made conditions very difficult. Against the gale in the first 40 minutes we got into the Tynedale half just once and scored. Tynedale's try in the 42nd minute knocked us back on our heels at 5-17 down. But to give due credit to the players they buckled down and inched their way back into the contest. I always thought we could turn the game with the wind at our backs but Tynedale are a good team and competed manfully. The last few minutes were nerve wracking but through a dogged performance and a lot of effort we came through for a very creditable win. It keeps the season alive for us and, fortunately, we didn't pick up any more injuries during the game."

Click here for the match report on Tynedale's website.

Fylde retain 3rd place in National One, equal on 76 points with Ealing Trailfinders (who lost at Blaydon) but with an inferior points difference. Leaders Jersey had a narrow squeak at Sedgley Park before edging home by 13-11 and they have an thirteen points advantage over Ealing & Fylde although they have played one more game. It was a difficult day for the leading clubs, with two (Jersey & Fylde) winning narrowly and two others (Ealing & Rosslyn Park) losing by a similar margin.

Scrum-half Steve Depledge, who was to have played at 9, had to pull out on Friday due to a nasty hand injury caused when a collapsing car jack cut it badly on his way home to Leeds after training on Thursday evening. Martin Wallwork replaced him in the starting line-up with Callum McShane stepping up to the replacements bench.

TYNEDALE
15 William Massey; 14 Matt Horrocks, 13 Thomas Bramwell, 12 Harry Mountain, 11 Dominic Shaw; 10 Matthew Outson, 9 Harry Peck; 1 Andrew Harrison (Alex Westgarth 40), 2 Stephen Ridley, 3 David Dickinson, 4 Andrew Murray (Richard Miller 40), 5 Graeme Dunn (Joe Robinson 74), 6 Alistair Murray (David Cherry 49-59), 7 Grant Beasley, 8 Sam Shires (Jon Cousin 69).

FYLDE
15 Nick Royle; 14 Chris Briers, 13 Stephen Briers, 12 Mike Waywell, 11 Oliver Brennand; 10 Steve Collins, 9 Martin Wallwork (Callum McShane 64); 1 Alistair Livesey (Peter Altham 57), 2 Jonny Roddam, 3 Tom Lavelle (Alex Loney 57), 4 Paul Arnold, 5 Gareth Rawlings (Grant Ferguson 78), 6 Evan Stewart, 7 Steve McGinnis, 8 Sam Beaumont.

Non-playing replacement: Oliver Viney.

Photos courtesy of Marjorie Bailee.