AFC Fylde Women suffered a 6-0 loss on Sunday against high-flying Burnley FC Women in the Lancashire FA Women’s Senior Cup.

In only their second fixture of 2024, the Coasters faced the Clarets in the semi-final of the county cup. The Anchor Ground in Darwen was chosen as a neutral venue for this local derby between two teams from the same division.

A fortnight ago, AFC Fylde Women were delighted to announce the appointment of Jake Williams and Steve Mainwaring as joint First Team Managers. Jake and Steve are fully focused on the challenge of retaining the club’s place in the third tier of the women’s football pyramid.

On a wet and windy afternoon in Darwen, the Coasters competed well in challenging conditions, but had to withstand significant pressure from Burnley’s frontline right from the outset.

The Clarets went ahead on the quarter-hour mark when Amaya Coleman-Evans took aim from the edge of the area and bent a shot into the top right corner.

The Coasters created several chances in search of an equaliser, most notably when Lois Moore headed just over from a corner on the half-hour mark. Fylde trailed by a single goal at the half-time break.

Following the restart, the Clarets moved up through the gears and pressed for more goals. The Coasters defended valiantly and battled to remain in the contest, but suffered another setback early in the second half when Burnley doubled their lead through an own goal.

Dom Coopers sent a free-kick across a crowded penalty area and the ball was inadvertently turned into the net by a Fylde defender.

After making a host of substitutions just past the hour mark, the Clarets had fresh legs in attack and piled on the pressure on Fylde’s backline.

However, the Coasters did come close to halving the deficit, but Burnley’s goalkeeper Lucy Farrell made several smart saves to keep the ball out.

Burnley went on to score four more goals in the final ten minutes of the game to add gloss to the scoreline. After Fylde goalkeeper Liz Craven had initially parried Laura Elford’s effort, Brenna McPartlan reacted quickest to tap home a third in the 79th minute.

Five minutes later, Leah Embley hit the byline and centred for Elford, who fired into the roof of the net for Burnley’s fourth.

Moments later, Elford turned provider when she drew the ball back to Evie Priestley, who netted a fifth from close range.

The Clarets rounded off the scoring on the cusp of full-time when McPartlan slotted past Craven into the bottom corner to grab her second of the afternoon.

With that, Burnley booked their place in the final of the county cup, where they will meet West Didsbury and Chorlton Women.

The Coasters will regroup and test themselves again this weekend when they host Newcastle United Women in the FAWNL Cup Quarter Final.

Full-Time: AFC Fylde Women 0-6 Burnley FC Women

AFC Fylde Women: Craven, Thomas, Hamill, Strutton, Davies, Rowe, Siddall, Binks, Samson, Moore, Devereaux

Substitutes: James, Taylor

Burnley FC Women: Farrell, Prior, Marshall, Deehan (62’ Wilkes), Cooper, Hamer (62’ Embley), Reidford, Priestley, Lord-Mears (62’ Ravening), Coleman-Evans (45’ McPartlan), Lackey (62’ Elford)

Unused substitute: Levell

Report by Scott Jones