Margy hopeful but none too happy

Karl Marginson was not a happy man after Wednesday night’s game against Eastwood Town and he admitted: "It was an ugly game of football.

"Eastwood came to do a professional job and gave us a compliment in the process. They set themselves up to stifle our attacking options and succeeded in doing so, that said we did not get the big decisions."

The game hung on two penalty shouts, neither of which seemed to go FC’s way. "I spoke to the referee after the game," revealed Margy, "he told me that if he had made a mistake then he would apologise. He asked me to check the recording of the match and get in touch.

"I don’t think he was expecting to be presented with the DVD of the game so quickly though. By the time he had got showered the FCUM.TV crew had the DVD ready and we were able to show him the highlights but he still claimed that the footage was inconclusive.

"I didn’t agree and thought that Si Carden was fouled for what should have been a stonewall penalty, supporters will be able to judge for themselves when the match is posted on-line."

Despite the defeat, Margy is far from downbeat about the overall progress that his squad is making. he said: "This was another test against a well fancied team and one of the favourites for the title. Eastwood are in an awesome run of form at the moment with just one defeat in 15 games, which includes a win against Wrexham in the FA Cup.

"I am hugely disappointed by the result and frustrated by the penalty decisions but it is still early in the season and we can take great encouragement from the progress we are making, I am certainly more comfortable looking up at the teams above us rather than those below us.

"I firmly believe that we are well placed and that the lads are shaping up well. With the additions we have made to the squad this season we are looking far more solid. We are still on the lookout for players that will improve us and we have players to come back in such as Dave Neville, Tunji Moses, Jamie Baguley and Danny Williams, plus we have some great prospects in the club’s youth set up.

"Peter Freakes and Andy Whitman are developing some real talent in the under-18s and the Manchester College team I coach has a couple of players I have high hopes for so the future is looking healthy.

"We are also keeping an eye on the young lads who were in our reserves last year who are now plying their trade at a higher level, they are making good progress and Daz Lyons is closely monitoring them."

Looking forward to Sunday’s FA Trophy game Margy sees an opportunity for the players to work Wednesday’s frustrations out of their system.

"Boston got rid of their manager this week which means that on Sunday we will see players fighting for their future at the club. Boston are a big club and we will have to be on our guard.

"I’ll be telling the lads that if they do feel aggrieved after the injustices of Wednesday night then Sunday presents a good chance to get things back on track with an improved performance and hopefully progress in the Trophy."