Key Info: Solihull Moors vs Leeds United U21s

Solihull Moors are delighted to announce the signing of experienced midfielder Ryan Woods on loan from Oldham Athletic until 5th December. The 32-year-old arrives at Damson Park with more than 500 senior appearances to his name across the English Football League, including extensive experience in the Championship. Known for his composure in possession, passing range and ability to dictate play from midfield, Woods will add further quality and experience to Chris Millington’s squad. A product of the Shrewsbury Town Academy, Woods made his senior debut in 2012 and went on to make more than 100 appearances for the Shrews before earning a move to Brentford in 2015. He quickly established himself as an important part of the Bees’ midfield, making 128 appearances and scoring three goals during a successful three-year spell at Griffin Park. Woods joined Stoke City in 2018, initially on loan before completing a permanent move. He later gained further Championship experience during spells with Millwall, Birmingham City and Hull City. Loan moves to Bristol Rovers and Exeter City followed before Woods joined the Grecians permanently in 2024. He made 37 League One appearances during the 2024/25 campaign, contributing two goals and two assists, before moving to Oldham Athletic in July 2025. Speaking about Woods’ arrival, Moors first team manager Chris Millington said: “Ryan’s experience and quality will be a valuable addition to the group. “He is composed on the ball, possesses an excellent passing range and has the ability to control the tempo of a game from midfield. “To have made more than 450 senior appearances across the EFL demonstrates the consistency he has shown throughout his career. We’re delighted to bring him to the Club and look forward to working with him during his time with us.” Welcome to the Moors, Ryan! 💛💙 The deal is subject to the relevant league and FA clearances.

Introduction Solihull head to the north-east on Saturday for a clash with Gateshead at the Gateshead International Stadium. Both sides head into this off the back of defeats, with the Moors falling to a 3-1 home defeat to Fylde, and Gateshead losing 2-1 away to Harrogate. Andy’s Bet Club are on hand to preview all of our games for the 2026/27 season. Their site is packed with free football tips that are updated daily with expert insight. Match Preview Solihull Moors travel to Gateshead on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Fylde on Monday, while the hosts lost 2-1 at Harrogate. Both sides sit in the bottom four of the National League after five rounds, still searching for their first real run of form. The Moors have scored five goals and conceded sixteen so far this season, against four scored and eight conceded for Gateshead. Solihull Moors Form Guide Chris Millington’s Solihull are still searching for their first points of the National League season. One positive is their attacking output, with an xG of 10.39 and five goals scored, indicating Solihull are creating plenty of chances just failing to put them away. Jacob Wakeling has been a consistent attacking threat for the Moors, having taken 22 shots this season, ten of them on target, for an xG total of 4.67. Wakeling has scored four of Solihull Moors' five league goals to date. Where Solihull will need to tighten up is at the back, having shipped 16 goals with an xGA of 11.46. That being said, the underlying attacking numbers indicate positives are there going forward for the Moors heading into Saturday’s clash. Gateshead Form Guide Gateshead themselves are coming off a loss, falling to a 2-1 defeat to Harrogate on Monday. Despite the loss, Gateshead fans could celebrate their goalkeeper Peter Jameson scoring from his own box in emphatic style just after half-time. Their one win of the campaign came 2-0 against Woking on Matchday 2. They have scored four times this season from an xG of 3.62, meaning they are struggling to create chances going forward. Defensively, they have conceded eight goals against an xGA of 9.41, showing that defending has held up better than the shot count against them might suggest. Tactical Insight The most interesting battle should be Jacob Wakeling against the pairing of Kyle Ferguson and Alex Lankshear at the heart of Gateshead's defence. Gateshead have a PPDA (passes per defensive action) of 10.95 this season, meaning they have made a defensive action for roughly every eleven opposition passes in the pressing zones, a sign they engage fairly high up rather than sitting off. Jacob Wakeling's volume of shots gives the visitors their clearest route to goal. Conclusion Solihull create enough through Wakeling to trouble most defences, while Gateshead defend competitively without regularly turning their own chances into goals. Chris Millington’s side have clearly been creating chances, and will see this as a good chance to kick off a positive run of form. Visit Andy’s Bet Club for daily free betting tips as well as stats and tips from all upcoming football fixtures.

