FC United grab last gasp win against South Shields to remain unbeaten in five

FC United played out an encounter for the ages at Broadhurst Park on Tuesday night as they beat professional outfit South Shields 2-1.

FC left it late in the day to get all three points, with Linney scoring in the 88th minute, and Donohue finishing off the turnaround in the first minute of added on time at the end of the game to lift the roof off.

The first-half performance from the Reds was passive. They seemed to be second to every ball and they allowed the hosts to go ahead in the 25th minute, as Mottley-Henry got hold of a ball that was bouncing about all over the area and stabbed it home.

FC responded well to being pegged back, but Shields had a multitude of opportunities to double their lead before the first half was out.

After the half-time interval, a different FC United emerged from the tunnel. They immediately took the game to their opponents from the south east, and began to put them under intense pressure.

The final ball would continue to elude FC, but the intensity in chasing down the ball was there for all to see. With prodigal son Michael Potts taken off after putting in a solid first 55 minutes since returning to the club the day before, FC timed their substitutes excellently to really hurt the opposition.

South Shields suddenly seemed to be knocked off of their rhythm, lumping balls up-field with no real direction or purpose, allowing FC to recover  and build from the back. Build they would as Linney picked the ball up on the edge of the box. He jinxed his way through the Shields defence and slotted the ball to the left of goalkeeper Boney, who stood there motionless.

FC then had the bit between their teeth as the game entered the additional time, but were not finished yet. Shields gathered the ball and looked to build from the back, but Michael Donohue intercepted the ball from the defender and chipped a looping ball over the 'keeper who was all at sea to send the FC faithful into raptures and secure all three points for the men in red.

FC Manager Neil Reynolds said after the game: "We did not stick to a game plan in the first half. Lads took it upon themselves to play the way they wanted to in the first half, so I’ve had a pop at the full backs in the dressing room.

"I’ve had a pop at the two centre halves but coming out in the second half, that just shows how much they listen to me, how they’re behind me. If we're going to get beat by a ball over the top it's my fault, I don’t want to get beat that way, so I didn’t want us to play deep, and we didn’t.

"We got the goal and it's an amazing night. I was getting berated early in the season. We had suspensions and injuries; people weren’t listening to me.

"You have to understand football. I couldn’t get the squad out but now you can see what a wonderful squad we have and over the course of the season, were going to try to build on what we have now."