Greaves scores on his return as FC United and Bury AFC draw

FC United shared an entertaining 1-1 draw with Bury AFC on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,800 fans at Broadhurst Park, courtesy of goals from Charlie Ennis and returning club legend Tom Greaves. 

Billed as a celebratory event between two supporter owned clubs, the game was played in good spirits, with an excellent atmosphere among both sets of fans. 

The afternoon also saw a number of FC's former players returning to the club, with Bury manager Andy Welsh, centre forward Greg Daniels and, of course, our all time leading goal scorer Greaves featuring in The Shaker's current setup.

Spurred on by raucous support in both the Main Stand and SMRE, it was FC United who looked the brighter of the two teams from kick-off.  The home team quickly opened the scoring just 10 minutes into the game with Finlay Sinclair-Smith picking up a misplaced clearance from Bury keeper Jack Atkinson, before laying the ball to Ennis inside the Bury area, who cast a low driven shot into the bottom left hand of the net.

FC continued to look good value for their lead after that, and actively went in search of a second goal. With good movement up top, and full backs Joe White and Michael Donohue widening play, United looked to break forward through quick counter attacks. A series of well hit long passes allowed Donohue to drive down the right flank, creating a flurry of good chances for himself, Sinclair-Smith, and striker Ali Waddecar, who had his effort cleared from the goal line.

Bury had their chances in the first half too. The first with the evergreen Greaves dancing through the right hand side of United's defence, and picking out right-back Matty Williams in the penalty area to draw a fine save from FC keeper Dan Lavercombe. That was quickly followed up by another excellent opportunity for the visitors, with Greaves unlucky not to be first to latch onto a back-pass towards goal from Curtis Jones, narrowly losing out on the ball to Lavercombe, who had bravely rushed out of his goal to save Jones' blushes.

The second half started brightly again for FC. A good early opportunity from kick-off came for the tireless Sinclair-Smith, who having driven at the Bury defence aimed a stinging shot at goal, only for the impressive Atkinson to palm the ball away. Soon after, Regan Linney created a great chance for himself to put United two up, stealing the ball from Bury's defence and rushing through into a one-on one with Atkinson. Unfortunately, the FC forward was too slow to get his shot away, allowing the Bury keeper time to settle himself in the goal and make another good stop.  

Slowly but surely Bury started to find their feet in the game, and were visibly lifted by playing towards their own fans in the Lightbowne Road end of Broadhurst Park. 

Winger Lewis Gilboy was unfortunate not to get on the score-sheet, as his strong shot hit FC's post following a penetrating run down United's right hand side. His near miss only set the scene for Greaves to grab the equaliser just minutes later. The former Red hero capitalised on a mistake in United's midfield, before getting the better of defender Aaron Morris and calmly slotting the ball past Lavercombe's right hand side to make it 1-1.

In response FC United manager Neil Reynolds called for more urgency from his team and, following a number of changes during the second half, United responded by upping the game's tempo in the closing minutes. Substitute Tre Pemberton was an industrious presence following his introduction, and teed up fellow substitute Danny Brady for a potential injury time winner, only for the recent FC signing to see his shot dramatically scrambled away from the goal line.

At the other end, Greaves was denied the opportunity to snatch a dramatic late goal against his former side. The Bury striker got the better of an onrushing Lavercombe and stroked the ball towards the United net, only for Aaron Morris to rush back and clear the ball for yet another goal line clearance. As the full time whistle blew, a 1-1 draw seemed like a fair result given the balance of play, but Bury looked every bit the equal of a team three divisions higher than them in the football pyramid, and FC must now look to galvanise themselves quickly in the upcoming pre-season matches ahead.

Attention will now turn to Tuesday night's friendly fixture away at Warrrington Rylands. The high flying Cheshire club, owned by Wayne Rooney's agent Paul Stretford, won last season's FA Vase competition and were recently promoted to the Northern Premier League Division One West. Tickets for the clash are now available to purchase online, priced at £9 for adults, £5 for concessions (16-18) and £3 for U16s. Get yourself to that football ground!

Man of the Match: Tom Greaves (Bury AFC)

No, not just for nostalgia's sake. Our returning red hero was an electrifying presence on his return to Broadhurst Park, and has clearly become a talismanic figure for today's opposing team as well. Unafraid to take the ball on and create opportunities for his team mates, he is still more than capable of finding an extra yard against central defenders, and was fully deserving of his equalising goal.

Report by Sam Turner