Match report | Warrington Town 1-3 FC United

WARRINGTON Town suffered a third successive away defeat as they lost their final game before the lockdown 3-1 at FC United.

All the goals came in an eventful first half, where after starting brightly, the Yellows missed an early penalty through Bohan Dixon.

Finlay Sinclair-Smith put FC United ahead against the run of play on 10 minutes, and although Luke Duffy equalised five minutes later, the hosts then dominated and were well worth their two goal half-time lead, that came thanks to Curtis Jones and Sinclair-Smith’s second.

The loss follows away defeats at Mickleover and Lancaster City, and gives Paul Carden much to ponder over the four week break, which could yet be extended depending on Government guidelines.

Jordan Buckley started up front in the absence of the ill Josh Amis, and he should have scored in the fourth minute, racing on to Duffy’s through ball through the middle, his shot saved by the legs of Dan Lavercombe.

That combination would unlock the FC United defence on a couple of occasions in the opening exchanges, and on one of those, Buckley drew a foul from Aaron Morris in the box – only for Dixon to waste the chance by blasting the subsequent penalty in to the fans behind the goal.

Not only had the Yellows wasted an opportunity to mark their fine start with a goal, they were then hit by a sucker punch at the other end, as Sinclair-Smith’s shot squirmed through the grasp of Charlie Albinson and just crossed the line, despite the best efforts of James Baillie behind him.

They did respond though, and got a goal that their early efforts deserved when Buckley capitalised on a mistake, and when Morris blocked Dixon, the ball sat nicely for Duffy to curl an effort home from the edge of the box.

But from then on, it was all FC United, who dominated possession and territory for the remainder of the first half.

There had been a couple of warning signs before a sustained spell of pressure ended in Paul Ennis’ corner being flicked on for Curtis Jones to sidefoot home at the back post.

Full-backs Michael Donohue and Adam Dodd were piling forward for the hosts and the Yellows couldn’t get out of their own end – but they will have been disappointed in the manner of the third goal, a simple error by Baillie gifting an opportunity to Sinclair-Smith, who finished superbly first time from the left.

Trailing 3-1 at half time, Carden introduced Jack Mackreth and handed a debut to left-back Eddie Clarke, formerly of Tranmere and Fleetwood Town, and the Yellows picked up, putting pressure on the hosts.

Buckley shot sharply on the turn straight at Lavercombe, and Dunn surged through midfield and also had a shot straight at the ‘keeper.

An ugly challenge on Dunn by Luke Griffiths saw FC United reduced to 10 men in the 64th minute, but the incident broke the Yellows’ momentum, and even with the numerical advantage, they struggled to create chances.

That was until the final 10 minutes, when Matt Regan got in front of his man at a corner and headed just over the bar, and then substitute Michael Rose rattled the bar with a first-time shot from Charlie Munro’s short free-kick.

A Buckley header went close, but FC United had more than enough to see the game out – leaving the Yellows to lick their wounds now until at least December 5, which is their next scheduled game due to the lockdown.

FC United: Lavercombe, Donohue, Dodd, Griffiths, Morris, Jones, Pemberton (White), Simpson, Fowler (Cockerline), Ennis, Sinclair-Smith (Chadwick). Unused subs: Woods, Brooks.

Warrington Town: Albinson, Duggan, Amado (Clarke), Baillie, Roberts, Regan, Dunn, Munro, Buckley, Dixon (Mackreth), Duffy (Rose). Unused subs: Carney, Edwards.