We're on the march with Margy's army... again (Ossett Town Preview)

After a disappointing set of back to back results against Harrogate Town and AFC Fylde, FC United take a break from league competition for the weekend as we travel to Ossett Town for the second qualifying round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Given the run all the way to the first round proper last year it may be a welcome distraction for the Reds who have generally had good showings in the competition which has cumulated in two appearances in the ‘proper’ stages in our brief history.

The competition will always hold a special place with the United faithful, who for long spells of their life were brought up on cup runs and successes, not to mention the fond memories we’ve made in this competition since our formation and as such the cup games always bring an extra sense of excitement.

Although it would seem a draw to a team currently playing two levels below us may be deemed a good draw, Margy and his players will be fully aware that they will need to be at their best if they are to progress through to next rounds draw on Monday.

Having said that we travel to Yorkshire on Saturday knowing that we are facing an opponent that we have never lost to in seven competitive meetings. In fact, we have won all seven of those games averaging almost three goals per game.

The last meeting between the two sides was in the Northern Premier League Challenge Cup in the 2013/2014 season where the Reds came away with a 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Rhodri Giggs and Mike Norton.

Although he didn’t score in the last meeting Jerome Wright has a great scoring record against Saturday’s opponents, having netted four times in the last four meetings between the two sides.

Currently playing in the NPL division one north The Town were founded in 1936 after a public meeting chaired by the Mayor of the Borough of Ossett set the task of bringing the highest possible standard of football to Ossett.

Our meeting with Town primarily took place in the NPL before Town were relegated in the 2010/2011 season with only one win all season. They have since been part of the Division One North and finished 17th last season.

Their best performance in this competition came in the 2005/06 season where they reached the fourth qualifying round before losing 3-2 to Leamington.

An interesting piece of trivia about Ossett Town is that their record attendance was against Manchester United who they met during a pre-season friendly in 1988 in front of a crowd of 2,600.