A disappointing August has came and went, with Chris Millington’s side hopeful of turning a poor month into motivation for Saturday’s trip to Gateshead. The Moors lost all six of their opening matches in August, the first time they’d managed such frustration since March-April 2017, sitting bottom of the National League table. However, the club have since saw the closure of the EFL transfer window – meaning none of the squad (including top-scorer Jacob Wakeling) would be departing. Saturday 3pm matches are back for Solihull this weekend, and here’s hoping we can celebrate it with our first three points of the campaign. Ahead of Saturday’s kick-off, here is everything you need to know… An overview of Gateshead FC: The Moors face a trip to Gateshead this weekend, with both teams currently finding themselves in the relegation zone – with a combined three points and 24 goals conceded. Gateshead narrowly avoided relegation from the National League last season after pulling off their version of a ‘great escape’ under former manager Rob Elliot. The club have also lost several key players including Keaton Ward, Kenton Richardson and former Moors defender Brad Nicholson. After losing their opening game against Eastleigh, Saturday’s opponents beat Woking 2-0 but have since failed to win any of their four matches – including a defeat to Harrogate Town, despite goalkeeper Pete Jameson scoring. Jameson ironically is the club’s joint-top scorer this season. Head-to-head: The last 15 matches between the two teams have provided an almost equal balance of results. Going back to March, Gateshead won the clash 2-1 on route to securing their survival, following Ben Radcliffe’s late winner from close range. Last season also saw the Moors come out victorious during our last trip to the Gateshead International Stadium, with Brad Stevenson & Jacob Wakeling scoring in a 2-0 win. Famously, Gateshead beat the club on penalties in the FA Trophy final at Wembley – ensuring that there is some continued rivalry between the two teams. Tickets: Tickets for Saturday’s clash against Gateshead are available now via the hosts website. The prices are as follows; Adults (22-64): £22.00 Concessions (65+): £17.00 Young Adult (17-21): £12.00 Kids (14-16) £7.00 Under 14s: £0.00 Reminder that children U14 need to be accompanied by an adult as per National League stadium regulations. Getting to the Stadium: The Gateshead International Stadium is located on Neilson Road (NE10 0EF). Seating on the official supporters coach is still available via the Solihull Moors website. If you are travelling by train, the closest station is Manors – located roughly 2.1 miles (seven minutes by car / 43 minute walk) from the stadium. There is a local 94 bus service that runs to the stadium, though supporters must check the local timetables for timings and ticket details. In the dugout – Lee Cattermole: The man in the hot seat for the Heed this weekend is former Sunderland midfielder Lee Cattermole, in what will be the 38-year-old’s seventh match in charge, following his arrival in the summer. Since retiring, Cattermole has had coaching stints with Burnley’s U18s, Bristol Rovers and Middlesbrough’s U18s – but his move to Gateshead is his first taste of managerial experience within a first-team environment. So far, the 38-year-old has managed to establish a points per game rate of just 0.60. We hope to see as many of you as possible in the North East ahead of Saturday’s clash with Gateshead. COYM 🟡🔵

Match Tickets can be purchased here Away Supporter coach tickets run by the SMSA can be purchased here Entry is via turnstiles one and two, which will be open from 1:30pm. Parking is available on site at the stadium as the car park is open publicly with the stadium also open to the general public on match days, but this will be busy so parking isn’t guaranteed. 

