Abbey Hey make Reds pay

Two late goals saw FC United crash to a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Abbey Hey on Saturday afternoon as manager Karl Marginson continued to use the pre-season campaign to try out new players.

The game couldn’t have started better for the Reds with a goal inside the first couple of minutes at the Abbey Stadium. A driving run down the right and cute cut back from Kyle Wilson saw him set up Adam Carden who fired the ball into the corner of the net.

But all credit to Abbey Hey - they certainly didn’t let the goal put them out of their stride. The hosts saw plenty of the ball in the first half but thankfully seemed to have left their shooting boots at home.

In fact it was FC United and Adam Carden in particular who had the better goal scoring opportunities as he had two great chances in the space of three minutes to kill the game off, with a shot that was well saved and then a great solo run that ended with a shot high and wide.

Just as it seemed the Reds would get to half time with the lead, the referee awarded Abbey Hey a penalty for a foul that seemed harsh and was almost certainly outside of the box. The spot kick was tucked away and so the team went in all square at the break.

Margy made a few changes at half time but the game continued in a similar vein to the first half with both teams seeing lots of the ball but neither seeming to have their shooting boots on.

Dave Neville and Wilson both had shots saved whilst Abbey Hey were kept out by a couple of smart saves from Jake Edwards. Wilson was having a good game up front for United and was only stopped from opening his goal scoring account with the club by a timely clearance off the Abbey Hey line.

Just as the game was looking like it was to peter out into a draw, a cross from the right was flung into the United box and the ball was headed in. The lead was increased soon afterwards with an audacious chip into the net after a mix up in the defence.

So another pre-season defeat for the Reds but again it was a useful outing for the players. Margy had the chance to play some of his news signings as well as one or two players from the Under-18s but he and the fans will be hoping for a more positive result in the next game at the Tameside Stadium on Wednesday night.

Report by Steve Wood.