A six-goal thriller saw the Coasters come out on top and progress into the Fourth Qualifying Round of the FA Cup with a 5-1 victory over Congleton Town.
The scoring got underway when Tom Walker found Danny Whitehead in the box to turn in from close range before Nick Haughton saw a deflected shot rise over David Parton and ripple the back of the net for a second in the space of a few minutes.
Just before the 40-minute mark, the Coasters added a third when Joe Rowley beat the offside trap to round Parton and slot home before Congleton gave themselves a fighting chance through Ethan Hartshorn when he volleyed into the bottom corner from a tight angle.
However, two quickfire goals in the second half saw Siya Ligendza break free of the Congleton defence and square to Haughton for his second before the striker turned to goalscorer, firing in Danny Philliskirk’s cross from the right.
Andy Taylor made four changes to the side from Saturday’s 1-1 draw, with Harry Davis, Connor Barrett, Will Hatfield & Rowley coming in to replace Curtis Weston, Kyle Morrison Jordan Cranston & Siya Ligendza.
As expected, the Coasters came out and looked to stamp their authority on the game, where the opener nearly arrived when Tom Walker had time to cross into the area and find the sprinting Danny Whitehead, who got a toe to the ball but directed it over.
Just minutes later, Nick Haughton, in his usual territory, picked the ball up from Walker again to drop a shoulder and fire at goal, which Parton strongly batted away.
Despite the Coasters’ early pressure, the visitors had a spell of their own. First, Jordi Nsaka managed to cross into Saturday’s goalscorer Dan Needham at the second time of asking, who acrobatically stuck over.
Minutes later, the best chance of the game almost came the way of the Bears when a nice passage of play led to Arron Johns skipping past Harry Davis and curling just wide of Chris Neal’s post.
However, Andy Taylor’s men put their mark on the game when Walker received the ball out on the far left and picked out Whitehead inside the six-yard box for a close-range finish.
The scoreline was soon doubled when Haughton drove at goal and unleashed a fierce strike from at least 30 yards out, which took a slight deflection and wrongfooted Parton in the Congleton goal.
Just before the 40-minute mark, the floodgates had opened, and Fylde had their third of the game after Haughton played a delicious through ball to Rowley, who beat the offside trap, rounded Parton and slotted in.
With the Coasters looking comfortable, there was a little hope for the Bears when a cross to the back post found Hartshorn, and he superbly struck a half volley into the bottom corner of the net to the surprise of the Fylde defence.
Half-Time: Congleton Town 3-1 AFC Fylde
A quieter start to the second half followed an action-packed first, despite Haughton being allowed time and space to travel forward and set his sights at goal, drilling wide of the post.
Congleton weren’t for giving up, and when Shakeel Jones-Griffiths slid Nsaka, who made a darting run through the Fylde defence, he glided a shot just wide of the post.
You had to think that the game was dead and buried when Fylde grabbed their fourth of the game through Nick Haughton after Siya Ligendza beat the offside trap to unselfishly square to Haughton, and he calmly tapped in.
But the scoring wasn’t complete; Ligendza turned from provider to scorer after a breakaway led to Danny Philliskirk flashing a ball across the face of goal for Ligendza to expertly despatch past Griffiths.
Full-Time: Congleton Town 3-1 AFC Fylde
AFC Fylde: Neal, Whitmore, Davis, Bird, Walker (68’ Conlan), Barrett, Hatfield, Philliskirk, Whitehead (87’ Weston), Haughton, Rowley (72’ Ligendza).
Unused subs: McPartlan, Obi, Morrison, Rowe.
Congleton Town: Parton (40’ Griffiths), Williams, Nsaka, Jones-Griffiths (68’ Bath), Duffy, Chadwick, Sankey (53’ Short), Hartshorn, Pope, Johns, Needham.
Unused Subs: Beaumont, Faulkner, Clarke, Hampton.
