Manchester United Draws 1-1 Against South Africa's Kaizer Chiefs
July 19th 2008 22:58
For his team's second pre-season game, Sir Alex Ferguson brought four changes to the squad that defeated Scottish club Aberdeen F.C. Polish goaltender Tomasz Kuszczak replaced Ben Amos; in defense, John O'Shea replaced Mikael Silvestre on the left flank, holding midfielder Michael Carrick had the day off and was replaced by Chris Eagles, and finally, Carlos Tevez returned in attack, replacing Lee Martin. With Carrick's absence, Ryan Giggs took up playmaking duties in the middle of the park while Egles got assigned to the left wing - Giggs' usual spot.
As a group, United played a lot better than last week but the defense looked a bit nonchalant throughout the match whereas the Chiefs defenders' made life miserable for Wayne Rooney who quickly lost his temper and often kicked his markers when the referee wasn't looking. Manchester's carelessness in defense got them into trouble at the 35th minute when Gary Neville stuck out his leg and fouled Siphiwe Tshabalala inside the box (it looked like a dive to me on the replay, but whatever). One minute later, defender Jonathan Quartey converted the penalty kick, putting the Chiefs ahead.
Carrick's absence was very noticeable in the second half as both Giggs and Scholes couldn't find the one pass that could undo the Kaizer Chiefs' tightly locked defense. Furthermore, the lack of defensive upside to Giggs left United very vulnerable in the middle as soon as they lost the ball. That little detail averred itself to be very important as Man U's midfielders often got caught playing too high, forcing Tevez and/or Rooney to run back and help out when they were not in possession. All was not lost however as Eagles equalized the mark at the 59th minute with a header thanks to a beautiful cross from Tevez. At 1-1, United could breathe a bit and not constantly throw their central midfielders to the attack. Ferguson then proceeded to his team's first substitutions at the 62nd minute, taking out Gary Neville and Eagles to replace them by Danny Simpson and Fraizier Campbell. Since Campbell is a striker, Rooney took Eagles' place on the wing, leaving Tevez with the youngster. And that's when United started to play off-balance.
I don't quite know how to explain it but something was clearly broken after the two changes. Maybe it was bad chemistry between Tevez and Campbell, maybe it wasn't working anymore with Rooney and Giggs playing side by side when they usually play one in front of the other or on opposite wings. Whatever it was, it became even worse five minutes later when Fergie made two more changes, replacing Wes Brown by Jonny Evans and Rooney by Darron Gibson. At that point, the forwards and the midfielders became completely disconnected and it took some individual skills (Campbell) to pierce in the Chiefs' tight defense.
Although the game ended in a draw, it was a nice outing for Manchester United players who were a lot more effective in their passes. The defense had a couple of brain cramps and communication issues with the goalkeeper but it's nothing that they can't fix for their next game which will be on Tuesday.
My man of the match: Itumeleng Khune. I didn't mention him in my report but the Kaizer Chiefs' goaltender was excellent throughout the game with some timely saves (including one on Rooney right before the Chiefs scored the opening goal).
As a group, United played a lot better than last week but the defense looked a bit nonchalant throughout the match whereas the Chiefs defenders' made life miserable for Wayne Rooney who quickly lost his temper and often kicked his markers when the referee wasn't looking. Manchester's carelessness in defense got them into trouble at the 35th minute when Gary Neville stuck out his leg and fouled Siphiwe Tshabalala inside the box (it looked like a dive to me on the replay, but whatever). One minute later, defender Jonathan Quartey converted the penalty kick, putting the Chiefs ahead.
Carrick's absence was very noticeable in the second half as both Giggs and Scholes couldn't find the one pass that could undo the Kaizer Chiefs' tightly locked defense. Furthermore, the lack of defensive upside to Giggs left United very vulnerable in the middle as soon as they lost the ball. That little detail averred itself to be very important as Man U's midfielders often got caught playing too high, forcing Tevez and/or Rooney to run back and help out when they were not in possession. All was not lost however as Eagles equalized the mark at the 59th minute with a header thanks to a beautiful cross from Tevez. At 1-1, United could breathe a bit and not constantly throw their central midfielders to the attack. Ferguson then proceeded to his team's first substitutions at the 62nd minute, taking out Gary Neville and Eagles to replace them by Danny Simpson and Fraizier Campbell. Since Campbell is a striker, Rooney took Eagles' place on the wing, leaving Tevez with the youngster. And that's when United started to play off-balance.
I don't quite know how to explain it but something was clearly broken after the two changes. Maybe it was bad chemistry between Tevez and Campbell, maybe it wasn't working anymore with Rooney and Giggs playing side by side when they usually play one in front of the other or on opposite wings. Whatever it was, it became even worse five minutes later when Fergie made two more changes, replacing Wes Brown by Jonny Evans and Rooney by Darron Gibson. At that point, the forwards and the midfielders became completely disconnected and it took some individual skills (Campbell) to pierce in the Chiefs' tight defense.
Although the game ended in a draw, it was a nice outing for Manchester United players who were a lot more effective in their passes. The defense had a couple of brain cramps and communication issues with the goalkeeper but it's nothing that they can't fix for their next game which will be on Tuesday.
My man of the match: Itumeleng Khune. I didn't mention him in my report but the Kaizer Chiefs' goaltender was excellent throughout the game with some timely saves (including one on Rooney right before the Chiefs scored the opening goal).
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