FC United stay top of the table with win at Marske
FC United of Manchester continued their excellent recent league form with a gritty 0-2 away win at Marske United on Saturday in front of 735 fans at the Teeside club's Mount Pleasant ground.
A goal in each half, courtesy of Regan Linney and substitute Tavonga Kuleya, were enough to give Neil Reynolds' side three points on the road and extended their run as leaders of the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
This was always going to be a tough game for The Reds as they came up against a physical and dogged Marske side, who were unbeaten at home going into Saturday's league game. To FC United's enormous credit, they stood resilient for the full ninety minutes, posting in another impressive team performance, looking solid in defence and formidable going forward in the process.
As the game kicked off, a strong wind blew in from the nearby North Sea, bending the long blades of grass on the home side's decidedly unloved-looking pitch. Marske had opted to kick off with the wind behind them to carry the ball to their left wing, and enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, playing a series of quick, high balls towards their tall and imposing attacking line. This culminated in an excellent early chance for striker Adam Boyes, who was unlucky to send a shot just high of the crossbar in the 15th minute from the middle of the penalty area.
United looked happy to weather the storm brought by their opponents, creating chances going forward when the opportunity arose. After some patient play, they had their lead in the 26th minute when Regan Linney made the most of a long ball, expertly played out of from the back by Curtis Jones. The United forward won a footrace to the ball against Marske's Rio May, before shrugging off a challenge from the centre back and calmly side-footing the ball past goalkeeper Ryan Catterick to put his side ahead.
For the remainder of the half United looked very much in control of proceedings, standing tall as a unit as Marske pressed at them in search of an equaliser. The Reds went close to doubling their lead towards the half-time break, only to bring out the best from Marske keeper Catterick who pulled off a fine double save, first repelling Regan Linney's close range shot, before bounding back towards his goal line and thwarting a rebounded effort from substitute Kuleya.
The second half started much as the first had ended, with United soaking up the threat posed by their opponents, and happy to play patient football. It has to be said that the defensive spine of the team looked possibly as good as it has all season, with the team also benefiting from the width and creativity brought through Linney and Callum Gribbin.
It was no real surprise then when on the 60th minute, United had their second goal of the afternoon. A defensive mix up between Catterick and centre-back Glen Butterworth saw the keeper slice a clearance straight into the path of Tavonga Kuleya. The FC United forward only needed to calmly bring the ball under control and drill it over the touchline to double his team's lead.
To their credit Marske worked hard to get back into the match, constantly testing the United defence with a series of aerial balls, drawing a sequence of fine saves from FC keeper Wyll Stanway throughout the afternoon. The home team's possible best chance came late on in the game when midfielder Theo Hudson fizzed a potent shot towards United's net only to see an acrobatic save from Stanway, who pushed the ball out of play with an outstretched hand.
After the game, Neil Reynolds praised his side's committed performance and the spirit within the FC squad, saying: “There's a strong mentality in there. It was hard work and we had to withstand a bit of pressure, especially in the second half, but I thought to a man we were excellent today.”
Man of the Match: Tavonga Kuleya. An exciting performance capped off with a deserved goal.
Report by Sam Turner
FC United stay top of the table with win at Marske
FC United of Manchester continued their excellent recent league form with a gritty 0-2 away win at Marske United on Saturday in front of 735 fans at the Teeside club's Mount Pleasant ground.
A goal in each half, courtesy of Regan Linney and substitute Tavonga Kuleya, were enough to give Neil Reynolds' side three points on the road and extended their run as leaders of the Pitching In Northern Premier League.
This was always going to be a tough game for The Reds as they came up against a physical and dogged Marske side, who were unbeaten at home going into Saturday's league game. To FC United's enormous credit, they stood resilient for the full ninety minutes, posting in another impressive team performance, looking solid in defence and formidable going forward in the process.
As the game kicked off, a strong wind blew in from the nearby North Sea, bending the long blades of grass on the home side's decidedly unloved-looking pitch. Marske had opted to kick off with the wind behind them to carry the ball to their left wing, and enjoyed the better of the opening exchanges, playing a series of quick, high balls towards their tall and imposing attacking line. This culminated in an excellent early chance for striker Adam Boyes, who was unlucky to send a shot just high of the crossbar in the 15th minute from the middle of the penalty area.
United looked happy to weather the storm brought by their opponents, creating chances going forward when the opportunity arose. After some patient play, they had their lead in the 26th minute when Regan Linney made the most of a long ball, expertly played out of from the back by Curtis Jones. The United forward won a footrace to the ball against Marske's Rio May, before shrugging off a challenge from the centre back and calmly side-footing the ball past goalkeeper Ryan Catterick to put his side ahead.
For the remainder of the half United looked very much in control of proceedings, standing tall as a unit as Marske pressed at them in search of an equaliser. The Reds went close to doubling their lead towards the half-time break, only to bring out the best from Marske keeper Catterick who pulled off a fine double save, first repelling Regan Linney's close range shot, before bounding back towards his goal line and thwarting a rebounded effort from substitute Kuleya.
The second half started much as the first had ended, with United soaking up the threat posed by their opponents, and happy to play patient football. It has to be said that the defensive spine of the team looked possibly as good as it has all season, with the team also benefiting from the width and creativity brought through Linney and Callum Gribbin.
It was no real surprise then when on the 60th minute, United had their second goal of the afternoon. A defensive mix up between Catterick and centre-back Glen Butterworth saw the keeper slice a clearance straight into the path of Tavonga Kuleya. The FC United forward only needed to calmly bring the ball under control and drill it over the touchline to double his team's lead.
To their credit Marske worked hard to get back into the match, constantly testing the United defence with a series of aerial balls, drawing a sequence of fine saves from FC keeper Wyll Stanway throughout the afternoon. The home team's possible best chance came late on in the game when midfielder Theo Hudson fizzed a potent shot towards United's net only to see an acrobatic save from Stanway, who pushed the ball out of play with an outstretched hand.
After the game, Neil Reynolds praised his side's committed performance and the spirit within the FC squad, saying: “There's a strong mentality in there. It was hard work and we had to withstand a bit of pressure, especially in the second half, but I thought to a man we were excellent today.”
Man of the Match: Tavonga Kuleya. An exciting performance capped off with a deserved goal.
Report by Sam Turner
