Match Report
Kyle Wilson hit a hat-trick as FC United thrashed Nantwich Town 6-1 at the Weaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,171 supporters.
Ben Deegan, Simon Carden and Jerome Wright got the other goals as the rampant Reds demolished the Dabbers in the thick Cheshire fog.
United controlled the game from the off and went one ahead after just five minutes through on-loan striker Wilson. Lennon grabbed an equaliser five minutes later but then the Reds stepped up a gear with Wilson and Carden both getting on the scoresheet to make it 3-1 at half-time.
Deegan added a fourth two minutes after the restart to put the game beyond doubt but then it was another 25 minutes before Wilson set up Wright for the fifth. The Macclesfield forward completed his hat-trick and the rout 11 minutes before the end.
In recognition of the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, former Busby Babe Ronnie Cope was the special guest at the Weaver Stadium. Cope made his first team debut for United in 1956 and began playing regularly at centre-back for the first team following the tragedy in Munich.
Cope also played alongside Duncan Edwards in the 23-0 demolition of Nantwich Town in the FA Youth Cup’s inaugural season in 1952/53. In the twilight of his career, Cope played for Nantwich Town. All players wore black armbands in commemoration of those who lost their lives as a result of tragedy.
The opening minutes of the game saw FC looking to threaten the Nantwich defence at every opportunity and United could have scored less than five minutes in when Deegan rose in the six-yard box to head a Phil Marsh cross onto the bar.
Early pressure paid off for the Reds as Wilson scored for the first time since his return to the club. A well placed ball from Adam Tong was played forward to Wilson who beat his man and fired his initial shot under the onrushing keeper. Wilson then rounded Jones and had little to do but slide the ball over the line.
Despite continued pressure from United, it was the Dabbers who were next on the score sheet as the long serving Lennon produced an equaliser ten minutes in. A Nantwich free kick was picked up by Lennon who turned and shot across Sam Ashton into the far bottom corner.
Halfway through the first period, Wilson put the Reds ahead once more. Wright’s cross from the left into Deegan fell to Wilson on the edge of the area who had time to set up his powerful drive past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Looking to increase the lead, United continued to push forward, with good spells of one touch passing and attacking play to pressure the home side’s defence. Deegan also almost profited from a weak Nantwich back pass, as the centre forward went one-on-one with Jones, who pulled off a fine one-handed save to deny FC.
Persistence and hard work in the midfield saw Jake Cotterell able to close down the Nantwich defence and push the ball through to Wilson whose storming shot on target from 25 yards out was denied only by an excellent tip-over from Jones.
FC United wrapped up an impressive first half performance with a third goal, this time coming from Simon Carden. Wright’s corner from the left fell to Wilson on the edge of the 18 yard box, who hit his shot on goal low and hard through the crowded area. Jones did well to get down to his left to parry the initial shot; however Carden was on hand at the post to blast the ball into the roof of the net.
As the second half of the game got underway, the heavy fog continued to shroud the Weaver Stadium. However, the weather conditions weren’t enough to stop the on-target Reds who increased the goal margin once again.
Deegan topped off an industrious performance with a goal two minutes into the half. The striker beat the keeper to a poor back pass from Ross Davidson and as Jones went down, Deegan was first to react and picked up the loose ball to fire into the net, past two defenders on the line.
United also held firm at the back, with Tong clearing a corner off the line, and minutes later Ludovic Quistin ending Lennon’s attacking run into the box with a strong defensive tackle.
Marsh’s cross into the six-yard box was picked up by the unmarked Deegan who saw his header on goal denied by another good save from Jones. The Dabbers’ keeper was arguably the one who prevented FC from scoring a handful more goals.
With less than 20 minutes of the game remaining and the fog showing no signs of easing off, United’s left back, Quistin, was dismissed following a second yellow card. As the ball was played through the fog, Quistin jumped for a defensive header and the ball was deemed to have touched his arm. As a result Cotterell moved to left back for the remainder of the game.
A minute later, FC showed no signs of being a man down, going forward and firing a fifth past the Dabbers. Wilson latched onto a decent ball from Carden and a clever pass inside to Wright saw the winger run forward one-on-one with Jones and slot the ball past the keeper to top off a well-worked move.
On 79 minutes, Wilson wrapped up an impressive performance, achieving his hat-trick and notching United’s sixth of the afternoon. The ball was well won by Kyle Jacobs who played the ball over the top to Wilson on the edge of the 18 yard box. Wilson hit the ball first time on his left foot and fired it low and hard off the post into the bottom right hand corner.
Having more than sealed his return to FC, Wilson was replaced by Joseph Yoffe. The Reds continued to go forward until the final whistle and the last action of the game came when a speculative effort by Yoffe saw the keeper make yet another good stop down to his right.
Report by Victoria Fullen.
