We kick off our historic 20th season with a trip to Northumberland to take on Morpeth Town on Saturday afternoon. Finn Honeywood provides this preview…
We kick off our historic 20th season with a trip to Northumberland to take on Morpeth Town on Saturday afternoon. Finn Honeywood provides this preview…
Other than Jordan Buckley and Curtis Jones, who are both expected to miss the trip to the Northeast due to injury, Neil Reynolds has a full squad to choose from, giving the manager a tough selection choice ahead of the new Pitching In Northern Premier League campaign.
Our opponents - Morpeth Town AFC:
Stadium: Craik Park, Morpeth, Northumberland
Manager: Craig Lynch
Nickname: The Highwaymen
Craig Lynch’s Morpeth side finished 13th in the Northern Premier League last season with 14 wins and eight draws making 50 points, only two ahead of FC in 14th.
The 2016 FA Vase winners boasted the fourth highest goal tally of any team in the NPL Premier Division last term, and will hope for a similar attacking output this time around, with top scorer Sam Hodgson returning for a second season on loan from National League North side South Shields.
Previous meetings:
The two league fixtures between FC and Morpeth last season saw The Highwaymen take the points on both occasions, winning 5-2 at Broadhurst Park in October, before claiming a 3-0 victory at Craik Park back in late February in which Reds ‘keeper George Murray-Jones was shown a straight red card in the aftermath of Morpeth’s third goal.
Reynolds’ side were victorious at Craik Park on one occasion last campaign, however: a 4-1 victory in the FA Trophy a week prior to the first league meeting between the two in Moston. A flurry of first half goals from Michael Donohue, Jake Charles, Keane Barugh and Luke Griffiths sealed passage to the First Round proper.
A familiar face:
One player who featured on loan for both FC United and Morpeth Town last season was forward Nic Bollado, who has since made a permanent move to the Northeast after being released this summer by League One Stockport County.
The 19-year-old appeared in all three meetings of the two sides in the 2023/24 season, coming off the bench for FC in the first two games, before starting for Morpeth in the 3-0 away defeat. Bollado scored five goals in 16 appearances during his loan spell at Broadhurst Park.
Opening day:
An away trip on Matchweek One has not brought the best of results for FC in recent times; a 3-3 draw at Chorley in the 2016/17 season was the last time the team avoided opening day defeat on the road.
Last season, goals for Donohue and a debut strike from Bollado off the bench led the Reds to a convincing opening day victory over eventual Play-off Semi-Finalists Worksop Town, against whom we will begin our home campaign again next Tuesday night (Aug 13th, 7.45 KO, Broadhurst Park).
Match information:
Kick-off: 3pm, Saturday 10 August
Location: Craik Park, Morpeth, NE61 2YX