FC United of Manchester FC United of Manchester FC United of Manchester Badge FC United of Manchester Pitch In

Match Report

17th March 2015

EvoStik League Premier Division

Tameside Stadium, Richmond Street, Ashton-Under-Lyne, OL7 9HG


FC United of Manchester

1 - 0

Workington AFC

Lacy 15
 
Attendance: 2,349

FC United of Manchester 1

Lacy 15

Workington AFC 0

Attendance: 2,349


FC United of Manchester

1 David Carnell
2 Liam Brownhill (capt)
3 Greg Daniels
4 Joe Fox
5 Lewis Lacy
6 Chris Lynch
7 Shelton Payne
8 Callum Byrne
9 Tom Greaves
10 Jerome Wright
11 Craig Lindfield

Subs.
14 Matthew Wolfenden (for 7, 78 mins)
16 Dean Stott (for 4, 77 mins)
17 Rory Fallon (for 8, 71 mins)

Workington AFC

1 Jonny Jamieson
2 Sam Smith
3 Gari Rowntree
4 Kyle May
5 Dan Wordsworth (capt)
6 Gavin Skelton
7 Scott Allison
8 Philip McLuckie
9 Gareth Arnison
10 Alex Salmon
11 Connor Tinnion

Subs.
14 Alex Newey (for 7, 61 mins)
17 Joshua Calvert (for 9, 71 mins)


Match Report
FC United moved seven points clear with a game in hand at the top of the Evo-Stik Premier Division with a 1-0 victory at home to promotion rivals Workington on Tuesday night.

A Lewis Lacy goal from a corner after 15 minutes was enough to give United the victory and despite coming close on several occasions to doubling that lead it was a nervy ending to the game which saw the lead at the top extended further thanks to second placed Ilkeston drawing 3-3 at Stourbridge.

Knowing that promotion and possibly the title is now well within touching distance, United began the game like they weren’t in the mood to hang around, looking good value for another three points from the off.

The brightest sparks early on came from the left hand combination of Shelton Payne and Jerome Wright who linked up well several times. Payne came close to opening the scoring before being stopped by Workington ’keeper Jonny Jamieson.

It didn’t take long for United to take the lead as Linfield fired in a dangerous looking corner from the left right across the six yard box which seemingly hit the on rushing Lacy on the shin and went into the goal to make it 1-0.

How the game finished at that scoreline still remains a mystery as United kept coming forward and could have had at least another two goals before the half-time break. The best chance of the half came when Tom Greaves broke the offside trap finding himself one-on-one with Jamieson. The Reds top-scorer showed great footwork to go around Jamieson but took the ball too far and couldn’t turn the ball into the net for his 24th goal of the season.

Greaves had another great opportunity showing the other side to his game, getting the ball out of his feet quickly and powering a shot towards goal which was only stopped by Jamieson in the visiting goal falling on the ball.

If you was being critical United looked like they were just over thinking things in the final third, but you got the feeling the goal would come. The visitors did fire a warning shot towards the end of the second half when they pushed forward but found the central defensive pairing of Lacy and Lynch too difficult an obstacle to break down.

The second half again saw United come out looking to attack and get the two goal cushion which would seal the points, but they couldn’t seem to get the ball in the back of the net despite their best efforts again.

This allowed the visitors to get back into the game and come forward looking for the equalising goal, a couple of times Dave Carnell came rushing from his goal and a miskicked clearance and an over-hit backpass almost put United in trouble on two separate occasions.

As has been the case with so many games recently it took on a real cup tie feel towards the end of the second half, but this time it was the visiting team doing a lot of the pushing whereas United were looking to break quickly and get another goal.

The victory showed another side to United’s play, which was a great defensive performance which in all honesty has been there for a good while but you don’t always appreciate until it’s a one goal victory where the hard work of the defensive unit was just as important as the attack getting the goals.

So, the promotion push rolls on to Stamford this Saturday, where United look to maintain the lead they have set up with a fantastic run, which now sees them in a brilliant position to claim the promotion which has eluded them for several years.

Man of the match: Lewis Lacy - Didn’t know much about the goal, but another strong performance from the back as part of the well marshalled defensive unit which still holds the best record in the league.

Report by Craig Phillips
Match Report
FC United moved seven points clear with a game in hand at the top of the Evo-Stik Premier Division with a 1-0 victory at home to promotion rivals Workington on Tuesday night.

A Lewis Lacy goal from a corner after 15 minutes was enough to give United the victory and despite coming close on several occasions to doubling that lead it was a nervy ending to the game which saw the lead at the top extended further thanks to second placed Ilkeston drawing 3-3 at Stourbridge.

Knowing that promotion and possibly the title is now well within touching distance, United began the game like they weren’t in the mood to hang around, looking good value for another three points from the off.

The brightest sparks early on came from the left hand combination of Shelton Payne and Jerome Wright who linked up well several times. Payne came close to opening the scoring before being stopped by Workington ’keeper Jonny Jamieson.

It didn’t take long for United to take the lead as Linfield fired in a dangerous looking corner from the left right across the six yard box which seemingly hit the on rushing Lacy on the shin and went into the goal to make it 1-0.

How the game finished at that scoreline still remains a mystery as United kept coming forward and could have had at least another two goals before the half-time break. The best chance of the half came when Tom Greaves broke the offside trap finding himself one-on-one with Jamieson. The Reds top-scorer showed great footwork to go around Jamieson but took the ball too far and couldn’t turn the ball into the net for his 24th goal of the season.

Greaves had another great opportunity showing the other side to his game, getting the ball out of his feet quickly and powering a shot towards goal which was only stopped by Jamieson in the visiting goal falling on the ball.

If you was being critical United looked like they were just over thinking things in the final third, but you got the feeling the goal would come. The visitors did fire a warning shot towards the end of the second half when they pushed forward but found the central defensive pairing of Lacy and Lynch too difficult an obstacle to break down.

The second half again saw United come out looking to attack and get the two goal cushion which would seal the points, but they couldn’t seem to get the ball in the back of the net despite their best efforts again.

This allowed the visitors to get back into the game and come forward looking for the equalising goal, a couple of times Dave Carnell came rushing from his goal and a miskicked clearance and an over-hit backpass almost put United in trouble on two separate occasions.

As has been the case with so many games recently it took on a real cup tie feel towards the end of the second half, but this time it was the visiting team doing a lot of the pushing whereas United were looking to break quickly and get another goal.

The victory showed another side to United’s play, which was a great defensive performance which in all honesty has been there for a good while but you don’t always appreciate until it’s a one goal victory where the hard work of the defensive unit was just as important as the attack getting the goals.

So, the promotion push rolls on to Stamford this Saturday, where United look to maintain the lead they have set up with a fantastic run, which now sees them in a brilliant position to claim the promotion which has eluded them for several years.

Man of the match: Lewis Lacy - Didn’t know much about the goal, but another strong performance from the back as part of the well marshalled defensive unit which still holds the best record in the league.

Report by Craig Phillips

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