Manchester United's Reserves Shine in Ferguson Derby
August 7th 2008 02:47
In a confrontation pitting father against son, Sir Alex Ferguson came out on top thanks to the wonderful performance of his young players who managed to defeat Darren Ferguson's team, Peterborough United.
Despite lining-up first team players such as Nani, Tevez, O'Shea, Fletcher, Ferdinand, Brown, and Evra (the rest had the day off in preparation for the match against Juventus today), the Red Devils had a lot of trouble responding to the Posh's efforts. The United defense was constantly under pressure, and were often forced to make several dangerous back-passes, putting goalkeeper Kuszczak in trouble more often than not. The absence of Scholes and Carrick in center midfield was clear as day as the defenders couldn't find that outlet to relieve the pressure. As good as O'Shea and Fletcher are, neither of them can take on the role playmaker with their limited skills. Furthermore, when United did manage to enter the final third of the field, their opportunities were often wasted by Nani who played a terrible game. The Portuguese was unable to link up with any of his teammates, losing possession almost every time he attempted a pass. As such, Peterborough was the best team on the field during that first half until the 38th minute. Less than ten minutes before half-time, United received a gift from defender Russell Martin who chested the ball into his own net while trying to pass it to his goalkeeper. It was the young defender's sole mistake of the match, a rather unfortunate event since he was excellent in breaking down Nani and Evra's rushes on the left wing.
Fergie brought several changes at halftime, including Brazilian full-back Fabio Da Silva who would play on the left while his twin brother, Rafael patrolled the right flank. Surprisingly (after all those changes), the team started to play better from then on, keeping possession by making simple plays. Rodrigo Possebon's entrance at the 58th minute certainly helped in that matter since the Portuguese's main asset is his passing ability. Ferguson made his final changes nine minutes later, replacing Kuszczak (who made an important reflex save at the 56th minute) and Fletcher by Zieler and Possebon. The latter gave United their second goal of the match one minute later on his first touch of the ball, a superb shot that went top-corner, leaving no chance to goalkeeper Mark Tyler. It was clearly a different, more dominant Manchester side who took the field in the second half. Possebon's presence stabilized the midfield while the twins brothers offered an intriguing performance. Can't wait to see more of them.
United's line-up: Tomasz Kuszczak (Ron-Robert Zieler, 67th); Rafael Da Silva, Wes Brown (Craig Cathcart, h-t), Rio Ferdinand (Jonny Evans, h-t), Patrice Evra (Fabio Da Silva, h-t); David Gray, Darren Fletcher (Darron Gibson, 67th), John O'Shea, Nani (Rodrigo Possebon, 58th); Carlos Tevez (Tom Cleverley, h-t), Fraizier Campbell (Lee Martin, h-t).
Despite lining-up first team players such as Nani, Tevez, O'Shea, Fletcher, Ferdinand, Brown, and Evra (the rest had the day off in preparation for the match against Juventus today), the Red Devils had a lot of trouble responding to the Posh's efforts. The United defense was constantly under pressure, and were often forced to make several dangerous back-passes, putting goalkeeper Kuszczak in trouble more often than not. The absence of Scholes and Carrick in center midfield was clear as day as the defenders couldn't find that outlet to relieve the pressure. As good as O'Shea and Fletcher are, neither of them can take on the role playmaker with their limited skills. Furthermore, when United did manage to enter the final third of the field, their opportunities were often wasted by Nani who played a terrible game. The Portuguese was unable to link up with any of his teammates, losing possession almost every time he attempted a pass. As such, Peterborough was the best team on the field during that first half until the 38th minute. Less than ten minutes before half-time, United received a gift from defender Russell Martin who chested the ball into his own net while trying to pass it to his goalkeeper. It was the young defender's sole mistake of the match, a rather unfortunate event since he was excellent in breaking down Nani and Evra's rushes on the left wing.
Fergie brought several changes at halftime, including Brazilian full-back Fabio Da Silva who would play on the left while his twin brother, Rafael patrolled the right flank. Surprisingly (after all those changes), the team started to play better from then on, keeping possession by making simple plays. Rodrigo Possebon's entrance at the 58th minute certainly helped in that matter since the Portuguese's main asset is his passing ability. Ferguson made his final changes nine minutes later, replacing Kuszczak (who made an important reflex save at the 56th minute) and Fletcher by Zieler and Possebon. The latter gave United their second goal of the match one minute later on his first touch of the ball, a superb shot that went top-corner, leaving no chance to goalkeeper Mark Tyler. It was clearly a different, more dominant Manchester side who took the field in the second half. Possebon's presence stabilized the midfield while the twins brothers offered an intriguing performance. Can't wait to see more of them.
Manchester United - Peterborough United: 2-0
United's line-up: Tomasz Kuszczak (Ron-Robert Zieler, 67th); Rafael Da Silva, Wes Brown (Craig Cathcart, h-t), Rio Ferdinand (Jonny Evans, h-t), Patrice Evra (Fabio Da Silva, h-t); David Gray, Darren Fletcher (Darron Gibson, 67th), John O'Shea, Nani (Rodrigo Possebon, 58th); Carlos Tevez (Tom Cleverley, h-t), Fraizier Campbell (Lee Martin, h-t).
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