Now Marginson wants the double

Source: thisislancashire.co.uk

By Marc Higginson

KARL Marginson watched FC United seal promotion to the UniBond League and then said: We want the double.

The Rebels boss saw his side celebrate a second successful campaign with a 3-0 victory against derby rivals Maine Road on Easter Monday.

That came two days after the breakaway club had secured a top-three finish with a narrow 2-1 victory at Ramsbottom United.
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But now Marginson wants his players, who top the NWCL Division One table by 13 points and are in the final of the League Challenge Cup, to add silverware to their success.

The Gigg Lane outfit need just two more victories to wrap up the title, though if closest rivals Curzon Ashton, who United also face in their first-ever final on May 3, slip up at Formby tonight then FC could win the league at Colne on Saturday.

"We're in a really strong position and it would be really unprofessional to take our foot off the pedal now," said the United manager.

"We can get to 114 points and that is what we will be aiming for. We're also in a cup final and, although it's a one-off game, we have every chance of doing the double.

"The goal when we started was to get two promotions in three years, so do it a year sooner is excellent. The players have been fantastic both seasons. Now we need to go on and get a bit of silverware."

United's march towards the league continued as they triumphed 3-0 against Maine Road in Manchester's mini-derby.

A crowd of 3,605 turned up at Gigg Lane to see the Rebels overcome Maine Road, set up by Manchester City fans, as they stretched their unbeaten run to a club-record 20 games.

FC took a 17th-minute lead when captain Neil Chappell turned Rory Patterson's low drive into his own net.

The visitors' Gareth Richards struck the post before Dave Brown glanced home Jerome Wright's free-kick in first-half injury time. Rob Nugent headed a third on 62 minutes to complete the scoring.

On Easter Saturday, a Jerome Wright goal and Nicky Platt's 61st-minute penalty were enough to guarantee the runaway leaders promotion for a second successive season at Ramsbottom United.