Match Report

FC United suffered a humbling 4-1 defeat at the hands of Stockport County on Saturday, a result which sees the Reds drop back to second from bottom in the Vanarama National League North.

There was a renewed sense of enthusiasm around the club after last weekend’s victory over Nuneaton Town, but any hopes of an instant turnaround in the club’s fortunes were dealt a huge dose of reality as the Reds were soundly beaten.

Things couldn’t have started much worse for FC, as they found themselves two goals down after just 10 minutes. Matty Warburton opened the scoring after just five minutes, easily cutting through the FC defence before slotting past Lloyd Allinson and the defence looked on shaky legs just four minutes later as a misplaced Jordan Fagbola clearance was put away by Jason Oswell.

A frustrating start to the game was summed up when Michael Connor went flying into a challenge on the half hour mark. Lucky to stay on the pitch, Connor was soon brought off and replaced by Michael Jones.

Just before the break the home team went 3-0 up, as Allinson made a solid save but the rebound fell to Kallum Mantack and the player who was on loan at FC United last month put the ball away.

Just like the FA Cup game last month, County went in with a three-goal lead, but even the most optimistic of Reds surely couldn’t think another comeback was on the cards.

Having said, there was definitely some nervousness in the home support when Jason Gilchrist got a goal back for the Reds early in the second half. But the comeback never materialised and five minutes after Gilchrist’s goal, County restored their three-goal cushion as Warburton grabbed his second of the day from the penalty spot.

There were good periods of good play from FC in the second half and the players moved the ball around with confidence that hasn’t been seen too much this season. An offside decision against Gilchrist and a couple of great saves from County’s ‘keeper Ben Hinchcliffe kept the score at 4-1.

The defeat means FC United have just one away win all season, but the feeling is the coming two weeks and next three league games in particular are going to be big for how the season moves forward. Next up though comes the beginning of the defence of the Manchester Premier Cup as we travel to Salford City on Tuesday evening.

Website man of the match: Joel Logan – not many standouts on the pitch, but Logan’s seemingly endless work ethic has made him a hit with the FC faithful.

Report by Craig Phillips