Thursday, April 20, 2006

MEN: Rebels warm up

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Tony Glennon

FC UNITED warmed up for Saturday's Gigg Lane title party with a 3-2 victory over neighbours Chadderton in front of a Boundary Park crowd of 2,352.

But Karl Marginson's newly-crowned champions twice had to come from behind to see off their plucky hosts and so preserve their unbeaten away record.

Glynn Billington stunned the rebels by blasting Chadderton in front with an 11th minute free-kick - a goal he celebrated by cheekily tearing off his shirt to reveal a City T-shirt underneath!
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That earned Billington a booking from a distinctly unamused referee, but it was FC United fans who were smiling two minutes before the break when Michael O'Neill slotted in the simplest of equalisers after player/coach Darren Lyons had smashed a shot against the bar.

Paul Ashton restored Chadderton's lead within a minute of the restart, but again the visitors came roaring back as Ricky Wilde was dismissed for tripping Adie Orr when he was clean-through on goal, leaving Lyons to convert the resulting penalty.

Orr then grabbed what turned out to be the winner with 20 minutes left, rounding off a great four-man move with a crisp finish for his 18th goal of the season.