Danny Rowe’s fiftieth goal of the season ensured Champions AFC Fylde signed off in style against Worcester City.
The visitors took the lead inside two minutes however Matt Blinkhorn levelled soon after. Rowe’s landmark strike put Fylde ahead before Worcester dragged themselves back into the contest from the penalty spot.
Andy Bond made it three for the Coasters and fellow midfielder Richie Baker put the icing on the cake in the dying moments with an emphatic finish.
Fylde boss Dave Challinor made several changes ahead of the game, once again going with a front two however it was City who got off to a flyer when Jordan Keane whipped in a cross from left over the head of Matty Hughes and Eddy Nelson-Addy touch a touch before letting fly. Whilst his initial effort was save by Taylor, the midfielder swept home the loose ball from point-blank range.
Leading marksman Rowe, who was presented with two awards by the National League ahead of the match including Player of the Year, tried his luck from distance but could only drag his low strike wide.
It was one way traffic after the goal with Fylde enjoying possession and captain Josh Langley went close to finding a leveller 20 minutes in when he nodded narrowly wide from Brendon Daniels’ inswinging corner.
However two minutes later Fylde found the equaliser. David Morgan delivered an inviting ball in from the right and Blinkhorn did fantastically well to get ahead of his marker at the near post and sweep the ball home.
Hughes should have got himself on the scoresheet when he broke free down the right however his shot flashed across the face of goal and agonisingly wide of the far post.
The main man was soon in on the act and it was yet another milestone for frontman Rowe. The league’s top goalscorer stole the ball off Sam Oji on the edge of the area before powering an unstoppable strike through goalkeeper Nathan Vaughan.
Bohan Dixon slapped a long range drive towards the Worcester City goal that was comfortable for Vaughan as the half drew to a close.
Taylor was called into action moments after the restart when he acrobatically pushed Keane’s curling cross-shot from the right away from danger.
However the goalkeeper went from hero to zero seconds later when he was adjudged to have brought down Murphy in the area. Full-back Tyler Weir stepped up and sent the keeper the wrong way to level the scores.
The champions weren’t to be kept down for long and soon regained the lead shortly before the hour mark. Daniels swung another telling ball into the box and Bond expertly volleyed home from close range.
The visitors, who as it stood faced relegation, still had some fight left in them and almost pulled level again when Keane lashed a vicious strike inches over the top. Ebby Nelson-Addy spurned an even better chance with the very next attack, but blazed over from six yards leaving Worcester supporters with their head in their hands.
Rowe went in search of equalling the all-time club goal record in emphatic style with ten minutes to play when he lined up for a set-piece from fully 35 yards, but Vaughan got his body behind his fierce strike.
The match was put to bed in the 85th minute and it was a first goal of the season for Baker. Substitute Serhat Tasdemir bundled a ball through to Blinkhorn who in turn slipped in the unmarked Baker 10 yards from goal and the midfielder beat Vaughan with aplomb.
AFC Fylde: Taylor, M. Hughes (C.Hughes 59), Langley, Kennedy, Daniels, Dixon (Tasdemir 84), Morgan, Bond, Bradley (Baker 73), Blinkhorn, Rowe.
Subs not used: Thompson, K. Kennedy.
Worcester: Vaughan, Gallinagh, Weir, Oji, Hutchinson, Jackman, Nelson-Addy, J. Keane, English, Murphy, C. Keane.
Subs not used: Sharpe, Ross, Bates, Tilbury, Rose
Ref: Paul Graham
Att: 2,684
