Supporters Direct stalemate sees spoils shared

FC United hosted fellow supporter-owned sided Wrexham FC in this year’s Supporters Direct Cup in the first pre-season friendly of the campaign at Broadhurst Park. An early Rory Fallon opener was cancelled out by the visitors in the second half and despite both sides bidding for a winner, the stalemate remained and the spoils were shared as both captains were presented with the cup.

Having had a mixed bag of results throughout July, the Reds were hoping to begin August with a victory as the start of the season draws ever nearer. Karl Marginson’s side of familiar faces from last season’s successful campaign combined with new additions gave a good account in the first half and it took just four minutes for Fallon to break the deadlock. Good work on the right by Sean Cooke resulted in cross into the six yard box and Fallon overcame the hovering defenders to slot the ball past Cameron Belfield from close range.

The visitors came close midway into the half as a well-taken corner met with the head of Manny Smith who forced a one-handed save from Dave Carnell to tip the ball away from immediate danger. Minutes later FC United broke and Liam Brownhill attempted a looping effort from the edge of the Wrexham area.

Wrexham kicked the second half into life early on, levelling the scores at almost the same point as the Reds had gone ahead in the first half. The Dragons were awarded a free kick on the left from which Lee Fowler and Dominic Vose combined to send the ball into Carnell’s six yard box where Smith was on hand to bundle the ball over the line.

The Reds were struggling to gain possession and were almost trailing via Jon Royle’s strike from the edge of the area. Carnell pulled off a great save to turn the ball away for a corner just prior to the visitors making a double change.

United made alterations to the side in fairly swift succession as Cooke, Dave Birch, Matthew Wolfenden, Greg Daniels and Craig Lindfield all made way for Callum Byrne, Greg Wilkinson, Cameron Murray, Mike Norton and Adam Thurston. Several changes to both sides somewhat disrupted the flow of the game and it became more obvious that the Reds were facing higher-placed opponents. Both sides were needing a further goal to claim the silverware outright but clear cut chances were few and far between, resulting in a draw at full time and a shared presentation of the cup.

Report by Victoria Fullen.

Man of the Match – Rory Fallon: worked tirelessly throughout and gave the Reds a valuable early lead.