FC United draw eight goal thriller with Hyde
A late equaliser by teenage loanee Josiah Dyer rescued a four-all draw with second placed Hyde United in an action packed and entertaining game at Broadhurst Park in front of 1,764 supporters on Saturday afternoon.
The pulsating, topsy-turvy contest saw the visitors take a seventh minute lead, before United responded emphatically to go 3-1 up in the next 30 minutes, courtesy of an own goal by Tigers captain Bradley Roscoe and two Charlie Ennis penalties.
The visitors responded instantly to make it 3-2 and the Reds were pegged back to 3-3 on the stroke of halftime. Hyde then found themselves 4-3 up with 13 minutes to go before Barnsley striker Dyer – son of former Crystal Palace forward Bruce Dyer – bagged a deserved equaliser with 10 minutes before the end for the Reds.
Games at Broadhurst Park should come with a warning – ‘Avert your eyes from the pitch at your own peril’ – because it seems anyone who makes a mid-match trip to the toilet, bar or food stall currently risks missing a goal or three.
There have been 16 goals in our last three matches in Moston and it feels like a goal could be scored at any moment at either end.
Will Russ bagged a brace on his return to Broadhurst Park. The young Fleetwood forward was making his debut for Hyde following eight appearances for FC United earlier in the season, including scoring a hat-trick in his final game against Morpeth in October.
Russ broke the deadlock with a fierce strike from the edge of the box after Jack Redshaw had caught Callum Gribbin in possession as United were too casual whilst playing the ball out from the back.
But United were on level terms quarter of an hour in due to a comical own goal. Goalkeeper Dan Atherton got down low on his goal line to parry Alex Wollerton’s cross from the right but the ball bounced up to hit Roscoe on the head and went over the line for 1-1.
On 28 minutes, Regan Linney got into the action and won a penalty as his legs were swept from underneath him. Ennis rifled in his first spot-kick of the day high to the keeper’s left to make it 2-1.
Seven minutes later, Ennis had another penalty to despatch after Gribbin dribbled into the box and tricked the Hyde defence into making some fairly minimal contact. The FC United captain went to the keeper’s left again, but this time he struck hard and low into the side-netting. A great penalty.
United were looking good value for their 3-1 lead and had less than 10 minutes to try to take their two-goal cushion into the interval. But it lasted less than 60 seconds. Sloppy defending and a slice of luck on the muddy surface allowed Tom Pratt to blast home his first goal of the day from close range to make it 3-2.
There was nothing lucky or sloppy about Pratt’s second goal on the stroke of halftime though. A long throw-in in front of the Main Stand was flicked on in the box and Pratt swivelled to hit a first-time half-volley past Dan Lavercombe into the far corner for 3-3.
The second half may have only produced two goals but there was still plenty of action at both ends with both goalkeepers called into action, both teams hitting a post, and Hyde fitting the outside of the side-netting with reassuring regularity from a Reds perspective.
However, United were exposed far too often on the break, particularly down the right wing, and Hyde had a hatful of good chances down the flanks before eventually taking the lead in the 77th minute. The Reds found themselves outnumbered three-on-two at the back when Russ checked inside to skip pass centre-back Andy Halls with ease before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner for 4-3.
Unperturbed, United drew level just three minutes later. Linney could have gone down in the box when he had his heels clipped, but the Reds’ talisman stayed on his feet, got to the byline, turned back and then forth with a Cruyff turn to fool the defender before blasting a ball across goal where Dyer was on hand to turn home a priceless equaliser.
Broadhurst Park erupted and United had their tails up. Could they find a winner? Almost. There was one last throw of the dice in stoppage time when Ennis launched a free-kick into the penalty area.
Nobody got a clean touch on the high cross and a panicked clearance was blasted into a crowd of players with the ball ricocheting onto the post before being turned away for a corner. It would have been a scrappy winner, but one United would have gladly taken. That proved to be the last action of an enthralling game.
Website man of the match: Charlie Ennis. Some fantastic attacking performances across the pitch but United’s captain was in the thick of the action throughout. Ennis’ spotkick double put United in the driving seat and the importance of having a confident and clinical penalty taker shouldn’t be underestimated.