Chris Millington’s Solihull Moors team are set to travel up north to the Gateshead International Stadium for their latest 2026/27 National League fixture against Lee Cattermole’s Gateshead side on Saturday afternoon. The Moors will be looking for their first three points in this game with a win against The Tynesiders. Gateshead’s most recent competitive game saw them face recently relegated Harrogate Town away from home. This contest at the Marcy Fitness Stadium saw them narrowly lose 2 – 1 to the hosts, but they did take the lead through Peter Jameson just after the half-time break. Harrogate did then win it by completing the comeback through a crucial goal from Josh Hmami as well as an own goal from Gateshead’s Ashley Boatswain in the last minute of the second half. As a club, Gateshead were originally founded back in 1930, when South Shields went out of business whilst playing in the old Third Division North. In the FA Cup, they were able to beat Liverpool in 1953 before losing to a Nat Lofthouse winning goal for the eventual finalists Bolton Wanderers in the end. We now fast forward to 1977 when the current club were founded after Gateshead United, founded to replace South Shields, had been disbanded. Gateshead FC were then able to emerge as a phoenix club in the very same year. Incredibly, after replacing the aforementioned Gateshead United in the Northern Premier League season ahead of the 1977/78 campaign. Years later, they did go on to win the league title in 1982/83 after accumulating a total of 100 points whilst also finding the back of the net as many as 114 times in total as a team as well. After a two year stay in the Conference, they were relegated, but they were immediately promoted back up to the Conference after winning the league title yet again back in 1986. They were then relegated again, this time after a more extended period of 8 years in 1998, when they made their return to the Northern Premier League. Then, after financial troubles, they were further relegated down to the Northern Premier League First Division. Gateshead’s fate was sealed in 2006 when they were taken over by Graham Wood, a wealthy businessman born in the local area. They came in third place in the newly named UniBond Premier Division in 2008 whilst also being the joint top goalscorers in the top ten divisions of the English Football pyramid. They subsequently made it all the way to promotion to the Conference North before then winning the play-off final to secure themselves a place in the Conference Premier in front of a crowd of 4,000. They were able to secure safety on goal difference alone. In 2010, they became a full-time club and finished in 14th place as well as going all the way to the FA Trophy semi-final for the first time in the 2010/11 season. Fast forward to the 2016/17 campaign, they ultimately had a disappointing campaign in the end, being knocked out early on from the FA Cup and the FA Trophy by the start of 2017. The 2018/19 season came off the back of turmoil off the pitch. There had initially been a failed takeover, before a Hong Kong based businessman by the name of Dr Ranjan Varghese bought the club, with Michael Williams taking over as the club’s operations director. Following a points deduction, they ended up down in 18th place after being sat in 9th. Varghese’s time at the club was a short one, with a fan-led consortium that was led by Neil Pinkerton and Trevor Clark taking charge of the stewardship of the club. They were unfortunately still relegated to the National League North following what was a 10 year stay in the fifth tier. The 2020/21 campaign was voided thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, with Gateshead sat in 10th when the season was ended prematurely. Then the following 2021/22 campaign was a historic one for The Heed, who were able to go against the odds to win promotion to the National League after a stay of three years in the sixth tier of English Football. In the end, they were able to win the title with a total of 94 points, winning 18 of their 21 home games whilst also scoring an incredible number of 99 goals over the course of the campaign. In that season, Macaulay Langstaff was the top scorer with 28 goals in the league alone and was named the league’s player of the season, whilst two other Gateshead players at the time, Greg Olley and Cedwyn Scott, were both also in the team of the season. They lifted the title in front of a record league crowd of 4,129. In 2022/23, they were able to avoid relegation in 14th place, even after what was initially having a poor start to the season. In the closing weeks and months of the campaign, they were able to amass 42 points from the final 24 games. They did win the FA Trophy Semi-Final by beating Barnet on penalties in front of a 2,897 strong crowd at the Gateshead International Stadium, though they had been leading 3 – 0 in normal time. They were then narrowly beaten 1 – 0 in the Final at Wembley thanks to a closely fought 1 – 0 defeat in front of a 27,000-strong crowd against Halifax Town. In 2024, they were able to make up for this defeat when in that year’s FA Trophy Final they were able to beat Solihull Moors on penalties at Wembley. Last season, the 2025/26 campaign, Gateshead FC were able to finish in 18th place with as many as 50 points from 46 games, surviving relegation. In the opposition dugout – Lee Cattermole Lee Cattermole is the current First Team Head Coach of Gateshead Football