It’s a Tuesday night meeting in the north-west as the Fleet and AFC Fylde get set to play their postponed fixture from November – a game in hand that could see the hosts climb out of the bottom four or get Fleet nearer to contention of the teams above them.
Form guide
Like Ebbsfleet, Fylde have made a managerial change which sees former Hartlepool boss Kevin Phillips in the dugout, replacing Chris Beech who departed in mid-September. They have only lost one game less than the Fleet but have converted a few more draws into wins. They have lost five of their last six, however, including an FA Trophy exit at Kidderminster, where also like the Fleet it was a penalty shootout that did the damage. It’s been a month since the last home league game at Mill Farm, an impressive win over Gateshead, but before that, Fylde fell to a 5-0 defeat to visitors Altrincham.
Head to head
Last season’s trip to Mill Farm saw 10-man Fleet pick up a point thanks to a Dom Poleon opener, followed by a controversial red card for Ouss Cissé, the second 1-1 draw in four visits to Fylde..
Back at the Kuflink for the return fixture last season, a crucial win thanks to a Ben Chapman brace set the Fleet on their way to survival in April.
Who’s who
In goal for the Coasters is 23-year-old Ben Winterbottom who arrived at AFC Fylde in the summer on loan from Brentford. Winterbottom has featured in all National League fixtures for the Lancashire side, keeping two clean sheets along the way. An academy product of Blackburn who moved to Liverpool as a youngster, Winterbottom now arrives at Fylde following a successful loan spell at Welling United.
A 31-year-old centre back, Harry Davis – who scored in last year’s fixture – heads into his third season with Fylde having been recruited from Scunthorpe. The vastly experienced centre half has enjoyed the majority of his football in the EFL playing for the likes of Crewe Alexandra and Morecambe. Davis also spent a season in Scotland with St Mirren.
Top scorer in the National League, Nick Haughton arrived at Mill Farm in 2018 from Salford City and he has 12 goals to his tally so far. Haughton is nearing 100 goals in total for AFC Fylde in just over 200 appearances in all competitions.
The manager
Kevin Phillips is the new man in charge of the Coasters after he took over from Chris Beech earlier this season. The former Sunderland striker and England international used to play against the Fleet as a teenager for Baldock Town in the early 1990s before breaking into League football. He was appointed Hartlepool manager the day they played at the Kuflink Stadium last January but departed there in the close season.
Tickets
Away day information for Mill Farm is here.
