FC United hold on to beat Gainsborough Trinity
FC United made it four wins in a row with a 3-2 victory over Gainsborough Trinity in front of 1,698 supporters at Broadhurst Park on Saturday afternoon with goals from Adam Dodd, Sam Burns and Regan Linney.
The Reds were 3-0 up and looking comfortable before the hour mark, however a spirited fightback by the visitors with late goals from Javon Makamba and Toby Gould created a nervous finale as they threatened to steal a point. Thankfully, United saw out the match to take victory.
Following a respectfully observed playing of The Last Post, laying of a wreath and a minute's silence ahead of Remembrance Day this week, it was Trinity that kicked us off on a drizzly November Saturday, but it was FC that were out to stamp authority on the game in the early exchanges. Every bounce, every second ball, it seemed like there was a man in red there looking to force a mistake. The greasy surface was something that went in favour of the home side, being able to play in a wide, expansive style that delighted the FC United faithful.
It took just two minutes for the work that the team has been putting in off the field to begin to show, as FC worked chance after chance, and covered well at the back to prevent them being exposed in ways that they have done too many times this season.
Really, Gainsborough should have had the lead around the 27th minute where Trinity number 10 Alex Wollerton broke free of the FC defence, rounded reds ‘Keeper Dan Lavercombe but somehow the ball was kept out of the net by a last gasp goal line clearance by Aaron Morris and a hasty clear of the ball.
It was when FC got down the other end of the field where we would see the first goal of the afternoon, and boy was it worth the wait. A cynical foul around 20 yards out led to a free-kick in a brilliant area, and Dodd made no mistake, firing a peach of a ball into the top corner of the goal - no goalkeeper was keeping it out.
As he ran over to the touchline to celebrate with the FC backroom staff, the trust and the cohesion of this team that manager Neil Reynolds has managed to cultivate was evident.
One thing that FC really did well today was the recycling of the ball from defence to attack, with the slick fast plays making it look almost seamless at times, and this ferocity and speed proved to be the Holy Blues’ downfall. As both sides went in for their half time oranges, it was clear that if FC could maintain this pressure, more goals were yet to come.
The second half began in much the same fashion to the first, end-to-end, scrappy, but with FC on top. It took until just five minutes into the second half for FC United to net their second. Burns, on loan from Blackburn Rovers, took hold of a loose ball well outside the area, and as he was urged to shoot by the FC faithful, he wilfully obliged as his shot cannoned off the inside of the far post and gently nestled into the net to make 2-0.
By this point, United were really turning the screw on Gainsborough, not letting them have a second to breathe, and in just four minutes, FC would have a third. This time it was Linney with the goal that looked to set FC up for a grandstand finish, however there were twists and turns left in this one.
Trinity made a double change around the 58-minute mark, handing an off-the-bench debut to Makama, also bringing on Cieron Keane. It was these substitutions that would ensure there were a few bitten fingernails in Broadhurst Park for the dying embers of the game.
It took just 17 minutes for Makama to make an impact as he managed to get on the end of a ball that seemed to catch FC off guard, making it 3-1. It did at this point seem like Trinity were finding the form that they had been displaying throughout the season up to this point.
The pressure kept coming from the blues, and as well as FC were defending the chances, it seemed like they were all at sea when the ball hit the net to make it 3-2. It was a goal in the 82nd minute from Gould, as he curled it neatly past Lavercombe, and now FC’s comfortable lead wasn’t looking so comfortable.
A nervy four minutes were added on for stoppages, and Trinity did have a chance, however this ultimately came to nothing, and it ensured that FC were able to claim all three points and they go into Tuesday’s game at Whitby in a much better – and much more confident position.
After the game, FC manager Neil Reynolds had this to say: “It was important that we put recent defeats to bed as soon as possible and since then we’ve won four out of four. Sometimes I doesn’t matter how you win it, today I’m a little bit deflated that we didn’t win the game more comfortable. I was looking forward to their manager saying ‘what a great side you’ve got’ – but at the end we showed our naivety and our youthfulness at times. It doesn’t feel like a defeat because a win is a win, but it doesn’t feel like it should feel and that for me is a bit of a kick in the teeth. I’ve got really high standards.
“Imagine me stood here now at 3-3 and we’ve given away a three-goal lead, its unthinkable after how we played. We were exciting, we scored good goals and you have to look at the goals we conceded – it wasn’t good enough. In that dressing room we pride ourselves on high standards and we’ve conceded sloppy goals this season. I’ve said many times that we’ve had injuries, well we haven’t today, we had a full side out, Donoghue is suspended but you have to prevent them goals from going in the back of the net.”
When asked how happy he was to hear Cian Hayes being called up for the Ireland Under-21 squad: “I’m happy with the lads that have come in on loan in general. Their attitudes are exemplary, they’re winners and although Cian will be leaving us for 10 days, what an accolade for him. We can say that we’ve had an international player in our side today and I’m sure he'll be back in the side after his time away doing what he did today. Also I want to say a massive thank you to Fleetwood, Blackpool and Blackburn, just thankful for letting us look after their players. We have an agreement in principle to extend Burns’ loan so it might be that they are happy with his development, but we will have to see.”