Club, having been in charge since he was appointed by the North East-based club back on 16th June 2026 ahead of the start of the current 2026/27 campaign. This is his first role in senior club management. He began his coaching career by taking charge as the Lead Coach of Middlesbrough’s Under 18s side back in January 2022. After leaving Boro on 10th February 2023, he went on to become a coach at League One club Bristol Rovers, with his main focus on development and set pieces. Four days into his tenure, he became joint caretaker manager alongside David Horseman after the sacking of former boss Matt Taylor. He left following Inigo Calderon’s appointment on 26th December 2024. Cattermole had an extensive playing career, doing so as a midfielder, during which he spent most of his career with Sunderland. Most of his time with the Black Cats was in the Premier League, with him also spending a single season in both the Championship and League One during his ten year tenure at the club between 2009 and 2019. During his career, he also spent time with the likes of Middlesbrough (2005 - 2008), Wigan Athletic (2008 - 2009), and finally Dutch club VVV Venlo (2019 – 2020). He retired from the sport briefly after leaving the Eredivisie club. Key Player – David Ferguson David Ferguson is a highly experienced player who is Gateshead Captain and plays mainly as a left back. He joined the club back in 2025, and he has made 39 appearances for the club so far, as of the time of writing. Earlier in his career, he has also represented the likes of Darlington (2012 & 2017), Sunderland (2012 - 2015), Boston United (Loan, 2014), Blackpool (2015 - 2016), Shildon (2016 - 2017), York City (2017 - 2020), and Hartlepool United (2020 - 2025). He also has 3 caps for the England C side that he got back in 2017. Written by Adam Holt

Solihull Moors suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of AFC Fylde at Damson Park, leaving Chris Millington's side bottom of the National League table after losing each of the first five fixtures in the competition. An even start to the game saw both sides struggle to create clear-cut chances. The only Moors effort of note in the first was a cheeky attempt from Jacob Wakeling from near the halfway line, his effort going just wide, to the relief of AFC Fylde goalkeeper Zac Jones. A neat interchange in midfield saw Greg Olley put through on goal, the Fylde man firing well over from distance. By the 20th minute, Fylde had ready been forced into two substitutions due to injuries, but rather than hamper the away side, it seemed to galvanise them. A flurry of chances fell to Craig Mahon's men, Max Metcalfe dealing with a couple of efforts from outside the box, aswell as the Coasters hitting the woodwork on three occasions as they caught The Moors backline out several times with long diagonals and through-balls. The first effort came from a cross-field pass, and landed at the feet of a Fylde winger. The Fylde man cut inside and unleashed a terrific curling effort that hit the crossbar. The second was Adam Lewis, who found himself in space on the right and poked a shot goalwards, beating Metcalfe, but seeing the ball come back off the post before been cleared for a corner. The resulting corner was played short and laid back to the taker, who took a touch inside, and bent an incredible curling effort off the bar yet again. Jamie Andrews was busy in the midfield, coming out on top of a number of committed challenges, his tireless workrate allowing High and Sbarra to focus more on creating openings for their side. It was a crunching Andrews tackle that led to a decent chance for Jacob Wakeling, the ball got played out to Joe Sbarra who, after some nice footwork, sent the striker through on the left, only for his powerful shot to hit the side-netting. GOAL - 34' Fylde. A corner at the other end of the pitch fell nicely for Rio Shipston, the midfielders attempt was blocked well and collected by Fylde keeper Jones, who then launched a long ball over the top of The Moors defence. Metcalfe raced out of his box and attempted to head the ball clear, but was undone by an awkward bounce, the ball glancing off his head and Fylde's Harvey Broad was more than happy to run past and roll the ball into an empty net. It was very harsh on Solihull's number 1, who has been one of the bright sparks of the season so far. 0-1 GOAL - 42' Fylde. Jack Morris was played through one-on-one with Metcalfe and made no mistake as he calmly slotted into the bottom corner to put his side two goals ahead. 0-2 Scott High sent a free-kick inches over the post as we looked to halve the deficit just before half-time. GOAL - 51' Moors. The second half kicked off with Solihull knowing they needed something special to turn the game around, and as he has so many times already this season, Wakeling was the man to produce it. The forward headed in from close-range following a flick-on from a corner. The home crowd, who unfortunately haven't had too much to cheer about so far this season, began to believe the comeback was on, turning the volume up as The Moors drove forward. Wakeling in particular, playing like a man possessed, pressed the Fylde defence and started to get some joy and force mistakes. Whatever Millington had said at half-time clearly worked wonders as his side were transformed. A superbly timed challenge by Andrews in the box denied a great Fylde chance about 10 yards out, the ball then finding its way to Wakeling, who charged up the pitch on a one-man mission, before cutting in and unleashing a fierce low drive that was well held by the keeper. Wakeling was at the heart of everything, forcing a mistake from the central defender before racing down the left and having a powerful strike well saved by Jones. High then had the goal at his mercy as the save landed at his feet, only to smash over the bar from 8 yards out. GOAL - 59' Fylde. Luca Thomas scored Fylde's third goal on the counter. They worked the ball into the box, and after failing to be cut out, it fell nicely to Thomas, one of the enforced early substitutes, who thundered home, leaving Metcalfe with no chance. 