After suffering three postponements in a row and a well documented dispute with landlords Bury FC, everyone concerned with FC United will be looking forward to finally getting back out onto the pitch this Saturday and concentrating on the footballing task in hand – starting with the visit of league leaders Skelmersdale United.
Despite not even being able to kick a ball in anger for nearly three weeks, FC United’s promotion prospects have continued to take an upsurge due to other results. The Reds are now 10 points off the pace at the top but have four crucial games in hand.
The season’s early pacesetters, Curzon Ashton have come unstuck since Christmas, taking just one point from the last nine and the Nash suffered a shock 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Chorley at the weekend. Skelmersdale won by the same score line when they visited the Tameside Stadium at the end of January and after hammering Chorley 7-0 they were at the summit of the table.
However, the new leaders slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Lancaster’s Giant Axe on Tuesday night as the UniBond Division One North continues to be an incredibly unpredictable league.
If FC United, who have won five out of their last five outings and remain undefeated in 2008, were to win their games in hand they would now go above both Curzon and Skelmersdale. However, whether the Reds can get into pole position and the only automatic promotion spot is dependant on how Bradford Park Avenue and Bamber Bridge get on.
With Margy’s men set to play Skelmersdale, Curzon, Bradford and Bamber Bridge (twice) over the next month the coming weeks could go a long way to deciding who is crowned champions of an extremely competitive league come the end of April.
First things first though and United must overcome Saturday’s visitors from West Lancashire, a team who beat them 3-1 at the Ashley Stadium on the first Tuesday in October last year. Striker Tony Evans bagged an impressive hat-trick as the Reds fell apart in the second half of that match and Margy will not want a repeat of that this time around.
But the boss is in confident mood. He said: “We know we can beat anyone in this league on our day and with vital players returning to the fold I know we can build on our winning streak. I want us to take all three points on Saturday and signal our intentions that we want to win this league.”
FC United of Manchester versus Skelmersdale United is this Saturday, kick off 3pm and it’s pay on the gate with usual prices. Get yourself to that football ground.
--