Harrogate 27 v Fylde 24
Saturday, 15 February 2025

Match Report

A damp and cold Apollo Capital stadium hosted Fylde this afternoon but it was the home side that took the points with a 27-24 victory. Fylde struck first with a Smith try after six minutes, followed by an Atherton conversion for a 0-7 lead. Harrogate responded quickly, with a deft kick by McNab being collected by Dobson scoring and Metcalf converting to level at 7-7. Rudkin then put Fylde back in front at 7-14 with a try and conversion. Tomalin’s try for Harrogate from a lineout narrowed the gap to 12-14 going in at halftime.

Harrogate piled on the pressure in the 2nd half, with grgeat defence keeping Fylde in their own half. Derbyshire opened the scoring for Harrogate with a well executed forward try, Metcalf’s conversion, took Harrogate into the lead at 19-14. After Fretwell also scored but the conversion missed Harrogate extended their lead to 24 - 14.

Stott's try after 60 minutes narrowed Harrogate’s lead to 5 points, but a Macnab penalty brought the score beyond 7. Fylde fought back with a late Fairbrother try capitalising on a mix up in the Harrogate defence, but the missed conversion meant they fell just short, leaving Harrogate to celebrate a hard-fought win.

Harrogate Director of Rugby, Martyn Wood felt “the 5 points were well earned against a good Fylde team. Defence in the first 10 minutes of the second half set the tone for the rest of the match. The boys are looking forward to the week off next week as we stay in the fight to stay in this league.”

Referee: Mr. Michael Aaron Harris
Asst. Referee 1: Graham Bentley
Asst. Referee 2: Mr. Dean Jonathan Lythgoe