Quirk of fixture list gives Morpeth Town an immediate chance to atone for mistakes made against FC United

In a quirk of the fixture list, the Highwaymen played the same opposition at the weekend in the FA Trophy, suffering a 4-1 loss that saw the visitors to Craik Park race to that scoreline by the 40th minute.

Town couldn’t contain their opponents as they tore through them, leading to an early exit from the competition.

But for Lynch, an immediate opportunity to atone for the errors against FC United ensures plenty of motivation for his side.

“Playing them again on Saturday – we can look to put it right,” said the Morpeth Town manager ahead of the Pitching In NPL Premier Division clash.

“We know what FC United are like at home. They play fast, flowing football and have a great fan base behind them, and they always play well at home.

“It will be a difficult game but we know what we’re up against because they’ve done it in the game we played the previous Saturday.

“The lads know what we need from them.”

Morpeth trailed in the FA Trophy encounter by the 14th minute when Michael Donohue dinked the ball calmly over the on-rushing Dan Lowson to give FC United the lead.

Town responded strongly and immediately threatened an equaliser, with Will Jenkins’ fierce drive pushed clear before Vinnie Steels was denied by visiting keeper Pat Boyes from a tight angle.

The hosts wouldn’t have to wait long to find a leveller, scoring on 18 minutes through an increasingly reliable source of goals in Josh Robson.

The right back, who hadn’t scored in senior football until this season, netted for a second time this campaign, finding a way past Boyes with a close-range overhead kick.

Parity wouldn’t last long as Jake Charles glanced a 26th minute header to the far post to put FC United in front before two goals in a minute sent them well clear.

Keane Barugh reacted quickest on 39 minutes to slot into the far corner before captain Luke Griffiths added a fourth seconds later, to end the game as a contest.

Despite a spirited second half from the home side, it wasn’t enough to prevent an exit at the Third Qualifying Round stage.