Manchester United Defeats Orlando Pirates 1-0
July 23rd 2008 15:26
In their second game of the Vodacom Challenge, Manchester United looked much more better defensively with the return of Rio Ferdinand in center defense and Michael Carrick in midfield. However, their attack led by youngsters Fraizier Campbell, Lee Martin and Chris Eagles came in fits and starts, resulting in a one-goal victory.
Regular starters Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney were all assigned as substitutes this time around as Ferguson gave more playing time to the reserve players. Ben Foster took Tomasz Kuszczak's place in goal, Jonny Evans started in center defense alongside Ferdinand while Wes Brown and Mikael Silvestre played as fullbacks. In midfield, Carrick was partnered with Darron Gibson, Martin played left-wing and Eagles right-wing. Finally, Carlos Tevez and Campbell made up the attack.
It was all United in the first half as the Pirates struggled to get out of their own half of the field. An easy working day for Foster who had plenty of practice on his clearances and never got tested by opposing forwards. The lone goal of the match came at the 23rd minute after an intelligent (maybe lucky) play by Campbell. The ball had spent a certain amount of time in the air as both teams' players seemingly decided to play headers only, Brown headed the ball to Campbell who headed it behind him in Martin's path. The youngster, who never looked comfortable in United's first pre-season game, didn't miss his chance, and beat the keeper in a close-range effort.
The second half was a different story as the Pirates became more aggressive on the ball, constantly putting United under pressure. Yet, they still couldn't get past Manchester's backline for real scoring opportunities. At the other end, Campbell was a constant thorn in the sides of the Pirates' defenders who couldn't find a solution to counter the young striker's speed. Still, United were going nowhere and Sir Alex made his first changes around the hour-mark replacing Silvestre by John O'Shea at the 61st minute, Carrick by Scholes at the 68th minute, and Tevez by Rooney also at the 68th minute. Rooney and Scholes immediately brought another dimension to the Red Devils' attack as they often combined to create scoring chances. Rooney also delivered a superb through-pass to Campbell but the striker couldn't make a breakaway since he had two defenders covering him. The play became a bit sloppy as Gibson, Eagles, and Martin were getting tired with all the running they'd done throughout the match. Gibson was quickly replaced by Darren Fletcher at the 82nd minute since United couldn't afford to lose control in midfield. An injury forced Fergie to make a late-change at the 88th minute when Evans hurt himself after a challenge. Danny Simpson entered in his place and United simply held on for the final minutes as Foster made an important save to preserve the clean-sheet.
Regular starters Nemanja Vidic, Gary Neville, Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney were all assigned as substitutes this time around as Ferguson gave more playing time to the reserve players. Ben Foster took Tomasz Kuszczak's place in goal, Jonny Evans started in center defense alongside Ferdinand while Wes Brown and Mikael Silvestre played as fullbacks. In midfield, Carrick was partnered with Darron Gibson, Martin played left-wing and Eagles right-wing. Finally, Carlos Tevez and Campbell made up the attack.
It was all United in the first half as the Pirates struggled to get out of their own half of the field. An easy working day for Foster who had plenty of practice on his clearances and never got tested by opposing forwards. The lone goal of the match came at the 23rd minute after an intelligent (maybe lucky) play by Campbell. The ball had spent a certain amount of time in the air as both teams' players seemingly decided to play headers only, Brown headed the ball to Campbell who headed it behind him in Martin's path. The youngster, who never looked comfortable in United's first pre-season game, didn't miss his chance, and beat the keeper in a close-range effort.
The second half was a different story as the Pirates became more aggressive on the ball, constantly putting United under pressure. Yet, they still couldn't get past Manchester's backline for real scoring opportunities. At the other end, Campbell was a constant thorn in the sides of the Pirates' defenders who couldn't find a solution to counter the young striker's speed. Still, United were going nowhere and Sir Alex made his first changes around the hour-mark replacing Silvestre by John O'Shea at the 61st minute, Carrick by Scholes at the 68th minute, and Tevez by Rooney also at the 68th minute. Rooney and Scholes immediately brought another dimension to the Red Devils' attack as they often combined to create scoring chances. Rooney also delivered a superb through-pass to Campbell but the striker couldn't make a breakaway since he had two defenders covering him. The play became a bit sloppy as Gibson, Eagles, and Martin were getting tired with all the running they'd done throughout the match. Gibson was quickly replaced by Darren Fletcher at the 82nd minute since United couldn't afford to lose control in midfield. An injury forced Fergie to make a late-change at the 88th minute when Evans hurt himself after a challenge. Danny Simpson entered in his place and United simply held on for the final minutes as Foster made an important save to preserve the clean-sheet.
| 15 |
| Vote |
Shared on
Add To: 
Subscribe to this blog
