Tuesday 25/10/2011
Carling Cup
Manchester United dispatched Aldershot Town with ease to progress to the last 8 of the Carling Cup.
United made 11 changes from the side that lost 1-6 to Manchester City on Sunday and were looking to get back to winning ways . The majority of the changes were to be expected, with fringe players such as Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Owen and Anders Lindegaard coming in to replace rested players. Overall the United side was strong, and with this, any hope Aldershot had of getting an easy ride was quashed.
It was United who started the stronger, putting Aldershot under a lot of pressure in the opening stages.The League 2 side were looking overwhelmed by the visitors capability to retain possession. And after 15 minutes the Premier League Champions dominance paid off, as Dimitar Berbatov turned and slotted home calmly after some sublime passing play from Park Ji-Sung and the returning Tom Cleverley. Cleverley was making his first start since picking up an injury in the 5-0 victory over Bolton in early September. As the half wore on the home side's confidence grew, managing to subdue United for long spells. McGlashan's pace was giving Aldershot an attacking presence, as he got behind the United defence on more than one occasion.
However the hosts were unable to create any chances of note, and on 41 minutes they were punished. Berbatov was involved again as he laid off Owen to make the score 0-2. Aldershot were far from being humiliated, but were simply being outclassed by their opponents. This didn't deter the home crowd as they continued to urge their side forward as the second half began. They were soon subdued though, as Antonio Valencia fired in a stunning strike from 25 yards three minutes after the restart, giving Ross Warner no chance. United were in cruise control and used their three goal advantage to field some younger talent with the likes of Ravel Morrison, Paul Pogba and Michael Keane coming on, looking to make an impression.
The tempo slowed as the game drew to its climax, with United comfortably progressing to the next round. Dimitar Berbatov had made a particularly strong case for his return to more regular first team football, with his goal and assist. In addition were the promising performances of Morriosn,Pogba, Keane, and Ezekiel Fryers who all looked very comfortable on the ball. Meaning there will be lots of positives for United to take away from this game, as well as exercising some of the demons left after Sundays defeat.
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