YET MORE AWAY DAY SUCCESS FOR NOBLE
WEALDSTONE extended their unbeaten away run to six games with a huge win against fellow relegation candidates AFC Fylde.
Dillon De Silva gave the Stones an early lead when bending Max Kretzschmar’s delivery into the bottom corner after eight minutes.
In-form Nick Haughton levelled things up for Fylde just before the hour but Manny Duku’s strike six minutes later – his first goal for Wealdstone – earned David Noble’s men the points.
“We were superb,” Noble said. “We weren’t at our best with the ball today but we showed heart and spirit and defended unbelievably well at times.
“I would have loved one of our chances to have gone in late on as it makes it a lot easier on the sidelines as a manager, but we we saw the game out for another big three points.”
A fierce strike from de Silva handed the visitors the lead with their first shot of the game, following a promising start from the hosts.
The Coasters conjured up numerous chances but just couldn’t a find a way past goalkeeper Marcus Dewhurst.
Danny Ormerod’s shot was well saved at a close range before Dewhurst somehow denied Josh Kay with the follow-up.
Fylde then missed a glorious chance to level when Jon Ustabasi found Haughton, whose initial shot was blocked, Ormerod latched onto the rebound only to blaze the ball over from five yards out.
Beech’s men came out the stronger and with more energy in the second half with Haughton once again making them tick.
It was no surprise, therefore when they conjured up an equaliser on 58 mi8ntes – full-back Connor Barrett’s mazy run finding Haughton, who got enough on the ball to bundle it into the back of the net.
However, again against the run of play, the away side restored their lead with only their second shot on goal – Duku given enough space to place a terrific strike into the top right corner of Theo Richardson’s net.
It could’ve been three when midfielder Alex Dyer rattled the crossbar with a fierce first time shot from 25 yards out, as the game started to open up.
As Fylde continued to pile men forward, Wealdstone were happy to hit their hosts on the break with Richardson to thank for staying in the game late on.
‘‘I didn’t feel like we deserved to win the game,’’ Coasters boss Beech said. ‘‘We’ve got to take a step back and make sure that we understand what went and what we need to do to make sure we’re good in respect to try and gain three points the next time we play.
‘‘The lads have been brilliant to put us in this position, we’ve got to make sure we look after ourselves. The lads are giving 100%, sometimes we’re just not quite on it.” STAR MAN: Marcus Dewhurst (Wealdstone) ATT: 1,223 ENTERTAINMENT: ★★★★★ REFEREE: Greg Rollason