1-3 With the steam knocked out of the Moors after the goal, Wakeling dropped deeper to get himself on the ball more now that Ben Wodskou and Callum McFarlane were on the pitch, with our goalscorer intent on inflicting more damage on the Fylde defence in another lively performance. McFarlane created another good chance for Wakeling, the forward attacking the ball at the near post and seeing his shot deflected out, only for the officials to give a goal kick rather than a corner. Tyrell Warren did well to chip a cross onto the head of Joe Sbarra, who was desperately unlucky to see his header hit the bar. A couple of ferociously whipped in corners from substitute Matty Carson led to scrambles in the box, but the Moors were unable to find a finishing touch. Jevon Mills had a goal bound effort cleared off the line, the ball then falling to Wodskou who smashed narrowly wide as another good chance went begging. Justin Hanks came on in the 80th minute to make his Moors debut. His first action of note was a missile of a throw, that was flicked onto Wodskou, the striker heading over the bar when well placed, before another throw-in led to a half chance for High, but the ball bounced awkwardly. Hanks, a summer recruit from Nottingham Forest will surely be looking to put those long-throws to good use after causing so much havoc with them in the oppositions box. The last Moors attack saw Andrews swing a dangerous cross in from the right that was well dealt with by Jones in the final minute of added time. Ultimately it was another frustrating afternoon for Solihull, but the second half performance in particular will be hugely encouraging in this tough period. Thank you as always for your unwavering support. We look forward to to welcoming you back to Damson Park💛💙 Sponsors man of the match - Jacob Wakeling Our next National League fixture is an away game that sees us make the trip up to Gateshead on Saturday 5th September. Kick-off - 3pm. To purchase coach tickets for this fixture, please visit the link below - https://solihullmoorsfc.ticketco.events/uk/en/e/gateshead_coach_away_travel_2627?version=m Coach Prices - 18-21 Coach Travel £27.00 Adult Coach Travel £32.00 U18's Coach Travel £22.00 COYM💛💙

Solihull host Fylde at Damson Park on Monday afternoon, aiming to pick up their first points of the campaign. The experts at Andy’s Bet Club will be previewing all our games for the 2026/27 season. Their site is packed with free football tips that are updated daily with expert insight. Match Preview Solihull lost 3-1 at Scunthorpe on Friday night. Moors took the lead in the 26th minute, but it was short-lived, as Scunthorpe equalised soon after. The hosts then scored twice in the second period, to take the game away. Fylde beat Forest Green 2-0 at Mill Farm. The newly-promoted side have started the season strong, picking up seven points from their opening four games. Fylde have conceded six goals from four games, and they sit 8th in the early league table. Solihull Form Guide A positive for Solihull this season has been Jacob Wakeling - he scored his third goal of the campaign against Scunthorpe. The 24-year-old has looked sharp in building on his first season at the club last term. The upcoming clash against Fylde is a chance to start climbing the table. Fylde Form Guide Fylde have made an encouraging start following their promotion from the National League North last season, collecting seven points from four matches. They started the campaign with a 2-2 draw against Wealdstone, before beating Tamworth on their travels. Fylde secured their first clean sheet against Forest Green last time out, which was big for them as they had conceded six goals in the previous three. Last season, Fylde finished top of the league with exactly 100 points from 46 league matches. They bagged 112 goals, which shows how effective they can be in the final third. Tactical Insight Harvey Broad scored both of Fylde’s goals against Forest Green last time out, and he was the standout performer for his side. Prior to that, he also found the back of the net against Woking, highlighting how the 20-year-old is in excellent form. Solihull will have to be wary of his deep runs into the box from midfield. Both of Fylde’s goals against Forest Green were created from that flank, as Greg Olley provided the assist for the opener, and right back Aaron Drewe created the second. Fylde like to concentrate play down that right side, which means Matty Carson could have plenty of defensive work to get through in the right back position for Solihull. Conclusion This match presents an opportunity for Solihull to get one over newly-promoted opposition and benefit from the quick turnaround following Friday’s defeat.  Visit Andy’s Bet Club for daily free betting tips and the Best Free Bets .

