BRIGHOUSE Town Women lost to high-flying Fylde 1-0 on Sunday thanks to a moment of brilliance by the visitors’ Faye McCoy.

With 85 minutes on the clock, the referee awarded Fylde a free-kick on the edge of the box following a foul by the otherwise impressive Isobel Dean on substitute Sasha Rowe.

Veteran McCoy unleashed an unstoppable shot into the top corner of the net to spark scenes of wild celebration, as she secured the three points for the visitors.

It was the standout moment of an FA Women's National League Northern Premier Division match that never lacked effort but was short of real quality.

Coach Rob Mitchell gave a debut to new signing Becky Flaherty in goal while Dean continued to deputise at centre back for suspended captain Annabelle Cass.

Drew Greene was missing because of illness while popular striker Amy Woodruff has left the club due to work commitments and a lack of regular game time.

Fylde’s Amy Hughes crashed a shot against the crossbar after five minutes but that was the only real goalmouth action of the first 45 minutes.

The other incident of note in the first half was Fylde’s Jodie Redgrave being sin-binned for one word too many to the referee.

Brighouse went into the game as the only team in the division to have scored in every league match this season, but they couldn’t create any clearcut chances on the bobbly pitch.

The game look destined to finish 0-0 until Mccoy’s late, late show.

After the match, Mitchell said he was disappointed by the result but not the performance.

“I thought we did a lot of things well, except in the final third of the pitch,” he said. “Fylde are a good team but the pitch made it impossible to play free-flowing football.

“We know about Mccoy’s talent and I don’t think you’ll see many better free-kicks this season.”

Brighouse host Burnley in the league tonight, while looking forward, they now know their West Riding County Women's Cup final against Leeds United will take place on Thursday, April 7, at 7:30pm.

The game will be played at the West Riding County FA's headquarters, which are at Fleet Lane in Woodlesford.