Report by Callum Scott
FC United hold on to beat Gainsborough Trinity
FC United made it four wins in a row with a 3-2 victory over Gainsborough Trinity in front of 1,698 supporters at Broadhurst Park on Saturday afternoon with goals from Adam Dodd, Sam Burns and Regan Linney.
The Reds were 3-0 up and looking comfortable before the hour mark, however a spirited fightback by the visitors with late goals from Javon Makamba and Toby Gould created a nervous finale as they threatened to steal a point. Thankfully, United saw out the match to take victory.
Following a respectfully observed playing of The Last Post, laying of a wreath and a minute's silence ahead of Remembrance Day this week, it was Trinity that kicked us off on a drizzly November Saturday, but it was FC that were out to stamp authority on the game in the early exchanges. Every bounce, every second ball, it seemed like there was a man in red there looking to force a mistake. The greasy surface was something that went in favour of the home side, being able to play in a wide, expansive style that delighted the FC United faithful.
It took just two minutes for the work that the team has been putting in off the field to begin to show, as FC worked chance after chance, and covered well at the back to prevent them being exposed in ways that they have done too many times this season.
Really, Gainsborough should have had the lead around the 27th minute where Trinity number 10 Alex Wollerton broke free of the FC defence, rounded reds ‘Keeper Dan Lavercombe but somehow the ball was kept out of the net by a last gasp goal line clearance by Aaron Morris and a hasty clear of the ball.
It was when FC got down the other end of the field where we would see the first goal of the afternoon, and boy was it worth the wait. A cynical foul around 20 yards out led to a free-kick in a brilliant area, and Dodd made no mistake, firing a peach of a ball into the top corner of the goal - no goalkeeper was keeping it out.
As he ran over to the touchline to celebrate with the FC backroom staff, the trust and the cohesion of this team that manager Neil Reynolds has managed to cultivate was evident.
One thing that FC really did well today was the recycling of the ball from defence to attack, with the slick fast plays making it look almost seamless at times, and this ferocity and speed proved to be the Holy Blues’ downfall. As both sides went in for their half time oranges, it was clear that if FC could maintain this pressure, more goals were yet to come.
The second half began in much the same fashion to the first, end-to-end, scrappy, but with FC on top. It took until just five minutes into the second half for FC United to net their second. Burns, on loan from Blackburn Rovers, took hold of a loose ball well outside the area, and as he was urged to shoot by the FC faithful, he wilfully obliged as his shot cannoned off the inside of the far post and gently nestled into the net to make 2-0.
By this point, United were really turning the screw on Gainsborough, not letting them have a second to breathe, and in just four minutes, FC would have a third. This time it was Linney with the goal that looked to set FC up for a grandstand finish, however there were twists and turns left in this one.
Trinity made a double change around the 58-minute mark, handing an off-the-bench debut to Makama, also bringing on Cieron Keane. It was these substitutions that would ensure there were a few bitten fingernails in Broadhurst Park for the dying embers of the game.
It took just 17 minutes for Makama to make an impact as he managed to get on the end of a ball that seemed to catch FC off guard, making it 3-1. It did at this point seem like Trinity were finding the form that they had been displaying throughout the season up to this point.
The pressure kept coming from the blues, and as well as FC were defending the chances, it seemed like they were all at sea when the ball hit the net to make it 3-2. It was a goal in the 82nd minute from Gould, as he curled it neatly past Lavercombe, and now FC’s comfortable lead wasn’t looking so comfortable.
A nervy four minutes were added on for stoppages, and Trinity did have a chance, however this ultimately came to nothing, and it ensured that FC were able to claim all three points and they go into Tuesday’s game at Whitby in a much better – and much more confident position.
After the game, FC manager Neil Reynolds had this to say: “It was important that we put recent defeats to bed as soon as possible and since then we’ve won four out of four. Sometimes I doesn’t matter how you win it, today I’m a little bit deflated that we didn’t win the game more comfortable. I was looking forward to their manager saying ‘what a great side you’ve got’ – but at the end we showed our naivety and our youthfulness at times. It doesn’t feel like a defeat because a win is a win, but it doesn’t feel like it should feel and that for me is a bit of a kick in the teeth. I’ve got really high standards.
“Imagine me stood here now at 3-3 and we’ve given away a three-goal lead, its unthinkable after how we played. We were exciting, we scored good goals and you have to look at the goals we conceded – it wasn’t good enough. In that dressing room we pride ourselves on high standards and we’ve conceded sloppy goals this season. I’ve said many times that we’ve had injuries, well we haven’t today, we had a full side out, Donoghue is suspended but you have to prevent them goals from going in the back of the net.”
When asked how happy he was to hear Cian Hayes being called up for the Ireland Under-21 squad: “I’m happy with the lads that have come in on loan in general. Their attitudes are exemplary, they’re winners and although Cian will be leaving us for 10 days, what an accolade for him. We can say that we’ve had an international player in our side today and I’m sure he'll be back in the side after his time away doing what he did today. Also I want to say a massive thank you to Fleetwood, Blackpool and Blackburn, just thankful for letting us look after their players. We have an agreement in principle to extend Burns’ loan so it might be that they are happy with his development, but we will have to see.”
Report by Callum Scott
