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Carnell off as Fylde put four past ten man FC United

Carnell off as Fylde put four past ten man FC UnitedGoalkeeper Dave Carnell was shown a straight red card early in the second half as FC United’s recent run of good form came to an abrupt end with a 4-0 defeat away to AFC Fylde on Tuesday evening.

The Reds went into the game high of confidence on the back of a run of four wins and one draw. However, a fairly even match turned into a one sided affair when Carnell was dismissed - with the scores at 1-0 - for a challenge outside the box.

It’s the second time this season that the Reds have been resoundingly beaten away from home in midweek after having a man sent off. Chorley inflicted a similar punishment three weeks ago.

Fylde began the brighter of the two teams and used their pace to take the game to FC United early on. With just 10 minutes on the clock a strike from outside the box by Sam Finley went flying past Carnell and gave the hosts an early, but well deserved lead.

After this, FC United settled into their stride and got more possession, slowing the attacks of the home team down and creating more within the opposition half of the field. Sean Cooke almost pulled off a contender for goal of the season as he latched onto a lofted ball from the right only to see his effort cannon off the crossbar.

The Reds came out for the second period as they had left the first and began brightly. Luke Ashworth got up for a header from a free-kick on the right flank. Goalkeeper Ben Hinchcliffe saved Ashowrth’s effort easily but the Reds were showing a signal of intent and they were still very much in the game.

But the even nature of the game changed just 10 minutes into the second half as Carnell raced out of the box to try and stop an onrushing attacker only to bring him down. The FC United stopper was shown a straight red card.

With no designated goalkeeper on the bench it was Chris Lynch who filled in and his first taste of the action was to pick the ball out of the net. Richie Baker fired a perfectly struck free-kick home to all but finish the game as a contest.

From this point on, against a really strong team, it was a case of damage limitation for the Reds as the home team looked to put the extra man advantage to work. Despite Dion Charles and then substitute Danny Rowe netting for the home team the ten men were not disgraced.

FC United must now look back to their last defeat away to Chorley and respond as they did after that occasion - a five game unbeaten run. The Reds are quickly back in action on Saturday, making the short trip to one of our former ‘home grounds’ as we face Stalybridge Celtic with just two points and one place separating the two teams in the league table.

Website Man of the Match: Tom Greaves – On a difficult evening for all on the field, Greaves looked dangerous when United had 11 on the field.

Report by Craig Phillips



First Posted ~ 11:44 Wed 16 Sep 2015
News ID ~ 6383
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021