KARL Marginson says he will not be "crucifying" left back Simon Garner for his red card in the midweek home defeat by Kendal Town.
In fact Garner - sent off for retaliating with a head butt to Lee Ashcroft's elbow, for which he was also dismissed - is set to reclaim his place in the team for the FA Trophy "derby" clash with Radcliffe Borough at Gigg Lane.
Marginson is pondering other changes after a poor second half display against the Cumbrians left FC closer to the relegation zone than the play-offs, but says he will review the match DVD before picking his team.
Garner's likely three-match ban will not begin for a fortnight, but Marginson had some sympathy for the player, as he responded to a red-card offence: "Simon's disappointed - it was one of those things where you just react out of instinct and regret it instantly, so I am not going to crucify him.
"To be honest, the two red cards spurred us on. We told the players at half time to go out and raise the tempo of the game. I don't know what team went out there in the second half, but I suppose you get that with young players sometimes.
"Jerome Wright ran himself into the ground, and I felt sorry for him because he had been magnificent in the first half."
The Trophy offers an outside chance of a trip to Wembley, although the biug guns of the Conference are not involved in the first qualifying round.
But with prize money up for grabs - Saturday's tie is worth £2,300 to the victors - the competition is not to be sniffed at.
Marginson said: "It can be done by teams at our level. Burscough did it a couple of years ago."
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Free Red, Manchester (17/10/2008 at 17:29)
Without playing a match, the Reds have already gone further then they did in their inaugural Trophy run, as last season they lost out in the preliminary round to Bradford Park Avenue.
Potentially eight matches away from a May date at Wembley, United must first get past three qualifying rounds even before the Conference clubs join the competition in the first round proper.
The trophy was originally formed in 1969, with the first winners being Macclesfield Town. The actual trophy that goes to the winner was a gift to the FA in 1905 for a competition between England, USA and Canada aimed at promoting football in North America. However, the tournament never saw the light of day and the trophy was left unused.
There have been three teams who have won the competition on three occasions; Scarborough, Woking and Telford United and last season’s winners were the controversially ‘fan-owned’ Conference club Ebbsfleet Untied who saw off Torquay United by a score of 1-0 in the final.
Margy has gone on record and said that the football the team has been playing in the last few matches has been some of the best in our short history, and even in Wednesday’s defeat to Kendal United still controlled the game for large amounts of the first half.
Saturday’s opponents will be no strangers to Margy’s men or even the supporters as the two teams met a total of five times with United winning twice, drawing twice and tasting defeat just once.
The most significant of the meetings between the two teams was last season’s President’s Cup Final victory, in which United beat their near neighbours by a score of 2-0 for the second time in three days and picked up the silverware too.
All the matches between the two last season were close and tight last season, and from their performances it was hard to believe that Radcliffe were propping up the table for most of the season.
It’s also worth noting that the one match which Radcliffe won was in the Manchester Premier Cup, and they went on to win that trophy, it’s on omen they may be taking into consideration when the teams meet again.
The club managed to pull their form together towards the end of the season and avoided relegation by finishing six points clear of bottom club Bridlington Town. The club have made a better start to this season and currently find themselves in a good mid-table position with 13 points from 11 games, which includes a 6-0 drubbing of bottom club Salford City.
A danger man for Radcliffe is always forward Steve Howson, who managed to rack up an astonishing 36 goals in the team which struggled so much last season.
Saturday’s game should be another cracking encounter and these cup games seem to generate a special atmosphere and type of match and this one could be something special again.
The game is the usual 3pm kick off and the usual admission prices apply. So get yourself down to that football ground and join us on the road to Wembley