CHORLEY produced arguably their best display of the season to record a fully deserved 3-1 victory over league leaders Fylde who were condemned to a first home league defeat since April 2014.

The defeat cost the Coasters top spot in Conference North, victory for Barrow elsewhere enabling them to regain first place.

It was a superb second-half show which won the game for the Magpies who in the end proved too strong for their hosts, winning at Kellamergh Park for the third time in a row.

“We really wanted it today and were outstanding, particularly against the strong wind in the second half,” said Chorley boss Garry Flitcroft.

“There were some big performances from my players all over the park and we fully deserved our win.”

Chorley defended tenaciously when necessary, quickly closing down the potential threat from Fylde’s tricky wide men, while in attack they were the more threatening with the pace of Josh Hine a constant challenge for the home defence.

Ben Hinchcliffe was the busier keeper in the opening half-hour, turning a Hine shot away for a corner and later twice denying Aaron Burns, first holding a teasingly flighted shot and then saving smartly again at the expense of a corner.

But it was Fylde who made the breakthrough on 37 minutes with a fine goal typical of the class of Richie Allen.

Producing a piece of magic to bamboozle Adam Mather out on the right, he cut inside before bending a low drive into the far corner beyond a motionless Sam Ashton in the Chorley goal.

Allen might have made it two before the break but saw his shot from Danny Lloyd’s prompting ricochet harmlessly off Ashton.

Chorley equalised on 58 minutes when, following a partially cleared corner, Hine’s powerful low drive was deflected in by Burns past the wrong-footed Hinchcliffe.

Five minutes later the Magpies were in front.

Dale Whitham supplied an inviting low centre for the predatory Burns to score from close range. Fylde’s best reply was a surging run by Adam Sumner whose shot was deflected for an unproductive corner.

A penalty on 79 minutes wrapped up the points for Chorley. A delightfully-weighted ball from the impressive Whitham sent Hine scampering into the box where he went down under a scything challenge from Sumner and the referee had no hesitation in pointing to the spot.

Hine stepped up to smash the ball past Hinchcliffe.

A now subdued Fylde had one clear chance to reduce the arrears five minutes from time when following a corner Ashton pulled off a stunning reflex save from Josh Wilson’s bullet-header to the disbelief of the majority of the crowd of 1,048.