Report by Matthew Haley
FC United draw eight goal thriller with Hyde
A late equaliser by teenage loanee Josiah Dyer rescued a four-all draw with second placed Hyde United in an action packed and entertaining game at Broadhurst Park in front of 1,764 supporters on Saturday afternoon.
The pulsating, topsy-turvy contest saw the visitors take a seventh minute lead, before United responded emphatically to go 3-1 up in the next 30 minutes, courtesy of an own goal by Tigers captain Bradley Roscoe and two Charlie Ennis penalties.
The visitors responded instantly to make it 3-2 and the Reds were pegged back to 3-3 on the stroke of halftime. Hyde then found themselves 4-3 up with 13 minutes to go before Barnsley striker Dyer – son of former Crystal Palace forward Bruce Dyer – bagged a deserved equaliser with 10 minutes before the end for the Reds.
Games at Broadhurst Park should come with a warning – ‘Avert your eyes from the pitch at your own peril’ – because it seems anyone who makes a mid-match trip to the toilet, bar or food stall currently risks missing a goal or three.
There have been 16 goals in our last three matches in Moston and it feels like a goal could be scored at any moment at either end.
Will Russ bagged a brace on his return to Broadhurst Park. The young Fleetwood forward was making his debut for Hyde following eight appearances for FC United earlier in the season, including scoring a hat-trick in his final game against Morpeth in October.
Russ broke the deadlock with a fierce strike from the edge of the box after Jack Redshaw had caught Callum Gribbin in possession as United were too casual whilst playing the ball out from the back.
But United were on level terms quarter of an hour in due to a comical own goal. Goalkeeper Dan Atherton got down low on his goal line to parry Alex Wollerton’s cross from the right but the ball bounced up to hit Roscoe on the head and went over the line for 1-1.
On 28 minutes, Regan Linney got into the action and won a penalty as his legs were swept from underneath him. Ennis rifled in his first spot-kick of the day high to the keeper’s left to make it 2-1.
Seven minutes later, Ennis had another penalty to despatch after Gribbin dribbled into the box and tricked the Hyde defence into making some fairly minimal contact. The FC United captain went to the keeper’s left again, but this time he struck hard and low into the side-netting. A great penalty.
United were looking good value for their 3-1 lead and had less than 10 minutes to try to take their two-goal cushion into the interval. But it lasted less than 60 seconds. Sloppy defending and a slice of luck on the muddy surface allowed Tom Pratt to blast home his first goal of the day from close range to make it 3-2.
There was nothing lucky or sloppy about Pratt’s second goal on the stroke of halftime though. A long throw-in in front of the Main Stand was flicked on in the box and Pratt swivelled to hit a first-time half-volley past Dan Lavercombe into the far corner for 3-3.
The second half may have only produced two goals but there was still plenty of action at both ends with both goalkeepers called into action, both teams hitting a post, and Hyde fitting the outside of the side-netting with reassuring regularity from a Reds perspective.
However, United were exposed far too often on the break, particularly down the right wing, and Hyde had a hatful of good chances down the flanks before eventually taking the lead in the 77th minute. The Reds found themselves outnumbered three-on-two at the back when Russ checked inside to skip pass centre-back Andy Halls with ease before slotting the ball into the bottom left corner for 4-3.
Unperturbed, United drew level just three minutes later. Linney could have gone down in the box when he had his heels clipped, but the Reds’ talisman stayed on his feet, got to the byline, turned back and then forth with a Cruyff turn to fool the defender before blasting a ball across goal where Dyer was on hand to turn home a priceless equaliser.
Broadhurst Park erupted and United had their tails up. Could they find a winner? Almost. There was one last throw of the dice in stoppage time when Ennis launched a free-kick into the penalty area.
Nobody got a clean touch on the high cross and a panicked clearance was blasted into a crowd of players with the ball ricocheting onto the post before being turned away for a corner. It would have been a scrappy winner, but one United would have gladly taken. That proved to be the last action of an enthralling game.
Website man of the match: Charlie Ennis. Some fantastic attacking performances across the pitch but United’s captain was in the thick of the action throughout. Ennis’ spotkick double put United in the driving seat and the importance of having a confident and clinical penalty taker shouldn’t be underestimated.
Report by Matthew Haley
