FC United of Manchester Season 2005-06
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[edit] FC United of Manchester 2005-2006 season
FC United's first public match was an away friendly fixture against Leigh RMI on 16 July 2005. The match ended 0–0, and many FC United supporters invaded the pitch at the end of the game. Although the pitch invasion was good-natured, it was claimed that a supporter had assaulted a steward and St Helens Town subsequently cancelled a proposed friendly match on the advice of their safety officer. The club's next match was another away friendly at AFC Wimbledon, on 23 July 2005, which AFC won 1–0.[1] The following Saturday (30 July 2005) they visited the Conference North team Stalybridge Celtic, in a benefit match for Myra Mandryk, a member of Stalybridge's staff who was suffering from cancer. Stalybridge won 2–0 in front of a crowd of 1,800.
An important milestone was FC United's next friendly, as guests of Flixton F.C. on 2 August. This was due to F.C.'s highly-anticipated first-ever goal, scored by Steve Torpey very early on in the game. A further four goals were scored, resulting in an emphatic 5–2 victory in what was F.C. United's first match against a club from the same league (the three previous games had been against higher division clubs).
The North West Counties League arranged for F.C. United's first league match to be away to the club with the biggest ground, Leek CSOB, in order to gauge whether it would be possible for other clubs to host F.C. United at their own grounds. It took place on Saturday 13 August 2005 and was the first all-ticket match in the history of the league. The attendance of 2,590 set a new record for the NWCFL, and was higher than Leek CSOB's combined attendances for the whole of the previous season. F.C. United won the game 5–2.
F.C. United played their first home match on 20 August, beating Padiham 3–2 in front of 2,498, a crowd that was higher than some League Two clubs attracted on the same day. The club started the season well, with six wins and a draw from their first seven games before suffering their first competitive defeat on 24 September at home to Norton United. They won their next four games, however, including a 5–1 victory over Cheadle Town in their first-ever cup match, and set another North West Counties League record attendance of 3,110 for a match against Oldham Town on 5 October, only to be beaten three days later with 3,808 for a match against Daisy Hill on 8 October. They played their first competitive match against a higher division side in a North West Counties League cup match on 13 November, losing 2–1 to Colne. The following month, their midfielder Simon Carden scored five goals in a single game, in a 10–2 win over Castleton Gabriels.
A 2–1 win at home to second-placed Winsford on 2 January 2006 put FC United 14 points ahead at the top of division two, although Winsford had played three fewer matches. That match's attendance of 4,328 set yet another record attendance for the league and gave FC United the second-highest average attendance in English non-League football up to that point of the season, and a higher average attendance than six League Two clubs.[2] They were knocked out of the North West Counties League Division Two Cup by Nelson on 4 February.
FC United confirmed promotion from the North West Counties League Division Two on the evening of Wednesday 12 April after a 4–0 home victory over Chadderton. On 15 April they were confirmed as Division Two champions without playing as other results made it impossible for any other club in the division to catch them.
The NWCFL Division Two trophy was awarded at the home game v Great Harwood Town FC on Saturday 22 April 2006, in front of a crowd of 6,023, another NWCFL record attendance.
FC United rounded off the season with its first international match, a friendly in Germany on 12 May 2006 against 1. FC Lokomotiv Leipzig – another team resurrected by fans, which had just won the championship of their seventh-tier league in Germany. This match ended in a 4–4 draw.
