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FC United get back to winning ways at Corby Town

FC United got back to winning ways by beating bottom side Corby Town 3-2 on Saturday afternoon with a George Thomson brace and a third goal by Luke Ashworth.

The Reds made it almost certain that they will be in the Vanarama National League North for a second consecutive season by gaining another three points in a season which once looked like it was turning into an uncomfortable relegation battle.

Karl Marginson’s side took an early lead through a Thomson free-kick but were pegged back by the hosts 15 minutes later when Milnes equalised.

However, Thomson restored the lead four minutes into the second half and it was swiftly followed by an Ashworth header to make it 3-1. Though Corby scored a late penalty, FC United ran out comfortable winners.

Injuries dictated that Karl Marginson had to make changes to his starting XI. Harry Winter and Tom Esckersley were out due to injuries received against Boston the previous week. Scott Kay moved into the back four and Tom Brown and Matthew Wolfenden returned to the midfield.

A further late change had to be made after goalkeeper David Carnell was injured during the warm up, Dylan Forth coming in to take his place.

Despite the changes, FC United started confidently and their early dominance was soon rewarded after Jerome Wright was fouled as he headed towards the area.

Thomson lined up the free-kick and floated it neatly over the wall and into the top left hand corner of the Corby goal. The lead was nearly doubled a couple of minutes’ later, but a deflected low cross from the left was cleared off the line.

The blustery wind and a bobbly pitch made it difficult for the players, but FC United dominated the first 25 minutes but, against the run of play, Corby equalised. Milnes took advantage of a quickly taken free-kick to get clear in the penalty area and slip the ball past Forth. The remainder of the half was much more even with bouts of scrappy play.

As in the first half, the Reds made a quick start to the second period. After just four minutes, Sam Sheridan’s left wing corner was only partially cleared to Thomson who claimed his second goal of the match with a fierce drive from 15 yards out that left the Corby keeper with no chance of saving it.

FC United added a third just four minutes later. Again, Sheridan took a corner from the left and this time Ashworth was able to get a free header to make it 3-1 with 35 minutes left.

The visitors from Manchester controlled much of the remainder of the match with long periods of possession but Corby never gave up and forced Forth into a couple of good saves. There was little, however, that Forth could do when Corby were awarded a late penalty when Sheridan was adjudged to have committed a foul just inside the area. Greg Mills confidently converted the spot kick to Forth’s left but it didn’t stop FC United for taking all three points.

Website man of the match: George Thomson. This was a strong team performance, however Thomson just shades it due to the quality of both of his goals.

Report by John England


First Posted ~ 17:02 Sat 9 Apr 2016
News ID ~ 6780
Last Updated ~ 00:47 Tue 16 Feb 2021