Goalless as FC United draw at Whitby - full report
FC United drew 0-0 at Whitby Town on Wednesday night in a tight match with few chances for either side.
A midweek point on the east coast will be acceptable to the Reds but they would have loved to have snatched all three to keep piling the pressure onto their promotion rivals.
Centre-back Greg Stones nearly did exactly that at the death but somehow managed to blaze the ball over the bar from close range. However, United could have come away with nothing if it wasn’t for goalkeeper James Spencer who made a fantastic save to deny the Seasiders.
It was apparent from the first whistle that goals would be at a premium with both sides frantically moving the ball about but without a cutting edge or finesse to make something happen. The home side had an early chance with Nathan Mulligan having a shot deflected wide.
On 14 minutes, Carlos Roca broke free on the left but fired straight at goalkeeper Nick Liversage. A minute later, some good touch football from the Reds saw the ball work its way to Mike Norton who shot over.
Another good one touch move on 20 minutes saw Matthew Wolfenden combine with Norton who fed Stephen Johnson who saw his shot save by Liversage. A minute later, Kevin Burgess had a header punched clear by Spencer with Mulligan screwing the rebound wide.
The dangerous Tom Portas broke free on the right just before the half hour mark and crossed for David McTiernan to shoot, Spencer pulling off a good save with his feet.
All in all in was a half short on quality football and the 600+ crowd were expecting better in the second half, which started with a chance for Adam Jones but his header flew over the bar.
On 56 minutes, the home side came closest to breaking the deadlock when Darren Williams found space in the box and shot but found Spencer equal to the chance and he tipped the ball over.
Chances were again at a premium and it took to the 73rd minute for another chance on goal, Alex White hitting the ball against the bar and seeing Spencer pull off a stunning reflex save from the rebound.
With 10 minutes to go, FC United had their best chance when a cross found Greg Stones unmarked at the far post, however he fired the ball high over the bar. With two minutes to go, Dean Stott looked to have won the game with a shot from the edge of the box but the ball flew narrowly wide.
There was still time for one last chance in injury time when the ball fell to Astley Mulholland but he snatched at the shot and put the ball over.
A goalless draw was probably fair over the 90 minutes but with the playoff positions so tight, all points will count at the end of the season.
Website man of the match- Kyle Jacobs. Showed rare composure on a night when most players on the pitch were treating the ball as a hot potato.
Report by Steven Wood
A midweek point on the east coast will be acceptable to the Reds but they would have loved to have snatched all three to keep piling the pressure onto their promotion rivals.
Centre-back Greg Stones nearly did exactly that at the death but somehow managed to blaze the ball over the bar from close range. However, United could have come away with nothing if it wasn’t for goalkeeper James Spencer who made a fantastic save to deny the Seasiders.
It was apparent from the first whistle that goals would be at a premium with both sides frantically moving the ball about but without a cutting edge or finesse to make something happen. The home side had an early chance with Nathan Mulligan having a shot deflected wide.
On 14 minutes, Carlos Roca broke free on the left but fired straight at goalkeeper Nick Liversage. A minute later, some good touch football from the Reds saw the ball work its way to Mike Norton who shot over.
Another good one touch move on 20 minutes saw Matthew Wolfenden combine with Norton who fed Stephen Johnson who saw his shot save by Liversage. A minute later, Kevin Burgess had a header punched clear by Spencer with Mulligan screwing the rebound wide.
The dangerous Tom Portas broke free on the right just before the half hour mark and crossed for David McTiernan to shoot, Spencer pulling off a good save with his feet.
All in all in was a half short on quality football and the 600+ crowd were expecting better in the second half, which started with a chance for Adam Jones but his header flew over the bar.
On 56 minutes, the home side came closest to breaking the deadlock when Darren Williams found space in the box and shot but found Spencer equal to the chance and he tipped the ball over.
Chances were again at a premium and it took to the 73rd minute for another chance on goal, Alex White hitting the ball against the bar and seeing Spencer pull off a stunning reflex save from the rebound.
With 10 minutes to go, FC United had their best chance when a cross found Greg Stones unmarked at the far post, however he fired the ball high over the bar. With two minutes to go, Dean Stott looked to have won the game with a shot from the edge of the box but the ball flew narrowly wide.
There was still time for one last chance in injury time when the ball fell to Astley Mulholland but he snatched at the shot and put the ball over.
A goalless draw was probably fair over the 90 minutes but with the playoff positions so tight, all points will count at the end of the season.
Website man of the match- Kyle Jacobs. Showed rare composure on a night when most players on the pitch were treating the ball as a hot potato.
Report by Steven Wood
First Posted ~ 08:32 Thu 29 Mar 2012
News ID ~ 4138
Last Updated ~ 01:52 Tue 16 Feb 2021