by Suzanne Beishon

MANCHESTER UNITED’S breakaway fans marked the tenth anniversary of their new club’s founding with a test event at their new ground at Moston in north Manchester on Saturday.

Supporter-owned FC United of Manchester, formed by fans in 2005 after the much-hated Glazer family takeover of their club, opened the gates to their new 5,000 capacity Broadhurst Park home in a bid to meet the council’s health and safety regulations ahead of their opening glamour tie against Portuguese side Benfica on May 29.

Over 3,200 supporters turned up to the emotional occasion to watch an invitational eleven, which included former players, take on the current squad who finished the season as Northern Premier League Premier Division champions to win promotion to the National League North — just two leagues below the Football League.

The friendly fixture ended 3-2 to the home side with promotion-winning goalscorer Tom Greaves the first to hit the new ground’s nets.

In FC United’s short history they have won promotion four times and become a beacon to fans disillusioned with the commercialisation of the modern game across the globe through their championing of fan ownership.

Speaking to the Star yesterday general manager Andy Walsh described the day as a “momentous occasion” and said: “Yesterday was a very proud and emotional day for everyone connected with the club and marked 10 years of hard work, focus and the vision of creating a facility of our own.

“It’s a mark of what can be achieved when ordinary football fans are given the opportunity to do things their way.”