Shropshire Star

FC United of Manchester 3 AFC Telford 1 - Report and pictures

A Jason Gilchrist masterclass saw AFC Telford United stumble to a 3-1 defeat at FC United of Manchester.

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The United attacker was the star of the show at Broadhurst Park, setting up Tom Greaves' strike and grabbing a brace.

That was all after Henry Cowans put the Bucks ahead with a screamer very early on.

Rob Edwards' men have now gone four games without a win across all competitions.

Analysis

Telford would have fancied their chances going into this clash. After all, they were 13th in the league table - three points off the play-offs - while the hosts were second from bottom.

Also, the Bucks had never lost to FC United, a club in the midst of a difficult period after sacking Karl Marginson - who had been their boss since they formed in 2005 - and putting striker Greaves in temporary charge.

Edwards made three changes to the side that started the FA Cup defeat at Hereford last weekend as Max Leonard, Jordan Lussey and Ryan Wilson replaced Anthony Dwyer, Jon Royle and Bob Harris.

Leonard was making his Telford debut, playing in the No.10 role, having signed during the week from National League North rivals Curzon Ashton.

The Bucks could not have asked for a better start to the encounter as Cowans thumped in from 35 yards out, with less than three minutes gone.

Given time and space to surge towards goal, the former Villa youngster had a crack and took everyone by surprise, including United goalkeeper Lloyd Allinson - who got a hand onto the ball as it flew into the corner of the net.

The hosts were keen to mix it up, closing Telford down quickly and putting in some robust challenges.

The Bucks needed to avoid being sucked into a physical battle - keep calm and look to dictate play with their passing.

They fell into the trap though. The home side had Greaves slice a close-range effort wide and Edwards' charges did not heed that warning as he levelled just prior to the half-hour mark.

Mike Jones played a spectacular through-ball to Gilchrist, whose low cross from the right was finished off by the United veteran.

That was the last significant piece of action before half-time. Neither side made any changes for the beginning of the second period.

United's midfielders were seeing a lot of the ball. Jones, in particular, was being afforded too much room too work in - and his fancy flick led to the hosts going ahead.

It found Gilchrist, who coolly shifted the ball onto his right foot before finding the bottom corner.

Telford could have equalised within 60 seconds, but top scorer Marcus Dinanga steered wide from the edge of the box.

The ball was not sticking up front for the Bucks so it was not surprising to see Edwards change things going forward for the final 10 minutes.

By then though, United were 3-1 up. Gilchrist was on the mark yet again, this time floating the ball over Jas Singh - who was well off his line - from 40 yards out.

Telford substitutes Dwyer and Matt Barnes-Homer tried their hardest to provide a response, but the home side comfortably held on for the three points.

Key Moments

1 - Early Telford corner. Ryan Wilson swings it in and debutant Max Leonard misses with his head at the near post. He should have scored.

3 - GOAL! Cowans smashes the Bucks in front. From 35 yards out, the former Villa youngster tries his luck and the ball flies past United shot-stopper Lloyd Allinson. The keeper probably should have done better, but Cowans got a lot of power behind the strike.

19 - Big chance for the hosts, Tom Greaves slices wide.

28 - Goal! United equalise through Greaves. Mike Jones finds Jason Gilchrist, who fires the ball across goal for Greaves to finish off. A quick, effective counter-attack from the home side.

53 - Goal! A fancy flick from Jones puts Gilchrist through. The United No.10 keeps a calm head and slots home after cutting inside onto his right foot.

54 - Marcus Dinanga has a glorious chance to pull Telford level straight away, but his effort goes narrowly wide.

74 - Goal! Gilchrist gets his second for the home side. From 40 yards out, he catches Jas Singh off his line and nonchalantly floats it over him.

Teams

FC United (4-4-2): Allinson; Senior, Baird, Hughes, Fagbola; Glynn (Irwin, 67), Kay (c), Jones (Palmer, 85), Logan; Gilchrist (McCarthy, 82), Greaves

Subs not used: Corbett, Lindfield

Telford (4-2-3-1): Singh; Simpson (Barnes-Homer, 80), Johnson, Sutton (c), Wilson; Cowans, Lussey; Murphy (Dwyer, 80), Leonard, Newby; Dinanga

Subs not used: Hayden, McGrory, Martinez (gk)