AFC Fylde made it two Vanarama National League wins in a row after a 2-1 victory over Hartlepool United at Mill Farm on Tuesday night.
Nick Haughton’s superb strike and Manny Onariase’s own goal in the first 20 minutes proved decisive for the Coasters on a cold evening on the Fylde Coast.
Jake Hastie’s goal late in the second-half proved to be a consolation for Lennie Lawrence’s visitors.
Head Coach Chris Beech has named an unchanged starting eleven from our 2-0 victory against Rochdale at Mill Farm, with Danny Ormerod maintaining his place in the side, following his two goals against the Dale on New Year’s Day.
Early on in the game, Connor Barrett superbly threw himself in the way of Anthony Mancini’s effort after the Pools broke up field quickly.
A short corner routine involving Nicky Featherstone and Mancini set Callum Cooke up in the box, however his effort on goal went over Theo Richardson’s crossbar.
The Coasters were ahead on 16 minutes after Haughton whipped a right-footed effort into Dixon’s top right-corner from outside the box, after Ustabasi’s pass.
Four minutes later, the Coasters extended their advantage when Ustabasi’s ball deflected off Onariase.
Buoyed by taking a two goal ascendancy, Fylde pushed for another, with Luke Charman’s low strike saved by Dixon down to his right.
Minutes later, Richardson had to be alert to claim a loose ball under pressure from Pools attacker Joe Grey following resilient defending by Sam Graham.
Shortly before half-time, Charman got on the end of a Coasters set-piece in a crowded area, with Dixon able to thwart the forward from close-range again.
Half-Time: AFC Fylde 2-0 Hartlepool United
The Coasters started the second-half strongly, with Ustabasi profiting from an excellent build-up play from Danny Ormerod and Dan Adshead to strike at goal across the turf, which Dixon managed to hold.
Beech made his first change of the clash on 55 minutes, with Taelor O’Kane coming on for Adshead.
Richardson was then called into action to make a good save from Grey’s effort after Featherstone’s pass.
Up the other end, a counter attack from Hartlepool came to an end as captain Harry Davis was well-positioned to clear away from danger following a dangerous move.
On the hour, Cooke’s drive was denied at full stretch by a fantastic stop from Richardson.
Josh Kay was introduced in place of Ormerod midway through the half – and the Coasters’ number 14 was inches away from netting with a curled strike from distance.
Hartlepool pulled one back on 74 minutes, as Hastie bent his strike into Richardson’s top-right corner to half the deficit.
Almost immediately after scoring, Hartlepool nearly levelled as Cooke’s free-kick crashed off the crossbar before being cleared by the Coasters’ defence.
Late on, Glynn, who replaced Haughton with nine minutes left, crossed from the right which was met by Ustabasi’s header, which went narrowly wide of Dixon’s post, before Kay’s shot was blocked by Luke Hendrie, whilst O’Kane’s shot from six-yards was smothered by Dixon.
The Coasters had to navigate five minutes of added time to preserve the three points and secure back-to-back home triumphs.
AFC Fylde: Richardson, Davis, Graham, Barrett, Conway, Ustabasi, Whitehead, Adshead (O’Kane 55), Haughton (Glynn 81), Ormerod (Kay 71), Charman
Subs not used: Walker, Rowley
