AFC Fylde (26-04-2014)

AFC Fylde 1 – 0 King’s Lynn (Evostik Premier), 26^th April 2014

Bus ticket (in Sheffield) = £3-80

Train (Manchester-Preston) = £11-60

i-Paper = 40p

Bus (Preston-Warton) = £8

Entrance = £9

Programme = £2

Tea = £1

Chips = £1-40

Chewing gum = 59p

Tea at Preston station = £1-75

Total = £39-54

The end of a long non-league season for me, and I’d opted to see King’s Lynn’s final game of the season at Kellamergh Park on the Fylde peninsula. I feel slightly guilty this year as I’ve only done 3 KL games (this one included), which is the lowest tally for a season for some time.

AFC Fylde’s ground is located a short walk from Warton, which is about half an hour’s bus ride from Preston. I’d long seen this one as a tricky one to do, but to be honest it proved more expensive than inconvenient (as the cost breakdown demonstrates!). I took a bus from Preston bus station (never visit, it is awful – worse than Northampton!) and arrived at Warton in plenty of time. The ground sits behind a pub on a country lane, and like a couple I’ve seen before (Leamington springs to mind) seems to sit in the middle of the countryside with not much around it. I’d cycled out this way back in 2006 to photograph grounds in and around Blackpool, and for some reason missed this one out. In fact back then, they had been known as Kirkham and Wesham and played in the NWCFL – today they were heading for a place in the Evostik Premier play-offs.

As I approached the turnstile with a tenner in hand, a confused looking man asked me to take a ticket from him, and walk through the other turnstile at the far end. A woman said thanks as I entered the ground; it looked like she hadn’t used a ticket as planned – either way, the entrance still set me back £9, which was fairly steep for this level. Kellamergh Park was a nice enough ground, with covered terracing behind one goal and a couple of long stands of seating. It felt a bit bare, but the bustling bar and tea hut made up for this (hut probably does it an unjustice, as it was a rather impressive affair compared to some I’d seen). The great thing about the tea was that it was served in a cardboard ‘AFC Fylde’ holder, which was a nice touch, and probably quite an effective marketing ploy too.

When I’d settled down near the corner flag of the goal King’s Lynn were attacking, I had a look to see if I could recognise any players. Those two games earlier in the season (Witton and Worksop) were an age away, and I think I only managed to accurately remember 4-5 players’ names! Fylde were in the play-offs, and were gunning for a win today to keep them as high as possible in the league. King’s Lynn, in contrast, were a solid mid-table outfit who hadn’t flirted with relegation or promotion this year – this must be the first stable season in quite some time!

Fylde threatened early, when a shot flashed wide. King’s Lynn’s Andrew Hall looked lively, but it was definitely the home side who looked stronger. First Fylde’s Sean Cooke had a header saved, before Richie Allen’s snap shot hit the side netting. KL’s George Thomson forced a save after a comical fumble by the home keeper, before Fylde’s Blinkhorn curled over just before the break. We’d not done badly overall, and I was quietly optimistic that we could maybe nick a point here.

In the second half, the gap between the teams was evident, as Fylde took real control of the match. Danny Lloyd hit over before Harry Winter forced a terrific save from a diving Alex Street. Still 0-0, and King’s Lynn sent a warning shot when Hall hit wide on his right foot. Fylde responded by taking the lead with a header from Blinkhorn on 73 minutes, and suddenly King’s Lynn came alive again for the last 15 minutes of the season. Fylde’s Hinchcliffe saved superbly from Ewan Clarke on 87 minutes, before Thomson cut inside only to fire wide. In the last couple of minutes, Jake Jones had another shot saved after more superb crossing from Andrew Hall. It just wasn’t quite enough, and Fylde marched on into the play-offs. (As I’m writing this in retrospect, I can now tell you they’ve been promoted to the Blue Square North, where I wish them the best of luck). King’s Lynn had made a good fist of today’s game, and despite the loss, had shown they could hold their own at this level once more. There was generous applause all round the ground for both teams.

I trudged back to Warton for the bus, and reflected on another long trip to the North West. This was a key ground, and it was another of the trickier trips under my belt. My mixed fortunes this season were summed up when I somehow managed to lose both the cardboard mug holder and the glossy programme from the match!