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Wright winner sees Reds and Nugent end on a high

Jerome Wright scored a late winner to beat Matlock Town 1-0 at Gigg Lane on Saturday afternoon which meant FC United ended the season on a high in front of 2,871 supporters.

The match was played at a high tempo as the Reds seemed determined to finish the campaign with a win and give captain Rob Nugent, who is retiring, the send off he deserved after five years at the club.

Despite a fairly even start to the game, United began to take control as the half progressed, having lengthy spells of possession and attacking play and linking up well through the midfield.

The first real chance of the game came for the Reds just shy of the 10 minute mark when Carlos Roca rose in the area to meet a corner and headed just over the bar.

Several more chances came for the home side, as Wright forced an excellent fingertip save from Nick Buxton following a powerful drive from just outside the area.

Minutes later, a swift one-two between Roca and Wright set the winger up to go for goal once more, however he was denied this time by the post.

As FC continued to threaten, more positive passing play saw Matlock forced back to defend several United attacks. A Chris Ovington corner sent in from the left was picked up by Nugent inside the six-yard box and the centre half forced Buxton into action once more as the keeper tipped the header on goal over the bar.

Matlock started off the brighter as the second period began, looking to take advantage of United’s missed opportunities before the break. Steve Warne’s shot on goal from the edge of the area tested Sam Ashton who did well to make the block with his feet.

The game continued in a lively end-to-end fashion and it wasn’t until the final 10 minutes that the Reds gained a deserved lead. A perfectly placed pass from Nugent fell into the path of Wright on the left wing. The pacey winger carried the ball forward and rifled his shot home across Buxton from a tight angle to seal the victory on Youth United Day.

Aside from the victory, there may not have been as much to celebrate on the final day of the season as in previous years. However, many supporters will surely agree that as the players changed into shirts supporting our club’s move to Newton Heath, the excitement and anticipation of ’going home’ provides this season with just as much memorable emotion as the accolades on the pitch have in seasons gone by.

The end of this season of course also marks the retirement of a legend, as Rob Nugent played his final match for the club, having been a fantastic servant ever since making his debut during our first ever game at Leigh RMI in July 2005. On top of that, Simon Carden made his 200th appearance for FC United and both were given a much deserved ovation after the final whistle.

Report by Victoria Fullen



First Posted ~ 17:47 Sun 25 Apr 2010
News ID ~ 2864
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021