AFC Fylde claimed a creditable goalless draw against Championship side Bolton Wanderers as pre-season preparations continued at Mill Farm.

Close on 1,300 supporters watched on as the Coasters matched their illustrious opponents for much of the match in front of the Sky TV cameras.

Fylde midfielder Dan Bradley was the width of the post from winning it for the hosts late on, whilst goalkeeper Jay Lynch thwarted his former club with fantastic save in the final minute.

Manager Dave Challinor shuffled his pack from the side that faced Rochdale at the weekend.

Welsh forward Henry Jones was the first to threaten the Bolton goal inside three minutes when his deflected drive had to be pounced on by goalkeeper Mark Howard.

Bolton star Adam Le Fondre broke clean through seconds later and would surely have opened the scoring if it wasn’t for an unbelievable interception from a stretching Rhys Taylor.

James Hardy fired one over the top from distance for the hosts in an entertaining opening to the match, whilst Trotters midfielder Jeff King hit a similar effort with an ambitious free-kick on the quarter hour.

The home side had the best chance of the opening exchanges after 20 minutes when Jones’ terrific free-kick was only half cleared by the Wanderers backline. Andy Bond snatched at the loose ball and forced a good save from Howard at his near post.

Hardy and Jones were proving a handful for the Championship defence and a combination of the two almost saw the deadlock broken. Hardy nicked the ball past his man on the edge of the area before slipping in Jones who did the same before testing Howard with a low strike.

Bolton weren’t without chances of their own as Le Fondre headed wide when well placed before Alex Perry found the car park with a wild strike from 25 yards.

Two new boys came together for Bolton to fashion the first chance after the break, when Sammy Ameobi cut inside from the right and found Adam Armstrong free on the penalty spot however the Newcastle loanee took a touch before blazing over the bar.

There was a flurry of chances for the hosts on 54 minutes when Doriian Devite fluffed his clearance allowing Bond to nick in and find Danny Rowe. The frontman’s first time strike was blocked and fell to Jones, whose effort suffered a similar fate before the ball was cleared by a frantic Bolton backline.

Challinor made six changes on the hour and the decision looked to be paying off as the Coasters pushed for an opener – Matty Hughes trying his luck with an ambitious overhead kick that was well defended.

The visitors had the ball in the back of the net with 15 minutes to play when Will Buckley put the ball on a plate for Armstrong to slot home however the former was adjudged to be offside. Buckley had a decent opportunity himself when he fired over with a first time effort from 18 yards.

Seconds later the midfielder had an even better chance to win the match when he was played clean through with four minutes to play however he lifted his shot over the bar.

Fylde were a whisker from winning it themselves in the dying seconds when Dan Bradley advanced to the edge of the area before letting fly with a rasping strike that crashed back off the far post.

The final seconds were proving to be the best as Armstrong was presented with a glorious goalscoring opportunity however former Bolton stopper Jay Lynch was equal to his powerful strike from close range.

 

AFC Fylde: Taylor (Lynch 46), Ezewele, Trialist (Langley 61), Tunnicliffe (Trialist 46), Francis Angol (Daniels), Morgan (Finley 61), Bond (Montrose 61), Jones (Tasdemir 61), Hardy (M. Hughes), Trialist (C. Hughes), Rowe (Muldoon 61).

Bolton first half: Howard, Little, Brockbank, Wheater, Beevers, C. Taylor, Perry, Pratley, King, Madine, Le Fondre.  

Bolton second half: Alnwick, Darby, Dervite, Derik, Trialist, A.Taylor, Karacan, Vela, Buckley, Armstrong, Ameobi.

Ref: Leigh Doughty.

Att: 1,289