AFC Fylde 2 Oxford City 1: Second-half fightback gives Coasters three points

The Coasters enjoyed plenty of early pressure and had the game’s first chance through Danny Ormerod before Danny Whitehead’s through ball narrowly eluded Joe Westley.

Fylde’s pressure led to multiple shots at the Oxford goal, though none troubled keeper Tom Watson.

At the other end, a last-ditch tackle on 12 minutes thwarted Tafari Moore as he progressed towards the Fylde goal.

Two minutes later, however, the visitors led through top scorer Josh Parker as a well-worked solo goal saw him take the ball past Sam Graham and fire beyond Coasters keeper Theo Richardson.

Connor Barrett was a threat down the right for Fylde, who saw Nick Haughton shoot wide in the 34th minute.

Moments later, good work from Westley forced the Oxford defence to be at their best to clear the ball and prevent Jon Ustabasi from a tap-in.

Five minutes before half-time, Ethan Mitchell released Ormerod who also sent an effort off target as Fylde trailed at the break.

With the weather turning for the worse during the second half, both teams gave it their all in looking to find the net.

Neither keeper was tested before Fylde equalised on the hour, Westley expertly converting from Haughton’s pass.

Then, with a little more than 10 minutes of normal time remaining, a free-kick was awarded to Fylde and Haughton found the top corner.

Good work from Westley gave Haughton another sight of goal but he fired wide of the target on that occasion.

Fylde’s substitutes almost combined late on with Bryce Hosannah coming close to finding Ash Hunter as the Coasters looked for a third goal.

However, two goals were enough for three points which saw Chris Beech’s players climb to 13th in the National League table.

They have a five-point cushion to the relegation places ahead of the Easter matches against Oldham Athletic and Gateshead.

AFC Fylde: Richardson, Davis (Long 89), Graham, Conway, Mitchell, Barrett, Whitehead, Haughton, Ustabasi (Hunter 83), Westley, Ormerod (Hosannah 69). Subs not used: Adshead, O’Kane.

Oxford City: Watson, Ashby, Roddy (Coyle 25), Fleet, Roberts, Greenslade, Parker, Humphrey-Ewers (Birtwistle 52) Moore, Kabongolo, O’Connell. Subs not used: Phillips, Potter, Krasniqi.