Manchester United Defeats Portsmouth F.C. 2-1 in Pre-sason Friendly
July 29th 2008 00:55
Here's something you don't see every day, two English sides confronting under the stifling African heat of Nigeria's capital, Abuja. To make matters worse, both teams had played the day before, making fatigue and injuries a big concern in a game that could be seen as a preview of the Community Shields match coming up on August 10.
For this occasion, Sir Alex Ferguson elected to start the match with a mixture of youth and experience, putting Tomasz Kuszczak (Ben Amos replaced him at the 76th minute) in goal; Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans (Craig Cathcart, 65th), and Mikael Silvestre in defense; Darron Gibson (Rodrigo Possebon 72nd), Michael Carrick (John O'Shea, 65th), Paul Scholes, and Chris Eagles (Tom Cleverley, 78th) in midfield; Carlos Tevez, and Fraizier Campbell in attack. Harry Redknapp opted for a first-team starting eleven with David James in goal; Glen Johnson, Noé Pamarot, Sylvain Distin, and Herman Hreidarsson in defense; John Utaka, Papa Bouba Diop, Pedro Mendes, and Niko Kranjcar in midfield; Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch in attack.
United quickly got their first scoring chance at the 4th minute of play, when Campbell got fouled by defender Glen Johnson inside the 18-yard box. Carlos Tevez scored on the penalty-kick but the referee decided to impose a retake as Eagles had inadvertently entered the box before Tevez had taken his shot. The Argentine striker's second attempt crashed on the crossbar, and Portsmouth could finally breathe as they had avoided the worst. However, it was United who would continue to get the best scoring chances during the first half with Chris Eagles missing the un-missable at the 24th minute (on a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, he somehow managed to kick the ball wide), and Campbell getting denied by James at the 37th minute. At the other end, Vidic was doing an admirable job in challenging Crouch on every high ball while Evans showed great composure in making timely tackles and denying Portsmouth's wingers a way through the middle. Surprisingly, Ferguson made no changes at half-time, keeping the same players on the field while Redknapp used almost all his substitutions in that timeframe as Djimi Traoré, Sean Davis, and Lauren came on for Hreidarsson, Mendes and Kranjcar. Before that, Redknapp had made two substitutions in the dying minutes of the first half due to injuries, Linvoy Primus replacing Pamarot at the 40th minute, and Glen Little replacing Utaka at the 44th minute.
The second half was midfielder Paul Scholes' show as the tempo slowed down to a walking pace with neither team's players willing to summon the strength for tiresome and useless sprints. This is where Scholes took control of the game almost by himself and became the cornerstone of United's passing. Every ball had to get to him before going to someone else. Carrick, United's usual playmaker, completely disappeared in that instance, leaving the whole center of midfield to the veteran. The funny thing is, despite all the passes coming from or going to Scholes, Pompey's players never thought to pressure the midfielder, leaving him with plenty of time to find the best options. Amidst all of this possession time for United, Eagles managed to score the first goal at the 50th minute, after Portsmouth's defenders failed to clear a rebound. Tevez also got on the scoresheet with his first goal of the pre-season, a right-foot strike to the near post that surprised James who was probably expecting a more angled shot. It was the striker's last touch of the game as he was replaced by Ryan Giggs at the 65th minute. Portsmouth managed to pull one back at the 90th minute thanks to a great individual effort by Defoe. The conceded goal was United's sole blemish defensively and I find it slightly paradoxical that United always seems to play solidly at the back and just when you think that there's no way in, the opposition manages to score a goal. Perhaps the goaltending needs to be looked at.
In conclusion, Manchester United celebrated their fourth victory of the pre-season, and are undefeated so far. Their youngsters are playing great and the veterans are slowly finding their groove. Everything is right on track.
My man of the match: Paul Scholes. The midfielder shone in a brilliant display. He also almost scored on a volley that could've been one of the best goals of this pre-season.
For this occasion, Sir Alex Ferguson elected to start the match with a mixture of youth and experience, putting Tomasz Kuszczak (Ben Amos replaced him at the 76th minute) in goal; Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Jonny Evans (Craig Cathcart, 65th), and Mikael Silvestre in defense; Darron Gibson (Rodrigo Possebon 72nd), Michael Carrick (John O'Shea, 65th), Paul Scholes, and Chris Eagles (Tom Cleverley, 78th) in midfield; Carlos Tevez, and Fraizier Campbell in attack. Harry Redknapp opted for a first-team starting eleven with David James in goal; Glen Johnson, Noé Pamarot, Sylvain Distin, and Herman Hreidarsson in defense; John Utaka, Papa Bouba Diop, Pedro Mendes, and Niko Kranjcar in midfield; Jermaine Defoe and Peter Crouch in attack.
United quickly got their first scoring chance at the 4th minute of play, when Campbell got fouled by defender Glen Johnson inside the 18-yard box. Carlos Tevez scored on the penalty-kick but the referee decided to impose a retake as Eagles had inadvertently entered the box before Tevez had taken his shot. The Argentine striker's second attempt crashed on the crossbar, and Portsmouth could finally breathe as they had avoided the worst. However, it was United who would continue to get the best scoring chances during the first half with Chris Eagles missing the un-missable at the 24th minute (on a one-on-one against the goalkeeper, he somehow managed to kick the ball wide), and Campbell getting denied by James at the 37th minute. At the other end, Vidic was doing an admirable job in challenging Crouch on every high ball while Evans showed great composure in making timely tackles and denying Portsmouth's wingers a way through the middle. Surprisingly, Ferguson made no changes at half-time, keeping the same players on the field while Redknapp used almost all his substitutions in that timeframe as Djimi Traoré, Sean Davis, and Lauren came on for Hreidarsson, Mendes and Kranjcar. Before that, Redknapp had made two substitutions in the dying minutes of the first half due to injuries, Linvoy Primus replacing Pamarot at the 40th minute, and Glen Little replacing Utaka at the 44th minute.
The second half was midfielder Paul Scholes' show as the tempo slowed down to a walking pace with neither team's players willing to summon the strength for tiresome and useless sprints. This is where Scholes took control of the game almost by himself and became the cornerstone of United's passing. Every ball had to get to him before going to someone else. Carrick, United's usual playmaker, completely disappeared in that instance, leaving the whole center of midfield to the veteran. The funny thing is, despite all the passes coming from or going to Scholes, Pompey's players never thought to pressure the midfielder, leaving him with plenty of time to find the best options. Amidst all of this possession time for United, Eagles managed to score the first goal at the 50th minute, after Portsmouth's defenders failed to clear a rebound. Tevez also got on the scoresheet with his first goal of the pre-season, a right-foot strike to the near post that surprised James who was probably expecting a more angled shot. It was the striker's last touch of the game as he was replaced by Ryan Giggs at the 65th minute. Portsmouth managed to pull one back at the 90th minute thanks to a great individual effort by Defoe. The conceded goal was United's sole blemish defensively and I find it slightly paradoxical that United always seems to play solidly at the back and just when you think that there's no way in, the opposition manages to score a goal. Perhaps the goaltending needs to be looked at.
In conclusion, Manchester United celebrated their fourth victory of the pre-season, and are undefeated so far. Their youngsters are playing great and the veterans are slowly finding their groove. Everything is right on track.
My man of the match: Paul Scholes. The midfielder shone in a brilliant display. He also almost scored on a volley that could've been one of the best goals of this pre-season.
| 41 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
