WHARFEDALE coach Jon Feeley will be asking his Greens to get back their "attacking shape" while maintaining a strong defence to stymie Fylde, who visit the Avenue this Saturday.
The Greens are coming off a 17-14 loss at Sedgley Park, where they scored all of their points in the last five minutes.
"We left it too late to get some consistency in our game," said Feeley. "We will rue periods in the first half where we made some uncharacteristic errors.
"There were times when we went away from our patterns of play and lost focus. This resulted in pressure and errors.
"The players in the dressing room afterwards knew it and were disappointed not to have come away with more.
"We have come away very frustrated that we didn't achieve better."
However, there were some aspects of the Greens' game that impressed Feeley.
"Our defence at times was outstanding, and they couldn't break through us. We were also outstanding in the scrum, where technically we were better and we moved their bigger pack around the pitch. That is down to the work of our coach Philip Peel."
The game at Sedgley Park also marked Oli Cicognini's 100th appearance for Wharfedale.
"It's an outstanding feat to reach 100 appearances for the club," said Feeley. "Oli has always been known for his quick feet and his ability to beat a man, but he's become a real leader when it comes maintaining our defensive shape."
Going into this Saturday's game at home to Fylde, Feeley said his troops will look to "get back the attacking shape that we lost at the weekend".
At the same time, he said the Greens will aim to stymie Fylde's "notorious wide running game".
"We want to slow the pace of their play. We can't allow them to get into a rhythm and play at a fast tempo."
After an impressive opening weekend win at Scunthorpe, Fylde drew at home against Preston Grasshoppers last Saturday.
The draw was already one of three in National League Two North this season.
There have been a lot of close games in the first two weeks of the league season, which Feeley shows how "incredibly close the league will be this year".
In addition to some of the long injuries Wharfedale already has, promising young player Oscar Canny picked up a thigh injury at the weekend, which will keep him out four to six weeks.
Feeley praised last year's Colts player Canny's contribution to the first team.
"Oscar has made an effortless transition from junior to senior rugby," said Feeley. "We'll see a lot more from him in the future."
The Greens will also be without Sam Gaudie and Ben Leacock this Saturday, who will attending the wedding of Wharfedale player Matty Houghton, who currently has a long-term injury.
This Saturday's home game with Fylde will kick off at 3pm.
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