CARLOS Roca struck twice as the Rebels climbed three places to ninth in the UniBond Premier with victory over overhigh-flying Ilkeston in front of 1,550 at Gigg Lane.
Ace marksman Kyle Wilson gave them a 14th minute but Scott Garner equalised four minutes before the break after keeper Sam Ashton spilled Steve Istead's 25-yard shot.
But Roca restored FC's advantage in the 55th minute, volleying in Alex Skidmore's cross, before sealing their most impressive win of the season nine minutes from time.
THE Rebels battled to a goalless draw against the UniBond League premier division's in-form team on the wind-blown Yorkshire coast.
The conditions ruined the game as a spectacle, and the only incident of any note was the sad sight of young FC striker Danny Williams - one of the goal heroes in the midweek win at Frickley - being stretchered off with an injury.
FC boss Karl Marginson tried to keep the same team which had defeated Frickley, but family commitments robbed him of midfielder Simon Carden, who was replaced by Dave Neville.
With Chris Baguley out for a week with a hamstring strain and his brother Jamie still a month away from a return, FC now face second-placed Ilkeston Town at Gigg Lane on Wednesday night
SIMON Garner curled in a stunning free kick to set the Rebels on their way to a hard-earned win in West Yorkshire.
The left back's debut goal came on 31 minutes after the Tigers had made FC fight hard in the shadow of the former colliery team's infamous slag heap.
The match was held up for 45 minutes after the FC team coach became stuck in a 15-mile tailback on the M62, but the delay could not stop the Rebels from moving to within five points of the play-off places, with a game in hand.
Within two minutes of Garner's wonder strike, the premier division's top scorer Kyle Wilson (pictured) had kept up his phenomenal strike rate, scoring his 14th goal in 15 appearances.
He looked to have got the ball stuck under his feet as he broke away on the tacky surface, but dug it out to slide his shot beyond the keeper.
Struggling Frickley threatened to get back into the game when, four minutes before half time, defender Chris Hilton scored to make it 2-1.
But FC rallied strongly and Danny Williams slid in to secure the win with eight minutes remaining.
FC UNITED chief Karl Marginson praised his players' patience after they'd taken their first step on the long road to Wembley in the FA Trophy with a last-gasp 1-0 victory over neighbours Radcliffe.
The Rebels had to wait until the dying seconds of injury-time before centre-half Adam Turner looped in a header from Adam Carden's cross to secure their passage into the second qualifying-round.
The win was no more than FC deserved, as they dominated throughout and only once had cause to panic when Carden denied Steve Howson with a goal-line clearance.
Marginson, an FA Trophy winner as a player with Macclesfield 12 years ago, said: "I'm really proud of the patience and belief we showed. The goal was a long time coming, but I'd say the result was spot-on.
"To get to Wembley would mean everything, but that's a million miles away. All we're now concentrating on is Wednesday's league game at Frickley."
FOUR goals, two red cards and a missed penalty . . . there was more fun to be had in Bury than Belarus, writes Stuart Brennan.
But FC United's mini-revival came screeching to a halt, reined in by Kendal winger Carl Osman, brother of Everton star Leon.
The Rebels had won their last two league games, scoring nine in the process.
But high-flying Kendal put the shackles on 13-goal top-scorer Kyle Wilson and that severely restricted the FC threat.
Osman started the rot after just 40 seconds, latching on to a deflected pass to finish with aplomb.
Kendal's veteran player/ manager Lee Ashcroft was sent off for an elbow on FC full-back Simon Garner, who swiftly followed for a retaliatory head butt.
Chris Baguley saw his penalty saved before redeeming himself with the equaliser on 43 minutes after sterling work by Jerome Wright.
The Rebels could easily have had the game wrapped up by half-time as Wilson shot into the side netting after a great piece of control, and skipper Dave Chadwick saw a header somehow saved on the line by Kendal keeper David Newnes.
Kendal rallied in the second half and Michael Cole took advantage of some shoddy defending to edge the Cumbrians ahead again.
Osman secured the points on 65 minutes when his shot took a deflection to soar past keeper Sam Ashton.