AFC Fylde’s Youth Team won through to the Second Qualifying Round of the FA Youth Cup after coming out on the right end of an eight goal thriller on Monday night.

Regan Linney and Joey Mullen put The Coasters 2-0 up inside just three minutes before Witton pulled one back through Bradley Tabener.

Ryan Charnley made it 3-1 after half an hour before Cory Bent gave Fylde a 4-1 lead at the break.

Jonathan Jones halved the deficit early in the second half before Charnley added his second only for Tabener to make it an interesting last ten minutes with his second.

It was a blistering start from Fylde as Linney found the back of the net with only 22 seconds on the clock, firing low past Thomas Evans for the lead and two minutes later Mullen headed a corner against the post which cannoned in off the legs of the unfortunate Cameron Cooper.

And it should have been 3-0 in only the sixth minute but Reece Young blasted his six-yard strike against the crossbar and back into play.

The visitors pulled themselves together after that and halved the deficit on 14 minutes with a wonder-strike from Tabener that had keeper Lee Squires well beaten from 30 yards.

Linney sent a decent shot straight into the arms of Evans before Jacob Williams missed a couple of decent chances to level the tie.

But Charnley had other ideas as he fired a superb free kick over the wall and over Evans, against the underside of the bar and in for a 3-1 lead.

Tabener saw sight of the Fylde goal again soon after and was unlucky to see his strike come back off the woodwork before his team mate Jonathan Jones hit the side netting.

Then Bent went on another mazy run from the right wing to sent a curling shot around Evans and into the top corner a minute before the break and almost put the game beyond any doubt.

But Witton didn’t die down and came out strong in the second period adding their second within five minutes from Jones and were unlucky not to pull it back to 4-3 a minute later when they had a goal ruled out for offside.

Fylde surged forward again though and just before the hour, Charnley fired home his second low into the bottom right corner which gave Fylde a three goal cushion again.

Jack Williams was very unlucky not to find the back of the net himself hitting the woodwork no less than three times before Tabener added his second with another wonder strike from 35 yards to make the score 5-3.

But the comeback never materialised as Fylde held on for what in the end looked a comfortable win on paper but certainly wasn’t on the pitch.

The Coasters will now host the winners of either Brighouse Town U18’s or Guiseley Academy in the final qualifying round next month.

AFC Fylde: Squires, J. Anderson, Higham, Brown (Futter 55), Young, Rowe, Linney (Foreshaw 82), Mullen (C), Charnley, Williams, Bent (Ing 66); Subs not used: B. Anderson, Corbett.
GOALS: Regan Linney (1), Joey Mullen (3), Ryan Charnley (33, 58), Cory Bent (45)

Witton Albion: Evans, Cooper (Holmes 76), Devaney, Semple (C), Woodthorpe, Booth, Tabener, Rushworth (Holt 63), Williamson, Jones, Callaghan.
GOALS: Bradley Tabener (14, 79), Jonathan Jones (50)

HT: 4-1
ATT: 133
MOM: Joey Mullen