As part of FC United's 20 year celebrations, we remember our famous FA Cup victory away at Rochdale on 5th November 2010.
Our Rochdale Remembered Fundraising Night, will show the match in full, together with pre-match, half-time and post-match thoughts from some of the key people involved in the unforgettable match.
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Friday 8th November (7pm - Late)
Main Stand Function Room
Broadhurst Park
Lightbowne Road, Moston, Manchester, M40 0FJ
Tickets are £20 (to celebrate 20 years) and the price includes a hot supper (please book tickets in advance to allow us to prepare the appropriate amount of food).
The event is for adults over 18 years old.
Hosted by George Hayden, we welcome Manager Karl Marginson, captain Kyle Jacobs, goalkeeper Sam Ashton and goal scorer Mike Norton, together with Karl Munroe, Jimmy Holden and Ben Deegan (plus more to be announced).
Whether you were fortunate to be there on the night, or whether you've only heard stories about it, we are giving FC United fans the opportunity to relive the night with like-minded fans and celebrate those special moments together.
…the 5th November 2010. A date that will never be forgotten by FC supporters.
Spotland Stadium. The Reds making their first appearance in the First Round Proper of the FA Cup, after what had already been a remarkable qualifying campaign.
Victories over Radcliffe Borough, Gainsborough Trinity, Norton & Stockton Ancients, before a single Carlos Roca goal saw us triumph over Conference side Barrow AFC on a raucous Sunday afternoon at Gigg Lane.
The reward? An away draw at Rochdale; then just outside the playoff spots in League One.
Away supporters were allocated the Willbutts Lane Stand, capacity 3,200. That allocation quickly sold out. Whilst the club had received media coverage in our formative years, the match was arguably the club’s introduction to a wider national audience.
The decision by ESPN to select the match for TV broadcast on the evening of Friday 5th November – the first fixture of that year’s First Round Proper to be played – gave us a true national platform to showcase what the club was about.
A nervy start could’ve seen the visitors behind inside the first minute but some brave goalkeeping from Sam Ashton kept Dale out. However the Reds soon showed they weren’t just there to play the role of the plucky underdogs who were ultimately easy prey for the league side.
Both sides had chances, but it was Nicky Platt who broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time. A ball from Jerome Wright saw Platt beat the offside trap and keep his cool to dink the ball over the oncoming goalkeeper from 12 yards out.
As manager Karl Marginson said to ESPN’s reporter as he went into the dressing rooms to deliver his half-time team talk, “I’ve got a job to do now”. The footage of that team talk was broadcast live, albeit silently. Whilst we don’t know what was said, it certainly seemed to work.
Just four minutes after the break, Ben Deegan beat his man down the left hand side and played the ball in to Platt. Platt looked up to see Jake Cottrell haring towards the box and laid the ball off to him.
The ball met Cottrell perfectly in stride 25 yards out, and he unleashed a left-footed screamer that clipped the crossbar on the way in, doubling United’s lead.
We can only imagine that club captain David Chadwick took some stick after that, having described Cottrell, in an interview with the Manchester Evening News in the build-up to the game, as “a one goal a year man who couldn’t hit a barn door”.
The jubilation was short-lived as Dale pulled one back four minutes later, and from that point on put the Reds under sustained pressure. The equaliser came twelve minutes from time through a Craig Dawson header from a Dale corner.
At that point, most FC supporters were likely thinking about hanging on for a draw and a replay back at Gigg Lane. When the board went up indicating that there would be four extra minutes, it was certainly a more popular sight in the home end.
Deep into the final minute of the four, Rochdale gave the ball away on the edge of the FC box to Mike Norton, who played Jerome Wright away down the left-hand side. There may have been an initial thought of taking it into the corner, but he looked up to see Norton sprinting through the middle.
The through-ball caused a mix-up between the defender Marcus Holness and goalkeeper Josh Lillis. Lillis went down to claim the ball under pressure from Norton, but it squirmed loose and the FC man slid the ball into the empty net with 13 seconds remaining on the clock.
Lillis and Holness were incensed, confronting referee Geoff Eltringham, but in those pre-VAR days, all both received for their troubles was a caution.
Whether Lillis had control of the ball is something that could be debated forever, but it mattered little to the FC faithful who poured on to the pitch from the Willbutts Lane Stand to celebrate a famous, improbable victory.
On the 8th November 2024, as part of our 20th season celebrations, we gather at Broadhurst Park – itself still a pipe dream back in 2010 – to relive that incredible evening.
Hosted by former kitman George Hayden, we will be screening the match in full, along with a slate of special guests who played their part that night.
Manager Karl Marginson and goalscoring hero Mike Norton will be present to share their memories. Also present will be Sam Ashton – the hero of the subsequent Second Round tie at Brighton with his injury-time penalty save – along with captain Kyle Jacobs, Ben Deegan, Jimmy Holden and Karl Munroe.
There will also be an opportunity for supporters to share their recollections of the match, and remember what will forever be one of the most special nights in the club’s history.
Tickets are just £20 and include a hot supper. The event starts at 7pm and the bar will be open until last orders. It’s important as fans that we support events like this and celebrate our history. What better way to spend a Friday evening?
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