Solihull Moors is delighted to welcome Sans Restaurants as the official match ball sponsor for Monday’s National League fixture against AFC Fylde. Based in Henley-in-Arden, Sans has been a valued and longstanding supporter of the Moors, and the Club is incredibly grateful for its continued backing. Supporters can book a table or order a takeaway from Sans through the Sans of Henley app, available to download from the App Store, or online at www.sansrestaurants.co.uk . Orders and bookings can also be made by calling Rebecca, Sans’ AI receptionist, on 020 4652 2704, contacting the restaurant directly on 01564 792104, or simply visiting the restaurant to order. The Club would like to thank Dennis and the entire team at Sans Restaurants for their loyal support over the years, and we look forward to welcoming them to Damson Park for Monday’s match. The Moors take on AFC Fylde at Damson Park on Bank Holiday Monday, and you can purchase tickets here .

Chris Millington’s Solihull Moors team will welcome an AFC Fylde side led by current boss Craig Mahon to Damson Park on Bank Holiday Monday. The Moors will be looking to collect all three points as they look to climb the Enterprise National League table. The most recent game for The Coasters saw them take on Woking away from home at The Laithwaite Community Stadium, where they were narrowly defeated 3 – 2. Danny Ormerod opened the scoring for Fylde before an equaliser arrived through Matt Ward for the hosts. Harvey Broad then scored the goal to give the visitors the lead once more before strikes from Roy Syla and Taylan Harris, the latter being the winner, gave Woking the win and all three points. AFC Fylde are a club with a history that stretches back to when they were founded back in 1988 when there was a merger between Kirkham Town FC and Wesham FC. The new club took the name ok Kirkham & Wesham, adopting the name of a club that had previously existed whilst playing in the West Lancashire League ahead of the start of the First World War in 1914. They played their first season of competitive football in the West Lancashire League back in the 1988/89 season, taking the place of the extinct Kirkham Town in Division One. They finished bottom of the league in the following season, suffering relegation down to Division Two as a result. It would then take them as many as three seasons to secure their return to Division One, finally securing their long-awaited promotion by the conclusion of the 1992/93 season. However, their stay in that league did not last long, with them going on to suffer relegation once again in the following campaign. It was a rollercoaster few years for the club, and this wild ride was to continue for them the following year, which was when they were going to go on and get promotion to Division One once more. Fast forward to the beginning of the 21 st century, they would go on to avoid defeat in any competition for more than a year, 21 months to be exact, between January 2003 and October 2004. This stunning run of form only ended in what was a very narrow defeat against Dalton United in the league, which only ended in a 1 – 0 loss. They then, in April 2006, completed an incredible hat-trick of victories in the Final of the Lancashire Amateur Shield, beating Charnock Richard, also of the West Lancashire League, 2 – 0 to win this trophy for a third time in a row. They also won the Northern Counties Cup in three successive seasons, in the 2004/05, 2005/06, and 2006/07 campaigns. The club then joined the North West Counties League ahead of the 2007/08 season, winning their first home match of the season on 11 th August 2007 5 – 0 against Darwen in front of a crowd of 105 people. Then, on 24 th April 2008, they won the Division Two knockout trophy following what was a 1 – 0 victory against Bootle before then going on to secure an automatic promotion place, one of the two available, following what was an emphatic 3 – 1 victory over Castleton Cables. Kirkham & Wisham then won the FA Vase trophy at the iconic ground of Wembley, beating Lowestoft Town narrowly 2 – 1 in front of a crowd of 19,537. They were then promoted to the Premier Division at the end of that 2007/08 campaign. It was then back in the 2008/09 season that the club changed their name from Kirkham & Wisham to how