FC United pick up a point with Stafford stalemate - full
FC United gained a decent midweek 1-1 draw at Stafford Rangers on Tuesday night but the Reds will be disappointed to have surrendered another lead after Jerome Wright had given them an early advantage.
It was a bright start from the away side with Carlos Roca looking lively on the left wing. On seven minutes he found himself one-on-one with Adam Alcock in the Stafford goal but the shot was straight at the keeper who made an easy save.
On the quarter hour mark, the Reds took the lead when a long diagonal ball found Wright who volleyed the ball past Alcock and into the roof of the net.
The lead should have been doubled two minutes later when Roca again broke clear on the left and crossed into Mike Norton. The striker took a couple of touches before shooting at goal, Alcock blocked the shot, the rebound falling to Matthew Wolfenden who also saw his shot saved by the keeper.
Just after the half hour mark, Norton found himself behind the home defence. He squared the ball to Roca who took his time to pick his spot, alas Ryan Dicker managed to get back to the line and clear the ball.
The second half couldn’t have started any worse for FC when the ball was lost on the halfway line, the Stafford move ending in a corner. The ball was whipped in and nodded down to Dicker who hooked the ball into the net.
To their credit, FC United continued to press, Norton shooting wide after being played in by a long kick from goalkeeper James Spencer, Wolfenden going clear and shooting wide and Norton again having a shot blocked.
On 73 minutes, the Reds broke from their own area with skipper Kyle Jacobs leading the charge. The move ended when the ball found its way to Jake Cottrell but he shot wide.
With the final whistle looming, Wright crossed the ball into the box where Norton headed down to Chris Amadi who couldn’t get the ball from under his feet and his shot rolled to the keeper.
All-in-all, FC United will feel that it was a decent point gained but with the balance of play and chances on goal they will probably feel that the three points were there for the taking.
Report by Steven Wood
Website man of the match: Lee Neville - played in an unfamiliar centre-back role and looked comfortable dealing with almost everything Stafford could throw at him.
It was a bright start from the away side with Carlos Roca looking lively on the left wing. On seven minutes he found himself one-on-one with Adam Alcock in the Stafford goal but the shot was straight at the keeper who made an easy save.
On the quarter hour mark, the Reds took the lead when a long diagonal ball found Wright who volleyed the ball past Alcock and into the roof of the net.
The lead should have been doubled two minutes later when Roca again broke clear on the left and crossed into Mike Norton. The striker took a couple of touches before shooting at goal, Alcock blocked the shot, the rebound falling to Matthew Wolfenden who also saw his shot saved by the keeper.
Just after the half hour mark, Norton found himself behind the home defence. He squared the ball to Roca who took his time to pick his spot, alas Ryan Dicker managed to get back to the line and clear the ball.
The second half couldn’t have started any worse for FC when the ball was lost on the halfway line, the Stafford move ending in a corner. The ball was whipped in and nodded down to Dicker who hooked the ball into the net.
To their credit, FC United continued to press, Norton shooting wide after being played in by a long kick from goalkeeper James Spencer, Wolfenden going clear and shooting wide and Norton again having a shot blocked.
On 73 minutes, the Reds broke from their own area with skipper Kyle Jacobs leading the charge. The move ended when the ball found its way to Jake Cottrell but he shot wide.
With the final whistle looming, Wright crossed the ball into the box where Norton headed down to Chris Amadi who couldn’t get the ball from under his feet and his shot rolled to the keeper.
All-in-all, FC United will feel that it was a decent point gained but with the balance of play and chances on goal they will probably feel that the three points were there for the taking.
Report by Steven Wood
Website man of the match: Lee Neville - played in an unfamiliar centre-back role and looked comfortable dealing with almost everything Stafford could throw at him.
First Posted ~ 16:16 Wed 19 Sep 2012
News ID ~ 4442
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021