Match Report
FC United slipped to a 3-2 defeat away to Kendal Town on Tuesday night despite briefly leading 2-1 with the Reds’ goals coming from Simon Carden and Jerome Wright - with the latter getting on the score-sheet for the fifth time in six games.
It was a tale of three free-kicks undoing FC United at the Lakeland Radio Stadium as the Reds were beaten by an industrious Kendal Town side, bringing to an end our four game winning streak.
The Reds were undone by a double from on-loan Southport centre-back Shaun Gray and Carl Osman continues to trouble FC United - the younger brother of Everton’s Leon Osman scored his fifth goal in three seasons against our club.
It was the home side that started the better, with the dangerous Osman firing wide on four minutes. Down at the other end, FC United’s most capped player Carden had the first chance for the visitors with a shot that was saved by David Newnes.
With just over 10 minutes played, there was a scramble in the FC United box when Sam Ashton mis-kicked a clearance but the shot was fired wide. Midway through the first-half, Mike Norton had a decent shot saved by Newnes after a good passage of play from FC.
Norton had another couple of great chances on the half hour, with Newnes pushing a shot around the post before the striker sent a free header wide when he possibly could have done better.
The game flared up 10 minutes before the break when a 50/50 ball was contested by Jake Cottrell and Chris Ward, with the Kendal No 11 being left on the floor. The contact did appear to be minimal but that didn’t prevent players from both sides coming together.
Once the calm was restored, Cottrell was booked and the free-kick was lifted into the box by Keiran Walmsley where it was headed in by Gray to give Town the lead. This lead lasted just two minutes when a good move down the left saw a cross find Matthew Wolfenden, who slid the ball to Carden to side-foot into the net.
The second half couldn’t have started any better for FC United when a long ball was badly misjudged by Kendal substitute goalkeeper Tom Newton who raced out of his goal only to be beaten to the ball by Wright. The winger toe-poked the ball towards goal and it just crossed the line, despite the attempts by George Melling to keep it out.
Sadly, United’s lead also only lasted two minutes. Wright conceded a free-kick on the right touchline and the ball was again whipped in by Walmsley before being headed in by Osman - the smallest player on the pitch.
It could have been worse a couple of minutes later, when Ashton misjudged a cross from the right but did well to save the resultant shot. The Reds, playing in their blue away strip, did continue to press as the game ebbed and flowed, Cottrell seeing a shot blocked and Norton having a chance saved.
On 69 minutes , Kendal retook the lead with a rasping free-kick from the edge of the box by Gray that flew into the top corner giving Ashton no chance at all. In injury-time FC had a golden chance to equalise when a corner dropped to Nicky Platt right in front of goal, but he mis-kicked with the goal begging.
All in all, a good game on a difficult pitch but FC United manager Karl Marginson will be ruing the fact that all three goals conceded came from set pieces.
Report by Steven Wood
Match Report
FC United slipped to a 3-2 defeat away to Kendal Town on Tuesday night despite briefly leading 2-1 with the Reds’ goals coming from Simon Carden and Jerome Wright - with the latter getting on the score-sheet for the fifth time in six games.
It was a tale of three free-kicks undoing FC United at the Lakeland Radio Stadium as the Reds were beaten by an industrious Kendal Town side, bringing to an end our four game winning streak.
The Reds were undone by a double from on-loan Southport centre-back Shaun Gray and Carl Osman continues to trouble FC United - the younger brother of Everton’s Leon Osman scored his fifth goal in three seasons against our club.
It was the home side that started the better, with the dangerous Osman firing wide on four minutes. Down at the other end, FC United’s most capped player Carden had the first chance for the visitors with a shot that was saved by David Newnes.
With just over 10 minutes played, there was a scramble in the FC United box when Sam Ashton mis-kicked a clearance but the shot was fired wide. Midway through the first-half, Mike Norton had a decent shot saved by Newnes after a good passage of play from FC.
Norton had another couple of great chances on the half hour, with Newnes pushing a shot around the post before the striker sent a free header wide when he possibly could have done better.
The game flared up 10 minutes before the break when a 50/50 ball was contested by Jake Cottrell and Chris Ward, with the Kendal No 11 being left on the floor. The contact did appear to be minimal but that didn’t prevent players from both sides coming together.
Once the calm was restored, Cottrell was booked and the free-kick was lifted into the box by Keiran Walmsley where it was headed in by Gray to give Town the lead. This lead lasted just two minutes when a good move down the left saw a cross find Matthew Wolfenden, who slid the ball to Carden to side-foot into the net.
The second half couldn’t have started any better for FC United when a long ball was badly misjudged by Kendal substitute goalkeeper Tom Newton who raced out of his goal only to be beaten to the ball by Wright. The winger toe-poked the ball towards goal and it just crossed the line, despite the attempts by George Melling to keep it out.
Sadly, United’s lead also only lasted two minutes. Wright conceded a free-kick on the right touchline and the ball was again whipped in by Walmsley before being headed in by Osman - the smallest player on the pitch.
It could have been worse a couple of minutes later, when Ashton misjudged a cross from the right but did well to save the resultant shot. The Reds, playing in their blue away strip, did continue to press as the game ebbed and flowed, Cottrell seeing a shot blocked and Norton having a chance saved.
On 69 minutes , Kendal retook the lead with a rasping free-kick from the edge of the box by Gray that flew into the top corner giving Ashton no chance at all. In injury-time FC had a golden chance to equalise when a corner dropped to Nicky Platt right in front of goal, but he mis-kicked with the goal begging.
All in all, a good game on a difficult pitch but FC United manager Karl Marginson will be ruing the fact that all three goals conceded came from set pieces.
Report by Steven Wood