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FC United set up FA Cup tie with Sporting Khalsa after beating Buxton

FC United set up FA Cup tie with Sporting Khalsa after beating BuxtonFC United will meet West Midlands club Sporting Khalsa in the fourth qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup after winning 2-0 at Buxton in Wednesday night’s replay with late goals from Greg Daniels and Sam Madeley.

The Reds needed 180 minutes, two superb strikes and a few great saves from goalkeeper Dave Carnell to overcome the Bucks, but eventually moved to the next round after a 2-0 win in what was a hard fought cup tie.

United made three changes to the starting line-up that drew 1-1 with the Bucks at Broadhurst Park on Saturday with Daniels, Dean Stott and Callum Byrne coming into the team and they began the game looking brighter than they had done in the first meeting.

The midfield looked more solid than it may have been in previous weeks and Daniels moved up top when needed to help Tom Greaves out against what was once again a physically demanding defence. But the problem still remained of creating a cutting edge chance in the final third, with crosses going too long or too high to be a threat to the home team.

Callum Byrne looked like the best hope of making something happen from a midfield which was seeing a lot of the ball, but struggling to break through an organised defence and it was he who had the best effort of the first half with a placed effort from just outside the box going wide of the home goal.

But the home team were never out of the game at any stage and indeed came out the brighter of the two teams at the start of the second half. An amazing double save from Carnell kept the scores level - pushing away the first effort and then showing great reflexes to deny the home team from the rebound.

Despite having ample amounts of possession, United were struggling to find a way through due to a very well organised defence. When a corner from the right found Madeley in the six yard box and he fired over the bar, it felt like it could be one of those evenings.

It was clear that United needed something special and Daniels was the man to bring the bit of magic needed to unlock the home defence. Played wide on the right by a beautifully weighted pass by Byrne, Daniels turned inside his man from the edge of box and placed a shot right in the top corner. Goalkeeper Phil Barnes had no chance of stopping the effort or preventing FC United taking the lead with less than 15 minutes remaining.

The home team went forward, looking for a way back into the match, but the Unite defence stood tall, blocking efforts and reducing any attacks to half chances before the Reds broke away to find the second goal. Madeley finished off the counter attack with another great strike that left Barnes with no chance and put United through to the fourth qualifying round.

United will now travel to Sporting Khalsa, who ply their trade three divisions below the Reds in the Midland Football League Premier Division, with the match taking place a week on Saturday, subject to confirmation.

Established in 1991, Khalsa have made it through to the fourth qualifying round for the first ever time and are one of the biggest stories so far in this season’s FA Cup. The Willenhall outfit states its vision is to ’use the power of sport to tackle social exclusion, and provide football opportunities for all members of the community’. As such, FC United fans will no doubt look forward to visiting a like-minded club.

Website Man of the Match: Callum Byrne – Got the start after a cameo on Saturday and looked good on the ball, despite some quiet spells showed the ability to make things happen from the middle of the park.

Report by Craig Phillips


First Posted ~ 21:51 Wed 14 Oct 2015
News ID ~ 6442
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021