FC United win on opening day for first time in 11 years
FC United won on the opening day of the season for the first time since 2012 - and they did so in style by beating newly-promoted Worksop Town 3-0 with goals from Michael Donohue, Max Cane and substitute Nic Bollardo in front of 1,786 supporters at Broadhurst Park.
The new-look Reds, who had seven debutants in the starting XI, got off to a flyer against the bookies' second favourites for the title and thoroughy deserved their victory with a performance that exuded belief and confidence.
Despite all the new faces, it was United's most capped player in the current squad, Donohue, who got the opening goal in his 146th competitive appearance for the club. The ever reliable midfielder broke the deadlock after 17 minutes before Cane struck 20 minutes later to give the Reds a two-goal cushion by halftime. United spent long spells of the second half soaking up Worksop pressure before Bollardo came off the bench to seal the victory in the 97th minute.
United showed flashes of the newly acquired talent flowing through the ranks in the early stages of the game, playing long flowing football and using the expanses of the pitch to work the space and look for opportunities.
FC had the better of the early exchanges, with left-winger Jay Fitzmartin, rightback Chieh Thiam and central midfielder Charlie Munro linking up excellently to test the away goalkeeper Adam Hayton into making some smart stops low to the ground.
As the sun broke through the cloud, FC United began to get into their groove. Donohue managed to prod home a whipped in corner that was bouncing around the goalmouth for 1-0.
Fitzmartin was proving to be a real handful for the Tigers cutting in from the wing and testing the goalkeeper to give FC their second corner of the afternoon. The keeper came out to punch the ball away and the resulting volley whistled just wide of the far post.
Worksop’s first real chance on goal would come courtesy of a header which called for a parry of the highest order out of ‘keeper Pat Boyes. Boyes’ reactions was called on once again as Worksop tried to make the most of a free-kick just outside the box, but an acrobatic parry was again enough to keep the Reds ahead.
FC United then had tthe assistance of the Worksop defence, with the righback putting the ball into his own net after a cross from Munro, although Cane was awarded the goal.
The Tigers began trying to funnel their goal threat through their beast of a number ten, Liam Hughes, but the pace of the FC back line was enough to nullify this threat.
Into the second half, Pat Boyes was once again called into action, saving from point blank range to deny the incoming Worksop attackers. FC weren't content to sit back and ramped up the pressure as Thiam produced some trickery which resulted in a lightning speed FC break, but the resulting corner was overhit.
The referee was beginning to lose control of what was turning into an ill-tempered affair at this point, with Luke Griffiths the next to head into the little black book.
FC continued to marshal the away side and keep them subdued. Bollado put the icing on the cake deep into stoppage time when Donohue broke at pace, drawing the Worksop defenders onto him. He then released Bollado who had a clear run to goal - dispatching a cool finish into the bottom corner.
After the match, Neil Reynolds said: “I'm absolutely delighted. The work we have done with the recruitment we have done; I'm not surprised that we’ve won. Of course, I am delighted that we have.
“We played with real freedom today, and the player relationships seemed to be really strong out there. You can see now that we have a hungry side, they are full of energy, and they may be tired, but we’ve made sure that Worksop are coming away from the game today with much more tiredness in the legs. We had strong players out of the 16 today, and we will rotate them as and when we want to, and each of them will get their chance.”
Website man of the match: Luke Griffiths. The match was overflowing with great performances, but Griffiths takes the award for his high energy display which included numerous oustanding passes and plenty of important tackles. A real all-round performance.
Report by Callum Scott and Matthew Haley
FC United win on opening day for first time in 11 years
FC United won on the opening day of the season for the first time since 2012 - and they did so in style by beating newly-promoted Worksop Town 3-0 with goals from Michael Donohue, Max Cane and substitute Nic Bollardo in front of 1,786 supporters at Broadhurst Park.
The new-look Reds, who had seven debutants in the starting XI, got off to a flyer against the bookies' second favourites for the title and thoroughy deserved their victory with a performance that exuded belief and confidence.
Despite all the new faces, it was United's most capped player in the current squad, Donohue, who got the opening goal in his 146th competitive appearance for the club. The ever reliable midfielder broke the deadlock after 17 minutes before Cane struck 20 minutes later to give the Reds a two-goal cushion by halftime. United spent long spells of the second half soaking up Worksop pressure before Bollardo came off the bench to seal the victory in the 97th minute.
United showed flashes of the newly acquired talent flowing through the ranks in the early stages of the game, playing long flowing football and using the expanses of the pitch to work the space and look for opportunities.
FC had the better of the early exchanges, with left-winger Jay Fitzmartin, rightback Chieh Thiam and central midfielder Charlie Munro linking up excellently to test the away goalkeeper Adam Hayton into making some smart stops low to the ground.
As the sun broke through the cloud, FC United began to get into their groove. Donohue managed to prod home a whipped in corner that was bouncing around the goalmouth for 1-0.
Fitzmartin was proving to be a real handful for the Tigers cutting in from the wing and testing the goalkeeper to give FC their second corner of the afternoon. The keeper came out to punch the ball away and the resulting volley whistled just wide of the far post.
Worksop’s first real chance on goal would come courtesy of a header which called for a parry of the highest order out of ‘keeper Pat Boyes. Boyes’ reactions was called on once again as Worksop tried to make the most of a free-kick just outside the box, but an acrobatic parry was again enough to keep the Reds ahead.
FC United then had tthe assistance of the Worksop defence, with the righback putting the ball into his own net after a cross from Munro, although Cane was awarded the goal.
The Tigers began trying to funnel their goal threat through their beast of a number ten, Liam Hughes, but the pace of the FC back line was enough to nullify this threat.
Into the second half, Pat Boyes was once again called into action, saving from point blank range to deny the incoming Worksop attackers. FC weren't content to sit back and ramped up the pressure as Thiam produced some trickery which resulted in a lightning speed FC break, but the resulting corner was overhit.
The referee was beginning to lose control of what was turning into an ill-tempered affair at this point, with Luke Griffiths the next to head into the little black book.
FC continued to marshal the away side and keep them subdued. Bollado put the icing on the cake deep into stoppage time when Donohue broke at pace, drawing the Worksop defenders onto him. He then released Bollado who had a clear run to goal - dispatching a cool finish into the bottom corner.
After the match, Neil Reynolds said: “I'm absolutely delighted. The work we have done with the recruitment we have done; I'm not surprised that we’ve won. Of course, I am delighted that we have.
“We played with real freedom today, and the player relationships seemed to be really strong out there. You can see now that we have a hungry side, they are full of energy, and they may be tired, but we’ve made sure that Worksop are coming away from the game today with much more tiredness in the legs. We had strong players out of the 16 today, and we will rotate them as and when we want to, and each of them will get their chance.”
Website man of the match: Luke Griffiths. The match was overflowing with great performances, but Griffiths takes the award for his high energy display which included numerous oustanding passes and plenty of important tackles. A real all-round performance.
Report by Callum Scott and Matthew Haley
