Following a tough result away to Notts County last Tuesday, Aldershot Town travel to Mill Farm this Saturday to face A.F.C. Fylde in the hope of returning back to winning ways.
Henry Port previews the action;
Shots Squad:
Left Back Lewis Kinsella remains out with a knee injury, as does Right Back Robbie Tinkler. Mo Bettamer continues to push for a return from his ankle injury. New signing Yannis Drais made his first start for the club along with top scorer Ethan Chislett who returned to the side.
Opposition:
Name: A.F.C. Fylde
Founded: 1988
Nickname: The Coasters
Manager: Jim Bentley
Stadium: Mill Farm (Capacity: 6,000)
2018/19: 5th in National League
2019/20 Current National League Position: 23rd
Brief History:
The club was formed by the amalgamation of Kirkham Town and Wesham in 1988, adopting the name of a previous club that had played in the West Lancashire League in the years immediately before World War I. AFC Fylde finished their first season in the Conference North in second place with 85 points, losing to Guiseley 3–1 on aggregate in the subsequent play-off semi-final. Fylde finished the 2015–16 season in third place in the renamed National League North. After beating Harrogate Town 2–1 on aggregate in the two-legged semi-final, they lost 2–1 to North Ferriby United after extra time. In 2016–17 they won the National League North, earning promotion to the National League. In their first season in the National League the club reached the second round of the FA Cup for the first time after beating Kidderminster Harriers 4–2 in the first round. In the second round Fylde drew 1–1 at home to Wigan Athletic before losing the replay 3–2. They went on to finish seventh in the league, qualifying for the expanded play-offs, but lost 2–1 by Boreham Wood in the quarter-finals.
In 2018–19 Fylde finished fifth in the National League. They defeated Harrogate Town in the play-off quarter-finals and Solihull Moors in semi-finals to qualify for the Wembley final against Salford City. Although the final saw them lose 3–0, the club returned to Wembley a week later in the FA Trophy final and won the competition with a 1–0 victory over Leyton Orient. The following season saw the club reach the third round of the FA Cup for the first time; after beating Nantwich Town 1–0 in the first round and Kingstonian 2–0 in the second, they lost 2–1 at Sheffield United in the third round.
The Gaffer:
Jim Bentley a former centre-back that played for Telford United and Morecambe is the current Coasters’ Manager. His first managerial role was with the The Shrimpers, where he spent eight seasons between 2011 & 2019. After the departure of Paul Tisdale from Exeter City in June 2018, Bentley became the longest serving manager in the top four tiers of English football until his resignation in October 2019 in order to become the new manager of AFC Fylde.
Opposition Squad:
Bentley has recruited since joining the club in October, bringing in the likes of midfielder Tom Miller, Rotherham forward Jamie Proctor and Salford City forward Tom Walker. However, in January he’s had to see all-time top scorer Danny Rowe leave the club after handing in a transfer request to join League Two side Oldham Athletic.
Referee:
Tuesday evening’s referee is Andrew Kitchen, along with his assistants Nicholas Hawksby and Johnathon Bickerdike. The fourth official is Alex Gray.
Commentary:
BBC Surrey Sports Rob Worrall and Shots fan Alan Baldwin will be covering the game live on Saturday Tune in to the BBC Sport website (or the BBC Sport App) from :35pm for full match commentary. To interact with them, tweet @RobShot66 and/or @Lewis_kinsella.
