FC put to the sword as first half flurry gives Brig a deserved victory
FC United suffered a heavy defeat on the road in the Pitching In Northern Premier League as a first half blitz gave Bamber Bridge a deserved 4-0 win at the SFC Stadium.
Goals from Simon Grand and Jack Baxter either side of a Lucas Weaver brace gave the hosts an unassailable lead at the break, with a goalless second half rounding off a bad day at the office for the travelling Reds.
FC’s afternoon got off to a disappointing start, with Bamber Bridge scoring twice inside the first 10 minutes. The first came with Brig’s first attempt of the game; Michael Potts was afforded space on the edge of the box to pick out a pass, finding Grand on the left side of the area. The forward took one touch before firing low under Conor O’Keefe to give the hosts the lead.
Bamber Bridge doubled their lead in the sixth minute, with the home side’s top scorer Weaver adding another to his tally with a well-executed finish from the right flank. Dec McLoughlin had attempted to cushion down to Guy Hall following a lofted clearance, however Hall could not take the ball in his stride, allowing Weaver the chance to drive down the right. Spotting O’Keefe off his line, Weaver curled an effort just inside the top right corner.
Charlie Munro came close to halving the deficit in the 11th minute with FC’s first sight on goal. From the left channel, Luca Navarro spotted Munro’s run into the box and slipped the ball into his path, with the midfielder driving the ball narrowly wide of the far post on his left foot.
Jordan Buckley was the recipient of another promising United move, stabbing an effort the wrong side of James Pradic’s near left post after good work from Charlie Ennis to find Buckley with a low cross from the right side of the area.
Despite the visitors growing in confidence on the ball after the early double, defensive frailties continued to trouble FC as Weaver netted his second and Bamber Bridge’s third in the 23rd minute. After moving over to the left flank to chase a long ball, Weaver came away with possession and drove into the box, before finding the near bottom corner with a drilled effort on his right.
To round off a nightmare opening 45 minutes for Mark Beesley’s side, Brig came up with a fourth goal in first half stoppage time. McLoughlin’s failure to clear to safety from a corner resulted in the ball falling to Baxter at the edge of the box, whose left footed strike curled away from the diving O’Keefe and into his top left corner.
Half Time: Bamber Bridge 4-0 FC United
Navarro called Pradic into action for the first time not long after the restart, forcing the home ‘keeper to turn round for a corner with an effort across goal from the left side.
Following a lull period in which FC had began to commit more bodies forward, a turnover in midfield nearly led to Weaver completing a hattrick in the 68th minute. With the away backline in retreat, Danny Edwards’ cross-field pass set Weaver in behind, whose eventual shot from inside the area was blocked inside the six yard box.
Gez Sithole was introduced off the bench at half time for his league debut; the former Warrington Town man glanced a close range header just over the bar from a wide delivery in the 75th minute, albeit with the linesman’s flag being raised.
Unlike the first half, the second saw very little in terms of goalmouth action. While not allowing Bamber Bridge to add on to their tally, FC could not create the same volume of chances as they had done before the interval.
4-0 the final scoreline, with Bamber Bridge comfortable in protecting their heavy advantage in the second half.
FC put to the sword as first half flurry gives Brig a deserved victory
FC United suffered a heavy defeat on the road in the Pitching In Northern Premier League as a first half blitz gave Bamber Bridge a deserved 4-0 win at the SFC Stadium.
Goals from Simon Grand and Jack Baxter either side of a Lucas Weaver brace gave the hosts an unassailable lead at the break, with a goalless second half rounding off a bad day at the office for the travelling Reds.
FC’s afternoon got off to a disappointing start, with Bamber Bridge scoring twice inside the first 10 minutes. The first came with Brig’s first attempt of the game; Michael Potts was afforded space on the edge of the box to pick out a pass, finding Grand on the left side of the area. The forward took one touch before firing low under Conor O’Keefe to give the hosts the lead.
Bamber Bridge doubled their lead in the sixth minute, with the home side’s top scorer Weaver adding another to his tally with a well-executed finish from the right flank. Dec McLoughlin had attempted to cushion down to Guy Hall following a lofted clearance, however Hall could not take the ball in his stride, allowing Weaver the chance to drive down the right. Spotting O’Keefe off his line, Weaver curled an effort just inside the top right corner.
Charlie Munro came close to halving the deficit in the 11th minute with FC’s first sight on goal. From the left channel, Luca Navarro spotted Munro’s run into the box and slipped the ball into his path, with the midfielder driving the ball narrowly wide of the far post on his left foot.
Jordan Buckley was the recipient of another promising United move, stabbing an effort the wrong side of James Pradic’s near left post after good work from Charlie Ennis to find Buckley with a low cross from the right side of the area.
Despite the visitors growing in confidence on the ball after the early double, defensive frailties continued to trouble FC as Weaver netted his second and Bamber Bridge’s third in the 23rd minute. After moving over to the left flank to chase a long ball, Weaver came away with possession and drove into the box, before finding the near bottom corner with a drilled effort on his right.
To round off a nightmare opening 45 minutes for Mark Beesley’s side, Brig came up with a fourth goal in first half stoppage time. McLoughlin’s failure to clear to safety from a corner resulted in the ball falling to Baxter at the edge of the box, whose left footed strike curled away from the diving O’Keefe and into his top left corner.
Half Time: Bamber Bridge 4-0 FC United
Navarro called Pradic into action for the first time not long after the restart, forcing the home ‘keeper to turn round for a corner with an effort across goal from the left side.
Following a lull period in which FC had began to commit more bodies forward, a turnover in midfield nearly led to Weaver completing a hattrick in the 68th minute. With the away backline in retreat, Danny Edwards’ cross-field pass set Weaver in behind, whose eventual shot from inside the area was blocked inside the six yard box.
Gez Sithole was introduced off the bench at half time for his league debut; the former Warrington Town man glanced a close range header just over the bar from a wide delivery in the 75th minute, albeit with the linesman’s flag being raised.
Unlike the first half, the second saw very little in terms of goalmouth action. While not allowing Bamber Bridge to add on to their tally, FC could not create the same volume of chances as they had done before the interval.
4-0 the final scoreline, with Bamber Bridge comfortable in protecting their heavy advantage in the second half.
