FC United need four from four after draw at Witton Albion
FC United need just four points from the four final games of the season to all but seal the Evo-Stik Premier Division title after drawing 0-0 at Witton Albion on Saturday afternoon.
With the Reds’ nearest rivals Ashton United and Ilkeston both losing, it looks as if Karl Marginson’s side will need just four points to win the title due to their far superior goal difference.
Five points or more would definitely see FC United crowned champions but, bar our rivals going goal crazy to overturn a 20 goal difference, four points should now be enough to see the Reds over the line.
On the afternoon there was very few chances to alter that goal difference as neither team really got on top of what was a scrappy game where a point each was a fair reflection of the overall play.
United began slowly taking their time to get into the flow of the game. Despite being on the front foot and looking on top in the middle of the park, the visitors found the wall that was the Witton defence difficult to break down. A strong wind was also taking out the aerial option as anything in the air seemed to stay up there for an eternity.
Shelton Payne managed to create the best opportunity of the first half as he got into a great position to cross the ball on the left but looked to surprise the Witton ’keeper with a shot to the near post which was gathered up by Andy Robertson in the Witton goal.
The second half didn’t see the tempo move up much and the game had a strange pre-season feel to it with neither team really committed to going forward and looking for the win early on and half chances being the best that either created.
The FC United defence stayed alert throughout and Lewis Lacy made a crucial interception late on as Alex Titchiner looked to have got in behind the backline to score the winner. But Lacy made up ground and managed to get a tackle in just as it looked like Titchiner would get his shot away, a tackle which was as good as a goal and the roar from the United faithful saw the Reds go forward and create a game winning opportunity of their own in the final minutes.
A dangerous attack was only cleared for a corner and as Liam Brownhill sent the ball across a melee in the box saw the ball cleared off the line twice in quick succession denying what would have been a priceless winner.
It’s onto Skelmersdale on Tuesday evening where losses for Ashton United and Workington coupled with a United victory would see the Reds crowned champions with three games left.
Man of the match: Lewis Lacy - A last ditch challenge late on was the key moment of the game and on a day where it would have been easy to switch off, Lacy was alert to the danger and made sure that United still took a point away from the game.
Report by Craig Phillips
With the Reds’ nearest rivals Ashton United and Ilkeston both losing, it looks as if Karl Marginson’s side will need just four points to win the title due to their far superior goal difference.
Five points or more would definitely see FC United crowned champions but, bar our rivals going goal crazy to overturn a 20 goal difference, four points should now be enough to see the Reds over the line.
On the afternoon there was very few chances to alter that goal difference as neither team really got on top of what was a scrappy game where a point each was a fair reflection of the overall play.
United began slowly taking their time to get into the flow of the game. Despite being on the front foot and looking on top in the middle of the park, the visitors found the wall that was the Witton defence difficult to break down. A strong wind was also taking out the aerial option as anything in the air seemed to stay up there for an eternity.
Shelton Payne managed to create the best opportunity of the first half as he got into a great position to cross the ball on the left but looked to surprise the Witton ’keeper with a shot to the near post which was gathered up by Andy Robertson in the Witton goal.
The second half didn’t see the tempo move up much and the game had a strange pre-season feel to it with neither team really committed to going forward and looking for the win early on and half chances being the best that either created.
The FC United defence stayed alert throughout and Lewis Lacy made a crucial interception late on as Alex Titchiner looked to have got in behind the backline to score the winner. But Lacy made up ground and managed to get a tackle in just as it looked like Titchiner would get his shot away, a tackle which was as good as a goal and the roar from the United faithful saw the Reds go forward and create a game winning opportunity of their own in the final minutes.
A dangerous attack was only cleared for a corner and as Liam Brownhill sent the ball across a melee in the box saw the ball cleared off the line twice in quick succession denying what would have been a priceless winner.
It’s onto Skelmersdale on Tuesday evening where losses for Ashton United and Workington coupled with a United victory would see the Reds crowned champions with three games left.
Man of the match: Lewis Lacy - A last ditch challenge late on was the key moment of the game and on a day where it would have been easy to switch off, Lacy was alert to the danger and made sure that United still took a point away from the game.
Report by Craig Phillips
First Posted ~ 00:35 Sun 12 Apr 2015
News ID ~ 6142
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021