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Reds aiming to steal Magpies' perch

FC United of Manchester take on fourth placed Chorley at Gigg Lane on Saturday knowing that a victory would set the Reds up nicely to take the Magpies’ current play-off position.

Chorley are currently seven points ahead of Karl Marginson’s side in the Evo-Stik Premier Division table but United have two games in hand, meaning a win on Saturday would give the Reds ever chance of leapfrogging their opponents in the coming weeks.

The two sides have already met this season, in September the newly promoted Magpies won 2-0 at Victory Park with Lee McEvilly converting a penalty before Andy Teague doubled the advantage early in the second half. It was a disappointing day for FC United both on and off the field with match arrangement issues meaning the majority of the Red Army decided not to attend, a trio of players sustained injuries - Matthew Wolfenden, Kyle Jacobs and Steve Torpey – and to top it off, Ben Deegan was sent off in the closing minutes.

A lot has changed since then though. United have drafted in some new faces and are playing with confidence again. Tuesday’s 1-1 draw at Nantwich Town means the Reds are now undefeated in nine whilst Chorley have won just one of their last five league fixtures, a run of form which has seen them fall from the top of the tree.

Overall, Margy was content with the point on Tuesday, especially after a hard fought victory over Altrincham in the FA Carlsberg Trophy a little more than 50 hours previously. He said: “We weren’t at our best on Tuesday night, but it is a mark of a good team when you still manage to get something out of a game when you have fallen short of your usual standards.

“We are in a very happy place following recent results and performances and after the way we have raised the bar against Altrincham, I know the players now realise the standards they are capable of and the quality of performance that we hope will become the norm. We want this good feeling to continue - we want to foster the belief that we can beat anyone on our day and we have instilled this in the players.???

Turning his thoughts to the weekend, he added: “Saturday will be a test of how far we have improved of late, as Chorley are a quality side. They beat us earlier in the season, but I’d like to think we have improved since then and having home advantage is a big plus for us. Chorley will undoubtedly be near the top come the end of the season and we need to show that we can be there too.???

FC United’s latest signing, winger Stephen Johnson was awarded the official website’s man-of-the-match award on Tuesday night after putting in an energetic debut performance and providing the cross for Michael Norton’s equaliser. He will be hoping to do the same on Saturday but with Carlos Roca and Astley Mulholland both in good form and the goals, competition for a place on the flanks is pretty tough at the moment.

The squad have got a clean bill of health and Wolfenden will also be looking to get back into the team after returning from injury to make two substitute appearances this week. Jake Cottrell is also available before having to serve a one game suspension.

FC United of Manchester versus Chorley is this Saturday at Gigg Lane with kick-off at the traditional time of three o’clock. It’s pay on the gate as usual, with prices £8 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for under-18s. Get yourself to that football ground.



First Posted ~ 23:08 Mon 5 Dec 2011
News ID ~ 3915
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021