Rebels get wake-up call

Source: Manchester Evening News

FC UNITED boss Karl Marginson is considering making changes for Wednesday's home clash with in-form Rossendale following a shock 2-1 defeat at Clitheroe which he described as "a wake-up call."

Chris Baguley's superbly-executed free-kick failed to save the off-key Rebels as they fell to lowly opponents who had previously won just two from nine in UniBond division one north.

FC had a stroke of bad luck when keeper Sam Ashton was harshly adjudged to have conceded a penalty and, though he then saved it, Joel Byron followed up to score.

Paul Fildes seized on a defensive mix-up to double Clitheroe's lead on the hour and, although FC pushed hard for an equaliser after Baguley had reduced the arrears, their efforts came to nothing.

Marginson said: "Defensively, we were poor and I'll be looking at a few things before naming my team to face Rossendale.

"We struggled to adapt to the difficult conditions, but I'm sure our younger players in particular will learn from this defeat and, hopefully, we can bounce straight back on Wednesday night."