FC United of Manchester’s Under-21 side got their league campaign off to a winning start on Sunday with a resounding 7-1 victory against defending champions Irlam F.C. Under-21s.
The North West U21 Development League fixture started brightly with both sides looking to play a passing game and Irlam took the lead mid-way through the first-half. However, FC United responded within minutes with a Henry Limpitshi equaliser after a well worked team move.
The home side then took the lead through a Bobby Hamza close range finish before the referee brought the first period to a close.
As the second half kicked-off FC United began to dominate possession and created some good opportunities against a spirited Irlam side before increasing their lead through further goals by Joel Mills and Limpitshi. The Irlam goalkeeper was then sent off for handling the ball outside the area, with Mark West converting from the resulting free-kick to make it 5-1.
As the game went into the later stages Matthew Garbett scored two quick goals to increase the score line. At the final whistle it proved to be a positive opening performance which provided many good passages of play and a deserved final score line of FC United of Manchester 7 – Irlam FC 1
Speaking after the game, FC United Head Coach Kevin Braybrook commented: “Overall we are pleased by the performance. We have worked hard over the last six weeks to try to create an identity the players from UCFB and FC United of Manchester under-21 group can understand and implement. We believe this will help these young players in their development in the short and long-term. It is very early stages but the staff can see some progress which was evident in today’s performance.”
