A huge win for Witton

Albion’s fans have had little to cheer in the FA Cup in recent seasons.

A run to the fourth qualifying round in 2011, when they were eliminated by Barrow, is the closest their favourites have got to the competition proper since the mid-1990s when they played in non-league football’s top-flight.

They now await Monday’s draw.

Three wins in this season’s edition are worth £30,000 in prize money, a figure they can almost double if they extend the sequence later this month.

On the field, a boost in confidence from eliminating higher-ranked opposition in successive matches will be important moving forward.

Go on then, the referee…

FC United’s supporters directed most of their ire at referee Ben Speedie at the end of each half, and that’s hardly surprising given he dismissed three of their players.

And yet there was scarcely a bad tackle in the game.

Kurt Willoughby did strike Billy Smart, who cynically stopped him from joining an attack – started with a quickly-taken free-kick – by grabbing him with both hands.

As the duo fell an arm swung by the forward, almost certainly through frustration, did connect with his opponent’s face.

However Smart’s exaggerated reaction was unnecessary given the match official had spotted Willoughby’s indiscretion and showed a red card almost immediately.

Captain Harry Winter was dismissed later as punishment for being booked twice. Both were fouls, but he can consider himself unlucky.

That said, he took a risk making a tackle on Danny McKenna that earned the second one knowing he had already been cautioned.

Elliot Simoes, a third United player sent off, was guilty of petulance when he kicked the ball away in frustration after receiving a yellow card for dissent only moments earlier.

A calculated gamble that paid off

Carl Macauley deserves credit for making an attacking substitution after an hour, sending on Delial Brewster in place of Cesaire and adjusting a 4-3-3 formation.

It’s fair to say he could afford to following Willoughby’s red card before half-time, but the truth is the visitors hadn’t taken the initiative after the interval and it almost felt like they were waiting for something to happen.

Brewster’s impact was almost instant, and his run in behind the hosts’ defence led to substitute goalkeeper Jordan Perrin dashing from his line to make a smart save.

Witton’s winning goal followed from the resulting corner.

Northwich Guardian:

Delial Brewester is denied by FC United's replacement goalkeeper Jordan Perrin, on for injured Dave Carnell, shortly after his arrival as a substitute for Cesaire. Picture: Karl Brooks Photography

In praise of Rob Hopley

Witton’s captain had urged his teammates beforehand to not be fearful of facing FC United of Manchester in front of their own supporters.

They listened.

Six of Albion’s starting line-up were aged 24 or under, and one or two of those will never have played in a setting like Broadhurst Park.

Hopley’s calm assurance in attack set an example for them to follow, and it was fitting that he scored a decisive goal.

It was a trademark strike too, reacting instinctively to redirect River Humphreys’ towering header at the back-post into the net before a United defender had even moved.

Winning without playing well

For all the furore surrounding referee Ben Speedie’s role, it was a game low on quality.

Carl Macauley himself admitted to feeling frustrated that his side hadn’t performed as well as they could, on and off the ball, and it was curious to see Witton become increasingly passive after James Foley’s opener.

However they were faced by impotent opponents low on confidence and without a cutting edge in attack.

River Humphreys effectively shackled Willoughby, who was starved of all service from out wide or from a midfielder playing a penetrative pass.

Of course, in the cup the result matters most and Albion were on the right side of this one.

Worryingly for FC United fans, their guests appeared hungrier to be so.