United held by Oldham Borough

FC United were held to a goalless draw by North West Counties outfit Oldham Borough on Thursday night as many of the players got their first run-out of the pre-season campaign.

Manager Karl Marginson made 11 changes to the team that beat Sutton Town 4-0 on Saturday with only centre-backs Mark Ayres and Nick Swirad involved in both matches. Familiar faces such as captain David Chadwick returned to the side and there were promising first team debuts from a number of the youth team.

As the scoreline suggests, the game was far from a classic, however it provided valuable playing time for the players and gave members of our youth team the opportunity to play against more senior and experienced opposition.

United showed positive signs in the first half with new face Mathew Tierney making an impression down the right and linking up well on occasion with front man Jamie Mack who looked to go forward but never really threatened the Oldham goal.

Changes were made during the second period as further members of the youth team were introduced. A few decent spells of possession through the midfield allowed the Reds to build up around the Oldham area, and James Holden found himself in a good position to go for goal inside the 18 yard box, however his shot was fired wide of the keeper’s right post.

Despite the fact that Borough play three steps below FC United in the North West Counties Division One, the home side, five of whom have formerly played at FC, looked brighter after the break and threatened to expose the United back line.

After a solid performance, Grant Shenton was replaced by debutant keeper Andrew Farrimond with around 20 minutes remaining.

Despite positive signs in the closing stages as youth team substitutes began to come into the game and have some good touches on the ball, nothing from either side was enough to break the deadlock as the game became increasingly dominated by the wet and windy weather conditions.

Although confident individual performances from youth players showed promise for the future, it was clear that the team lacked the cohesion necessary to break down the Oldham side which was more than capable of countering any FC advances.

Report by Victoria Fullen

Team information:
FC United:
1. Grant Shenton
2. Kyle Jacobs
3. Ludovic Quistin
4. James Holden
5. Dave Chadwick
6. Mark Ayres
7. Mathew Tierney
8. Simon Carden
9. Ben Deegan
10. Jake Haslam
11. Jamie Mack
Subs:
12. John Buckley (for 4, 66)
13. Andrew Farrimond (for 1, 76)
14. Gage Eme (for 10, 56)
15. Carl Fitton (for 11, 46)
16. Luke Kolakowski (for 9, 73)
17. Nick Swirad (for 6, 66)

Oldham Borough:
1. Callum Hennegan
2. Mike Cheetham
3. Geoff Ho
4. Lee Deakin
5. Damien Schofield
6. Andy Smith
7. Shaun Roscoe
8. Dominic Stockdale
9. Danny Chadderton
10. Tom Hughes
11. Matty Hampson
Subs:
12. Will Buckley
13. Gary Nolan
14. Brandon Stone
15. Rob Hughes
16. Matt Leeson
17. Lee Ellis