Hyde United 2-3 FC United (Manchester)
Northern Premier League
Saturday 28th September 2024
It’s not often you get a turning point in the first minute of the game but that’s what happened here as FC United rode their luck, then were disciplined, organised and defended resolutely, to secure an important three points in the Northern Premier League.
Only a minute or so was on the clock when Charlie Casper got down low and pulled off a very good instinctive reaction save (deflection en route too which made it all the more impressive) to stop Jack Redshaw’s volley from nestling in the net.
Another stop soon followed and this early work by Casper (with his proud dad watching somewhere in the stands) proved to be the catalyst for what unfolded as FC United pounced not once, but twice, on Hyde’s vulnerability at dealing with crosses into their box - to establish a 2-0 lead by the quarter-hour mark.
Jordan Buckley scoring both goals; albeit it was completely against the run of play!
The Tigers did pull one back quite quickly as Matt Fearnley unleashed a vicious half-volley that flew into the net pretty much immediately from the re-start - one which even Casper could only watch and admire such was the quality of execution (not to mention the fact nobody in the ground was expecting Matt Fearnley to leather it), but before the interval, Hyde were undone again by Jordan Buckley as he managed to get in-behind Joel Amado, then looked up, spotted Callum Hiddleston off his line and hit a delicious effort straight into the net to complete his hat-trick in style.
Quite how it was 3-1, given Hyde had had most of the possession up to this point, was something of a mystery but in the second half, FC United just shut up shop and defended resolutely to ensure they made the short journey home with all three points. They were organised, they were disciplined, they went five at the back, they were tough to break down and they knew exactly what they were doing!
Hyde did pull a goal back as Jack Redshaw’s deflected effort made it 3-2 with about 20 minutes to go but they couldn’t break down FC United any further and get an equaliser.
Casper (who on any other day would have been ‘Man Of The Match’) pulled off a tremendous fingertip save to keep out a volley by Fearnley that was heading for the top corner, and the on loan Burnley ‘keeper was decent throughout the afternoon as he commanded his box particularly well, showed good game-management by buying a few extra seconds here and there, distributed it well and didn’t shank anything and just showed lots of elements that you’d want in a young ‘keeper, in order to get the job done.
Credit to him and with his loan now up then whatever happens (an extension or ‘Back to Burnley’), I’ll be keeping an eye on his progress as he’s underlining his value and showing what he can do infront of decent crowds by producing performances such as this.
Hyde did throw everything at it during seven (excessive) minutes of injury-time but it wasn’t to be their day - and this, their first home defeat of the season infront of the biggest Step 3 crowd of the weekend, stopped them from climbing back into the Play-Off spots they’ve recently vacated. They had a good start to the season and were even top of the table at one point around the August Bank Holiday Weekend, but are now going through a little iffy patch that will test their resolve and their character. And it’s how they overcome this period, even as a young team, that will help define their character.
One positive in Hyde’s performance was Jay Glover, who did well when he came on, moved the ball well, got up and down (including nearly popping up in the perfect place for a shot on goal) and he probably did enough in his 20-25 minutes on the pitch to put himself in contention for a start against Hebburn Town in midweek.
Having watched Jay plenty of times at Sheffield Wednesday in the U21s (and even being at his debut against FC United for Belper a couple of years ago), he’s good on the ball and being a part of this Hyde team will suit his style. A confident Jay Glover will add quality to most teams at this level, he’s a class lad too who cares and will put in 100% effort, and here’s hoping that everything works out after a frustrating first couple of months of the season at Matlock Town.