Match Report
Kyle Wilson hit a hat-trick as FC United thrashed Nantwich Town 6-1 at the Weaver Stadium on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,171 supporters.
Ben Deegan, Simon Carden and Jerome Wright got the other goals as the rampant Reds demolished the Dabbers in the thick Cheshire fog.
United controlled the game from the off and went one ahead after just five minutes through on-loan striker Wilson. Lennon grabbed an equaliser five minutes later but then the Reds stepped up a gear with Wilson and Carden both getting on the scoresheet to make it 3-1 at half-time.
Deegan added a fourth two minutes after the restart to put the game beyond doubt but then it was another 25 minutes before Wilson set up Wright for the fifth. The Macclesfield forward completed his hat-trick and the rout 11 minutes before the end.
In recognition of the 52nd anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, former Busby Babe Ronnie Cope was the special guest at the Weaver Stadium. Cope made his first team debut for United in 1956 and began playing regularly at centre-back for the first team following the tragedy in Munich.
Cope also played alongside Duncan Edwards in the 23-0 demolition of Nantwich Town in the FA Youth Cup’s inaugural season in 1952/53. In the twilight of his career, Cope played for Nantwich Town. All players wore black armbands in commemoration of those who lost their lives as a result of tragedy.
The opening minutes of the game saw FC looking to threaten the Nantwich defence at every opportunity and United could have scored less than five minutes in when Deegan rose in the six-yard box to head a Phil Marsh cross onto the bar.
Early pressure paid off for the Reds as Wilson scored for the first time since his return to the club. A well placed ball from Adam Tong was played forward to Wilson who beat his man and fired his initial shot under the onrushing keeper. Wilson then rounded Jones and had little to do but slide the ball over the line.
Despite continued pressure from United, it was the Dabbers who were next on the score sheet as the long serving Lennon produced an equaliser ten minutes in. A Nantwich free kick was picked up by Lennon who turned and shot across Sam Ashton into the far bottom corner.
Halfway through the first period, Wilson put the Reds ahead once more. Wright’s cross from the left into Deegan fell to Wilson on the edge of the area who had time to set up his powerful drive past the keeper and into the back of the net.
Looking to increase the lead, United continued to push forward, with good spells of one touch passing and attacking play to pressure the home side’s defence. Deegan also almost profited from a weak Nantwich back pass, as the centre forward went one-on-one with Jones, who pulled off a fine one-handed save to deny FC.
Persistence and hard work in the midfield saw Jake Cotterell able to close down the Nantwich defence and push the ball through to Wilson whose storming shot on target from 25 yards out was denied only by an excellent tip-over from Jones.
FC United wrapped up an impressive first half performance with a third goal, this time coming from Simon Carden. Wright’s corner from the left fell to Wilson on the edge of the 18 yard box, who hit his shot on goal low and hard through the crowded area. Jones did well to get down to his left to parry the initial shot; however Carden was on hand at the post to blast the ball into the roof of the net.
As the second half of the game got underway, the heavy fog continued to shroud the Weaver Stadium. However, the weather conditions weren’t enough to stop the on-target Reds who increased the goal margin once again.
Deegan topped off an industrious performance with a goal two minutes into the half. The striker beat the keeper to a poor back pass from Ross Davidson and as Jones went down, Deegan was first to react and picked up the loose ball to fire into the net, past two defenders on the line.
United also held firm at the back, with Tong clearing a corner off the line, and minutes later Ludovic Quistin ending Lennon’s attacking run into the box with a strong defensive tackle.
Marsh’s cross into the six-yard box was picked up by the unmarked Deegan who saw his header on goal denied by another good save from Jones. The Dabbers’ keeper was arguably the one who prevented FC from scoring a handful more goals.
With less than 20 minutes of the game remaining and the fog showing no signs of easing off, United’s left back, Quistin, was dismissed following a second yellow card. As the ball was played through the fog, Quistin jumped for a defensive header and the ball was deemed to have touched his arm. As a result Cotterell moved to left back for the remainder of the game.
A minute later, FC showed no signs of being a man down, going forward and firing a fifth past the Dabbers. Wilson latched onto a decent ball from Carden and a clever pass inside to Wright saw the winger run forward one-on-one with Jones and slot the ball past the keeper to top off a well-worked move.
On 79 minutes, Wilson wrapped up an impressive performance, achieving his hat-trick and notching United’s sixth of the afternoon. The ball was well won by Kyle Jacobs who played the ball over the top to Wilson on the edge of the 18 yard box. Wilson hit the ball first time on his left foot and fired it low and hard off the post into the bottom right hand corner.
Having more than sealed his return to FC, Wilson was replaced by Joseph Yoffe. The Reds continued to go forward until the final whistle and the last action of the game came when a speculative effort by Yoffe saw the keeper make yet another good stop down to his right.
Report by Victoria Fullen.
