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FC United up to third with win at Nantwich Town

FC United up to third with win at Nantwich TownFC United moved up to third in the BetVictor Northern Premier Division with a 1-0 win at promotion rivals Nantwich Town on Tuesday night thanks to an Aaron Morris winner.

Morris’ first half header means the Reds leapfrog Lancaster City and are now four points behind leaders South Shields and two points behind Basford United, with the top three all having played 29 games.

Manager Neil Reynolds opted to changed his personnel, the big change being to bring Curtis Jobs into midfield just as he had done earlier in the season at Warrington.

The first half opened brightly with both teams showing attacking intent, the home side seeing ex FC’er Sean Cooke shooting wide and Reds skipper Mike Potts hitting the ball straight at Greg Hall. Cooke again had a shot on nine minutes but Cameron Belford was equal to it.

FC were playing some lovely football through midfield, in a total contrast to Saturday at Bamber Bridge. A fantastic move between Adam Dodd and Potts saw Dodd played in, but he fired over the bar. At the other end Joe Mwasile was looking dangerous for Nantwich and on 26 minutes saw a shot go just past the wrong side of the post.

As the players were looking toward their half time drink, a cross from the right found Aaron Morris who powered a header past Hall to give the Reds the half time advantage.

During the break, The Dabbers made a change, bringing on veteran Ricardo Fuller and he had an impact as the home started to dominate more with the ball. Mwaslie was played in but Belford pulled off a great save to keep the lead intact. FC were still looking to attack but were mainly reduced to a couple of cross shots from Potts that were dealt with by Hall.

On 73 minutes Cooke again came close, Belford this time tipping the ball round the post. FC United then closed-out the match, sealing a priceless three points against a team who had won four and drawn one of their last five games.

Unfortunately, the match ended on a controversial note when a melee after the final whistle between the players and the two benches saw red cards for Nantwich goalkeeper Hall and FC United coach David Chadwick.

Website man of the match: Luke Griffiths. On a night with a few contenders, Griffiths put in as close to a 10/10 performance and takes this week’s award.

Report by Steven Wood


First Posted ~ 12:38 Wed 26 Feb 2020
News ID ~ 8647
Last Updated ~ 16:00 Fri 19 Feb 2021