they are known as of today, AFC Fylde. We now fast forward to the 2013/14 season, which was very successful for The Coasters. They were able to go on to lift not only the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy, but they were also able to secure victory in the finals of the Northern Premier Division as well as the play-off final, which saw them secure promotion to the Conference North. AFC Fylde had an incredible maiden season in the Conference North, with them finishing as high as 2 nd place in the league after they had managed to secure a total of 85 points overall in the end. They got to the semi-finals of the playoffs, only losing to Guiseley. Their top scorer that season was the prolific Danny Rowe, who scored as many as 31 goals for The Coasters in the end. It was the 2016/17 season when they would move to what is their current home, Mill Farm, whilst also establishing a Women’s team as well. Throughout that season, they were able to score as many as 109 goals, whilst also accumulating as many as 88 points to secure the National League North title, securing them promotion to the fifth tier, the National League, with the aforementioned Danny Rowe scoring as many as 47 goals – a club record that still stands today. In the 2017/18 season, they reached the second round proper of the FA Cup, only losing 3 – 2 in a replay against Wigan Athletic. As for their league campaign, they were able to get a 7 th place finish, which was their highest ever league finish. In what were expanded playoffs, they lost 2 – 1 to Boreham Wood in the qualifying round. They then finished in 5 th the following season, another club record league finish for the club, only losing 3 – 0 in the playoff final after beating Harrogate Town 3 – 1 and Solihull Moors 1 – 0 along the way. Fylde became the first team to ever win both the FA Trophy and the FA Vase when they were able to beat Leyton Orient 1 – 0 thanks to a free-kick goal from striker Danny Rowe at Wembley. They were unfortunately relegated from the National League on a points-per-game basis following the pandemic in the curtailed 2019/20 season. It took them until the 2022/23 season to secure their return to the top division of non-league football, the National League, as Champions. They would go on to avoid an immediate return to the sixth tier after finishing in 18 th place in the end under Chris Beech. Then in 2024/25, the club were again relegated to the National League North. They were then able to get promoted back to the Enterprise National League last season (2025/26) under new and current, Head Coach Craig Mahon. They won the title with as many as 100 points, doing so in the 46 games that they played that season. They finished 5 points ahead of second-place South Shields. AFC Fylde will be looking ahead to the rest of the 2026/27 season, where they will hope that the momentum that they gained from promotion will mean that they can keep their place in the Enterprise National League come the end of the season. In the opposition dugout – Craig Mahon AFC Fylde’s current boss, Head Coach Craig Mahon, was appointed back on 13 th June 2025 ahead of the beginning of the 2025/26 season, leaving recently relegated National League North club, Curzon Ashton. He led them to the National League North title, and he hopes to keep them in the fifth tier this season. Mahon also had a playing career lasting for 17 years from 2008 to 2009, playing for the likes of Wigan Athletic (2008 - 2009), Accrington Stanley (Loan, 2008), Salford City (2009 - 2010), Burscough (2010), Vauxhall Motors (2010 - 2013), Chester (2013 - 2020), AFC Fylde (Loan, 2013), Ashton United (Loan, 2019 - 2020), Altrincham (2020), and finally the aforementioned Curzon Ashton from 2020 to 2025, serving the club for five years as a player. Key Player – Danny Mayor The experienced Danny Mayor is one of the standout players of AFC Fylde’s squad, having scored 5 goals in 12 appearances since he joined them back in August 2025. His playing career began back in 2016, and he has been with the likes of Liverpool (2016 - 2019), Yeovil Town (Loan, 2018), Crewe Alexandra (Loan, 2018 - 2019), Phoenix Rising (2019 - 2021), FC Tucson (Loan, 2019), Wigan Athletic (2021), and Carlisle United (2021 – 2024), before joining AFC Fylde last year.