UPWARDLY mobile Fylde welcome Bedford Athletic on Saturday as they seek to sustain their climb up the league. The game kicks off at 2.15pm and the home side will seek to build on another impressive victory over Darlington Mowden Park.

DMP took the lead on 79 minutes as the Fylde defence once again put in an outstanding performance. This was a hard earned win against an aggressive, spoiling DMP outfit who will find much more space to play in against most opponents.

It was disappointing for Fylde not turn possession and opportunities into a try or two but sometimes league wins have to be ground out in difficult conditions - a sodden pitch and greasy surface which didn't encourage running rugby.

Fylde move up two league places to sixth.

Mike Scott equalled the scores with a penalty on five minutes and put his side ahead with another penalty on 20 minutes. And Fylde maintained their lead until half-time.

Fylde's forwards dominated DMP's pack over the course of the match and had the advantage in tight exchanges with, as the game progressed, the ability to turn the visitor's scrummages through 90 degrees. Fylde's Grant Ferguson burgled a number of DMP lineout throws and fellow lock Roger Banks was prominent throughout the game in both tight exchanges and loose play.

The backrow of Quentin King, Dylan O'Grady and Michael Vermaak wasn't as prominent in attack as at Bradford in the previous league game but were impeccable in defence.

Although Fylde were denied tries, DMP were forced into a series of offences as they tried to stop the flow of possession by the home side.

Mike Scott penalised them dearly with further penalty kicks on 53, 71 and 75 minutes. Only with the second of these, taking the score to 12-3, did Scott take his side to a degree of comfort and the likelihood of four league points.

Mike Scott with his 15 points eased himself into third place in the N3(N) top scorers list with a total of 53 points, behind Doug Sanft (Halifax, 65) and Anthony Birley (New Brighton, 61).

Fylde coach, Stuart Connell, said: "I was generally pleased with our performance. Yes, we made mistakes and took some wrong options. But these were mistakes by individual players, not tactical ones by the team.

"We'll work on these issues ahead of the Bedford Athletic game. It also has to remembered that the underfoot conditions were tricky for both sides. Another good aspect is that, apart from Lawrence Condon's ear injury, we didn't lose any players."

Fylde now move up to sixth place.

Fylde Rugby Club wishes to give a very big 'thank you' to all members and spectators who contributed to the RFU Support Paraplegics in Rugby Enterprise (SPIRE) initiative which assists players who've suffered permanent disability through rugby activities. The Club collected a very

heartening £454 to be passed on to the RFU.