Matt Bee praised the "togetherness" of his team as they returned to action with a hard-fought Women’s FA Cup win over Fylde.

Nic Worthington’s extra-time penalty kick sealed victory for the Clarets to set up a third round tie with Sunderland at Padiham FC on Sunday.

It was always going to be a tough return to action following months of inactivity due to the coronavirus pandemic but Bee was delighted with his side’s performance – and said it was all down to the preparation.

“Sunday’s performance was built on a clear work ethic, desire and togetherness,” he said.

“Irrespective of having months off due to lockdown, these are the things that I expect the team to have, these important qualities.

“I’m happy that the players executed the game plan to the letter, and everyone played their part.

“I was pleased with our preparation; I knew the players knew how they had to operate to win the game. The detailed preparation gave them the platform to go and execute a top performance. Every one of them dug in.

“It was exactly the type of game I expected, Fylde have a lot of quality in their team, but I thought we nullified their threats well.”

The Clarets will now turn their attention to hosting Northern Premier League rivals Sunderland on Sunday with a place in the fourth round of the competition up for grabs.

“We have to work hard this week to get ready for Sunday,” added Bee.

“Sunderland will be a tough game so it will be a challenge. However, we’re ready to work hard again this week to go again and hopefully put in another positive performance in the competition.”

The Clarets started the clash with Fylde on the front foot with Evie Priestley, Katie Thomas and Lizzy Hamer all putting the visiting defence under pressure.

The Clarets nearly went ahead when Worthington fed Priestley but her chipped effort over the advancing keeper clipped the post.

At the other end, Burnley keeper Lauren Bracewell did well to deny Faye McCoy before Emily Hollinshead fired over the bar.

After the break and playing down the slope, the Clarets continued to press the visitors and Thomas was denied by the keeper and she raced through one-on-one.

It was end-to-end action for the remainder of the half but neither side could make the breakthrough – Fylde coming closest to finding a winner in normal time when McCoy’s header hit the crossbar in the last minute.

Having finished the 90 minutes on the back foot, Burnley regained their composure in extra-time and finally made the breakthrough in the second period when Priestley was fouled in the area and Worthington converted the resulting spot kick.