FaC: United 1 - 1 Reading
This evening’s match brings together the king and the contender in a battle for a quarter final place in the FA Cup.
United start as strong favourites, not only as the in-form home side on top of the Premiership but also because Reading’s Steve Coppell has promised to field his second stringers. The Royals boss, with his side in sixth place, can see a fairy tale ahead of qualification for the Uefa Cup next season, if his team can hold its nerve, avoid injuries and remain fresh. The FA Cup, once the ultimate glory for teams without a chance of winning the league, can not compete with a possible European cash bonanza next term.
Sir Alex has bigger priorities on his mind also. Members of his own fringe will start today, with the manager’s eye on next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter in France. Has there ever been an FA Cup match with so little at stake?
Wayne Rooney is suspended for today’s match and Edwin Van Der Sar is still recovering from a broken nose. Rooney’s absence deprives United of its most in-form striker but should open the door to more match practice for Louis Saha.
The match promises to be an open affair with both teams committed to adventurous football. Coppell has performed miracles in hauling a modest side to the upper reaches of the Premiership and has been tipped by ex-United boss Tommy Docherty as a replacement for Sir Alex when he leaves the Old Trafford hotseat.
The United boss agrees that Coppell, a United winger in the 1970’s, is deserving of the highest praise. Ferguson declared: “Everyone is saying he could be Manager of the Year and it would be totally deserved if he got it. Steve doesn’t get too emotional - he is calm and intelligent. He has made a marvellous contribution to the Premiership this year. He has also done it with mainly British- based players which says a lot for the way he has generated his squad.
“You would not have thought a team coming out of the Championship would do so well but their form has been fantastic.”
Coppell returned the compliment in kind. He said: “The thing that always amazes me about Fergie is that United have won all their home games bar two this season. To a certain extent, he must think ‘I wonder how many we’re going to win by today?’ And yet look at his delight when United score - it’s almost as if it’s the first goal of the season. To have that sort of excitement and drive after everything he’s won is remarkable.
“Whatever age he is, it doesn’t matter because he ain’t playing. Just go to the United training ground any morning you like. You’ll be second in. The man is unique.”
The platitudes and back-slapping are likely to continue long into the night even as United run out comfortable winners.
FA CUP RESULTS
Arsenal 0 - 0 Blackburn; Chelsea 4 - 0 Norwich C; Middlesbrough 2 - 2 West Brom; Plymouth Argyle 2 - 0 Derby; Watford 1 - 0 Ipswich;
MATCH REPORT…
United 1 - 1 Reading
Carrick (46) / Gunnarsson (66)
Sloppiness in front of goal and some inspired goal keeping mean United must continue the battle with Reading for a place in the FA Cup quarter final.
United have it all to do again when they ought to have buried their guests under an avalanche of goals. Not for the first time this season, United had a team by the chokehold but allowed a last gasp escape. Sir Alex will rue the missed opportunities by Park and Ronaldo in particular which should have seen United run out comfortable winners.
United’s profligacy should not detract from Reading’s achievement in earning a draw with a team largely composed of reserves who were, to coin a phrase, far from being big names in their own household.
Sir Alex made changes to his own unit but had a right to expect more as, unlike Reading’s Steve Coppell, he was able to call in a supporting cast of internationals. The gulf between United’s first 11 and their fringe replacements has been remarked upon already this season. Here again, United failed to find the rhythm and fluency needed to wear down a well drilled opponent. In Ronaldo, United had the best player on the pitch, who always looked capable of finding the invention and weight of pass needed to open up the visiting five man defence. In Park, United had a player at the centre of much forward play but unequal to the task of shooting accurately in front of goal.
In the fourth minute, the Korean bore down on goal only to sky his shot into the stands. The winger may be returning gradually to fitness after a three month lay-off due to an ankle injury but nevertheless looks some way off the player who caused mayhem during PSV’s run to the Champions League semi-final three years ago. As Diego Forlan found to his cost, the United first team is no place for a work in progress.
The match’s early stages were roughly equal. United’s attacking momentum was matched by Reading’s defensive resilience with stand-in sticksman Adam Federici catching the eye. The reserve thwarted Saha’s shot in the ninth minute after a slick three man build-up stretching half the pitch involving the Frenchman, Carrick and Ronaldo. Saha wasted another chance of his own making in the 28th minute, when it seemed he was destined to score after a mazy run took out three defenders.
United looked to have made a vital breakthrough on 33 minutes when Solskjaer, again a peripheral figure in attack, steered a crisp shot into the net, only for the linesman and referee to rule the effort off-side. Television replays suggested the attacker ought to have been given the benefit of the doubt.
Perhaps, the injustice spurred on United. The last kick of the half saw Ronaldo release the on-rushing Carrick some 27 yards from goal. His expertly executed fierce drive found the right hand corner of the Reading goal to give United the lead at the interval.
If fans tucked into their half time refreshments expecting a goal rush, they were to be sorely disappointed. Chance after chance went begging as the match stretched from end to end. In the 62nd minute, a route one move, reminiscent of the ’94 team’s glory days, had Kuszczak throw the ball out long to Park, who motored into the Reading half, finding Ronaldo with a sweet pass. The winger looked helpless as Reading’s goalkeeper tipped his shot wide of the right hand post.
Three minutes later, another swift United move had Solskjaer bearing down on the Reading penalty area. Unselfishly, he squared the ball to Ronaldo, who was perplexed as he scuffed his shot wide of the post.
A United goal would have killed the game. Instead, it was Reading who a minute later went upfield, earned a corner and equalised courtesy of Gunnarsson’s magnificent header.
The visitors grew in confidence as United threw on a trio of substitutes. Federeici turned Larsson’s cute shot past the post on 79 minutes. When, deep into injury time, Saha, ran half the pitch only to steer his shot wide, United knew that victory this day was beyond them.
TEAM
United: Kuszczak; Heinze (Evra 72); Vidic; Silvestre; Brown; Ronaldo Fletcher; Carrick; Park (Scholes 72); Saha; Solskjaer (Larsson 72)
Subs: Heaton; O’Shea
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “When you are leading by just one goal in a cup tie that is nothing. It was a good team performance and we deserved to win, but we just couldn’t take the chances we had in the game. The replay is not a big issue for us. We have a terrific squad and we don’t have any backlog of fixtures.”
Steve Coppell: “I cannot quite understand why people were questioning my team selection. These are the same lads I played in the previous round and included five internationals and someone - Adam Federici - who will probably be Australia’s next goalkeeper. I think it was disrespectful to question their ranking within my squad.”
“It was a tough game, we knew it was going to be a tough game before the match. We had to be very, very strong and disciplined and we were.”
