Hednesford Town suffered their first defeat of the season against an AFC Fylde side hotly tipped for promotion this season.
Two first half goals for the home side proved to be the difference on the night, although the second half performance will have heartened Town boss Rob Smith with the Pitmen fighting right until the end to try and find a way back into the match.
After a fairly even start the visitors fell behind in the 12th minute as Sam Finley’s deflected shot from 20 yards looped up and over goalkeeper Dave Parton and into the Town net.
Fylde continued to dominate possession and, but for a Ben Bailey header flicked wide in the 34th minute, the away side really had little to show in efforts on goal.
It was Fylde who finally doubled their lead three minutes before the break as, after breaking clear on the back line, Danny Lloyd cut inside and fired low into the net at the near post.
The second period started in a similar vein as Parton first denied Lloyd before Tom Hannigan headed wide from a corner when it looked easier to score, all inside the opening ten minutes.
As the half wore on, Hednesford grew in confidence. Marvin Robinson had the ball in the net after 65 minutes, but was offside, before Tom Thorley saw a driven effort palmed away ten minutes later.
Town almost grabbed a goal back in the 81st minute as a Paul Ennis shot from the edge of the box came back off the post.
Finally, right in stoppage time Hednesford had one final half-chance as Tyrone Williams flashed a header wide at the back post.
Despite a number of half-chances for the visitors, the ball wouldn’t quite fall in the box and they now move onto an away game against Harrogate Town on Saturday.
AFC Fylde: Hinchliffe, Hughes, Sumner, Langley, Hannigan, Barnes, Baker, Finley (Rowe 76), Wilson, Charles, Lloyd (Bent 77)
Subs not used: Blinkhorn, Collins, Urwin
Hednesford Town: Parton, Williams T, James, Bailey, Tilt, Thorley, Spencer (Williams S 46), Modest, Robinson (Heath 73), Obeng, Digie (Ennis 46)
Subs not used: Todd, Adams
Attendance: 355
Entertainment Rating: Three Stars
Star Man: Paul Ennis
