Delight for Dench as his Otley impress

By NICK DOYLE

Otley………………..28pts

Fylde……………….27pts

Fylde came to Yorkshire looking to maintain their promotion credentials, and when Greg Smith's grubber-kick put in Ben Gregory after just two minutes for a try Smith converted, few would have doubted them.

However, it was not to be, with Chris Briers, one of Fylde's coaches, accepting Otley were the better side on the day as the visitors fell off too many tackles and made mistakes which the home side capitalised on.

Kyle Dench, Otley's coach, was ecstatic with the result saying his side's togetherness and their ability to work for each other saw them through a tough encounter.

Joe Rowntree kicked a penalty for Otley before they gave away two penalties, putting Flyde in the home side's 22 for a second time. From a line-out and maul, the ball went to Sam Stott to score after 15 minutes.

Fylde then conceded a penalty which Otley put in the corner and, after the maul had been stopped, they shipped the ball left, with Elliot Morgan scoring in the corner just into the second quarter.

The remainder of the half was a tense affair but no further scores.

In the second half, Otley kept Fylde penned in their half and began to take control of the game.

With Fylde down to 14, Otley earned a penalty on Fylde's 22 and, opting for a scrum, they moved the ball left, with Charlie Morgan forcing his way over in the corner to take the lead.

They extended their lead after 55 minutes when Dan Preston-Routledge found a big gap in Fylde's defence some 25 metres out and charged his way to the line, with Rowntree adding the conversion.

Fylde's David Fairbrother made an impressive break, but Otley's defence held firm, bundling Fylde into touch.

Fylde then got a penalty which went into the corner, and earned Otley a yellow. From the lineout Otley conceded again, and Smith added three points on the hour.

After the restart, Otley again bundled Fylde into touch and a 25-metre maul set up an attacking position from which Sam Taylor scored.

The Lancastrians were straight back, with Smith's run setting up Cole Potts to score close to the posts, although the conversion attempt was charged down. After a missed drop goal attempt by Charlie Morgan, Otley did get the chance to extend the lead when Ben Waddington was brought down, with Rowntree getting a penalty.

With time running out, Fylde threw everything at Otley forcing the home side to concede three penalties. From the line-out they moved the ball from one side of the pitch to the other, with Oli Parkinson's try and Smith's conversion giving the visitors two points in the 80th minute.