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

United Youth Snatch Draw From The Jaws Of Victory.

United Youth Snatch Draw From The Jaws Of Victory.

Having absolutely dominated the first half to take a 1-0 lead into the break, United let Curzon back into the game with an own goal and a counter attacking strike before equalising deep into injury time.

Sunday’s game had been scheduled to be played at FC’s own ground, but weather conditions at previous games and in the intervening period meant there were realistic doubts about the ability of the St Bride’s pitch standing up to another mid-winter game. Therefore, with the agreement of Curzon Ashton, the game was switched to the third generation pitch next to the Tameside Stadium and called as an FC away day.

After a steady start by both sides, FC United began to take control of the game as a high Curzon back line gave the reds plenty of room to play the ball behind them and chase after it.

The first real chance came in the 10th minute when Jack Lyons beat the Curzon full back and cut into the box; unfortunately a weak shot was easily saved. From then on FC dominated the first half with debutant Gage Eme causing concern for the home defence. A ball played through the middle in the 19th minute gave him a chance to shoot which was saved. Less than five minutes later a similar move saw him break free with time to chip the ball over McIlwaine in the Curzon goal to open the scoring.

Further chances came and went before Curzon had their first chance in the 35th minute when No 9 Richard Bennett controlled a long ball forward before shooting narrowly wide. A sweeping move by FC, with the ball flowing from Tim Marshall through Gage Eme to Sam Freakes, brought another save from the keeper before a moment of controversy for Curzon in the 41st minute. A long clearance saw Bennett battle with the FC defence before stabbing the ball home from the edge of the box. The goal was going to stand until the referee’s attention was drawn to the offside flag that had been raised as Bennett first got possession and the strike was ruled out. That was the last real chance of the first half as FC went into the break leading 1-0.

The second half started in a similar manner with FC creating chances, the only hiccup being a booking for our Paul Scholes look and tackle alike midfielder Mark Reeves. That is until just before the hour when a spot of defensive confusion saw Shaun Connor unfortunately head into the FC net. This set back seemed to do little for the flow until some 15 minutes later when, after breaking up an FC attack, Curzon swept down the other end and Bennett crossed for Matt Purcell to be the fortunate one of many attackers and put Curzon 2-1 up.

Chances came and went at either end, the best of which fell to Jamie Mack as he collected a long ball and get the better of the Curzon defence only to see the fingertips of McIlwaine turn his shot out for a corner. It seemed likely that the domination shown by FC United would be completely unrewarded as the clock ticked past the ninety minute mark.

Little did those present know how far from the truth that was. A minute later an FC attack had been dealt with as Jack Lyons chased a Curzon defender out to the left wing to recover a lost cause. The linesman, who had earlier been the reds’ saviour adjudged the effort to be a foul and took exception to Jack’s expression of disappointment, summoning the referee who had no option but to issue a red card. Then in one last heroic effort Jamie Mack raced clear of the Curzon defence to slot the ball home for the equaliser.

Yet even that was not the end of the excitement as Grant Shenton was called upon to make two top drawer saves as Curzon sought to restore their lead. Fortunately they didn’t and the game finished 2-2.

FC United now look to a home game against Daisy Hill next Sunday to conclude their pre-Christmas exertions.

FC United of Manchester
1. Grant Shenton
2. Ashley Reece
3. Barry Davies
4. Tim Marshall
5. Nick Swirad
6. Shaun Connor
7. Mark Reeves (Cautioned, 47 Minutes)
8. Gage Eme (Goal, 23 Minutes)
9. Jack Lyons (Sent off, 90 Minutes)
10. Jamie Mack (Goal, 90 Minutes)
11. Sam Freakes
Substitutes
12. Josh Parkinson
14.Kyle McDonagh (For 7, 87 Minutes)
15. Toby Iloba (For 3, 83 Minutes)
16. Gary Nolan (For 11, 77 Minutes)
17. Jake Edwards


Curzon Ashton
1. Jon McIlwaine
2. Tom Dos Santos
3. Ricardo Williams
4. John Makin
5. Josh Hardicre
6. Connor Hampson
7. Connor Brotherton
8. Kyle Vanzuylen
9. Richard Bennett
10. James Hogan
11. Matt Purcell
Substitutes
12. Nick Hatton
14. Joe Rowbotham
15. Adam Herrimg
16. Scott Verigotta
17. Matt Smith



First Posted ~ 13:30 Mon 15 Dec 2008
News ID ~ 1987
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021