There's a new King at FC United as Broadhurst Park makes FA Cup bow against Witton

FC United will hand a competitive debut to new goalkeeper Lewis King tomorrow as the club hosts old rivals Witton Albion in Broadhurst Park’s first ever senior FA Cup game.

Regular shot-stopper Dave Carnell is unavailable due to suffering head injuries in what is thought to be an unprovoked attack last Saturday night near his home in Chadderton.

As such, manager Karl Marginson has brought in King from Matlock Town. The 22-year-old ’keeper, who has plied his trade at Sunderland, Stockport County and Stalybridge Celtic, has played for FC United before - against Prestwich Heys and Barnoldswick Town this pre-season.

The only other injured absentee is expected to be Liam Brownhill, due to a hamstring strain, as the Reds take on Albion for the 13th time in our club’s 10 year history. During that time, United have won five, drawn three and lost four.

Margy said: "It’s not nice what’s happened to Dave but he’s a big, strong character and he’ll bounce back. A similar thing happened to me when I was 19, so at least I’ve been able to support him and relate to how he’s feeling.

"He can’t play at the moment due to the head injuries that he sustained. We don’t know exactly what happened or how long he was unconscious for, so we’ll have to wait and see. In a way, it’s a blessing in disguise that he’s banned for next Friday because it gives him extra time to recover."

Margy admitted he is thoroughly disappointed with the last two results, both defeats, after going five games unbeaten. He said: "Individual errors have cost us once again. We have spoken to the players and they know we expect better. People learn from mistakes and we expect them to come back stronger.

"We’ll be looking forward to moving on from that tomorrow and there’s no better occasion to do so than the FA Cup. I’m sure the atmosphere will be great, I hope there are bacofoil cups in the crowd again and we’ve got another chance to put FC United on the map with a good FA Cup run. That’s exactly what we’ll be looking to do."

Familiar foes for seven years in the Northern Premier League, Witton are now two divisions below the title winning Reds after being relegated last season. The Cheshire side are currently midtable in the First Division North Table, so the Reds should have enough to go through to the next round but, as everyone knows, league positions count for nothing in one-off cup competitions.

FC United of Manchester host Witton Albion in the FA Cup as Broadhurst Park becomes the newest ground to host the oldest footballing competition in the world. It’s pay on the gate with prices £9 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for under-18s. Get yourself to the football ground. We’re all on the march with Margy’s army...