The Lilywhites made it 13 goals in two pre-season games with another sharp-shooting display on their first visit to Mill Farm.
Paul Huntington got the scoring underway, converting Josh Harrop’s corner, before Callum Robinson scored a brace either side of half-time against Dave Challinor’s AFC Fylde.
Sean Maguire then made it five goals in just 75 pre-season minutes, with two stunning strikes, having come on as a substitute on the hour mark, before Andrew Hughes scored his first goal in a PNE shirt after an excellent overlapping run from left back.
The Coasters scored a consolation goal via a trialist from the penalty spot with three minutes to go, but in reality it could have been more than the six it ended up with some more impressive forward play from Alex Neil’s side.
Where the previous week at Bamber Bridge the manager chose two separate XIs that played 45 minutes each, this time it was a 60-30 split for his two sides.
It was another game where North End had over 20 attempts on goal, but it took until the 20-minute mark to get the opener. It came from an excellent inswinging corner from Harrop on the left-hand side and skipper Paul Huntington got across his marker at the front post to flick a powerful header across goal into the top right-hand corner.
This seemed to open up the floodgates and it could have been four or five by the interval. Daryl Horgan looked a bright spark and he drove down the right and put over a deep cross for Louis Moult, who did everything right, heading down, only for Jay Lynch in the home goal to tip the ball over the bar. From the resulting corner – another quality ball from Harrop again found Moult, but once again the keeper was up to the task, making another impressive tip over.
Just after the half hour mark a superb PNE break saw Graham Burke thrust forward with pace and direct running and he dragged a defender to him, before squaring to an unmarked Robinson. He was one on one with the goalkeeper, but it was the Fylde No.1 who came out on top with a brilliant block.
However, the new No.7 wasn’t to be denied two minutes later as he picked up the ball 18 yards out on the edge of the box, shifted the ball quickly out of his feet and connected with a sweet drive low into the bottom left hand corner for the second of the game.
And it became a hat-trick of chances for Robinson a minute later as this time Moult played an excellent ball out to the left-hand side to find his fellow forward, and he cut inside and fired goalwards, only for Lynch to once again impressively deny the PNE man.
The one-way traffic continued after the interval. Darnell Fisher’s right wing cross found Burke at the back post, but his shot was saved by the Coasters’ No.1 and then the former Shamrock Rovers man on 58 minutes picked up the ball off the feet of Harrop and curled a beautiful left-footed shot which this time beat the keeper all ends up, but came back off the left hand post and Robinson fired the rebound over the bar.
However, Robinson’s last touch of the game, on the hour mark, was a stunning strike as he collected the ball outside the left corner of the box and curled a vicious dipping shot back across goal into the top right-hand corner for number three of the afternoon.
There were 11 changes before the resumption after the goal and it took only three minutes for Maguire to add the team’s fourth of the afternoon with his first touch of the game. And it was a superb strike curling a half volley first time into the bottom left corner of the goal from 18 yards.
He was denied a second on 68 minutes by a post, after a header down from Billy Bodin, but last season’s top scorer added his second and North End’s fifth with 19 minutes to go; this time an Alan Browne through ball sent him clean through and he dinked a wonderful finish past the goalkeeper into the empty net.
It was 6-0 with ten minutes to go with left back Hughes getting in on the act. He had been keen to join up with the attacking side of the team from the off and was on hand with a poacher’s finish from eight yards out, poking home after a strong run down the left.
A consolation penalty came with three minutes to go, when one of many AFC Fylde trialists sent Declan Rudd the wrong way after Calum Woods had been adjudged to have pushed the home side’s left winger in the penalty area, but it was little solace from a game the Lilywhites had illustrated their preparations for the new Championship season were on track.
PNE line-up (First 60 minutes): Maxwell, Fisher, Johnson, Pearson, Huntington (c), Davies, Horgan, Burke, Moult, Harrop, Robinson.
PNE line-up (Last 30 minutes): Rudd, Woods, Hughes, Ledson, Storey, Boyle, Bodin, Gallagher, Maguire, Browne, Barkhuizen.
Subs not used: Baxter, O’Reilly.
AFC Fylde line-up: Lynch, Montrose, Angol, Byrne, Tunnicliffe, Bond (c), Croasdale, Rowe, Philliskirk, Trialist 1, Trialist 2. Subs: Griffiths, Tasdemir, L Burke, 7 Trialists.
Referee: D McNamara
Attendance: 1,812