The vultures may have been circling at Aldershot hoping
a Carling Cup giantkilling could lead to talk of a crisis at
United. However, Sir Alex Ferguson's side swiftly sent out a
message that it's business as usual after the derby day disaster by
cruising into the fifth round with a convincing 3-0
triumph.
Dimitar Berbatov and Michael Owen pressed their claims by making
the most of rare starts with goals in the first half before Antonio
Valencia's outstanding long-range drive ended the match as a
contest. A mixture of youth and experience accounted for the Shots
as easily as Leeds had been disposed of in the previous round to
illustrate the strength in depth at the manager's disposal.
The Reds quickly slipped into gear with Tom Cleverley firing
over the bar on his return from injury when Berbatov touched a Mame
Biram Diouf header back to him. Nemanja Vidic picked up a yellow
card for a clumsy foul on Alex Rodman but United were soon ahead
after quarter of an hour. Ji-sung Park played an incisive one-two
with Cleverley and nudged an instant pass to Berbatov, who took one
touch before swivelling to sweep past Aldershot goalkeeper Ross
Worner.
Berbatov should have had a clear penalty when he was felled by
Luke Guttridge inside the box as Sir Alex's side threatened to
overwhelm the League Two team. Fabio's shot deflected wide,
Berbatov's dangerous header into the six-yard box was cleared and
United forced seven corners inside the first 25 minutes.
But, to their credit, Town rallied and traded goal attempts with
their illustrious opponents for a spell - even if Ben Amos was only
worked by one effort, from top scorer Danny Hylton. As if to
emphasis the obvious gulf in quality, Owen doubled the lead to
quieten the capacity crowd. After picking out Berbatov with a
raking pass, the number seven showed his thirst for goals
by arriving in the box on cue to convert the Bulgarian's inviting
assist, despite Worner getting a touch to the shot.
The second half started in a similar vein as Valencia collected
a Cleverley pass and hit a stunning drive with whip and bend that
crashed high into the net over Worner's despairing dive. Berbatov
was working harder than anybody and, after feeling aggrieved when
having another penalty appeal waved away, as Aaron Morris handled,
he stormed through when linking up with Park and dragged his finish
wide when really deserving another goal.
Paul Pogba was introduced, for Cleverley, and soon had a shot
well wide before Ravel Morrison and Michael Keane, for his debut,
also came on for a taste of the action. United kept pressing but
Park drilled wide when picked out from a corner by Owen and only a
fine Darren Jones tackle thwarted Morrison following an exquisite
exchange of flicks with Berbatov. Park's dynamic solo run ended
with referee Peter Walton pulling play back for a free-kick on the
edge of the box with Berbatov's set-piece pushed away by Worner as
the Shots continued the process of damage limitation.
The game finished with a flurry of threats - Valencia spurned a
glorious late chance after bursting through and Guttridge hammered
a shot wide as the hosts sought a consolation goal that would at
least have cheered their support. Guttridge also brought a flying
save out of Amos in the closing stages with the keeper showing his
concentration when it mattered most. There was to be no joy for
Aldershot - nor for those hoping United's weekend misery would be
prolonged any longer.
Sir Alex Ferguson admits the performance of some of his
fringe players at Aldershot gives him plenty of food for thought
ahead of Saturday's testing trip to Everton.
Dimitar Berbatov was outstanding in the 3-0 Carling
Cup victory and another goal from Michael Owen made it three
in two outings in the competition this term for the England
international.
Tom Cleverley and Nemanja Vidic were able to get some more
minutes under their belts following injury and the
manager felt the players enjoyed the experience at the
EBB Stadium.
"They always give me nudges - it's difficult picking the
team as we've a fantastic squad with so many good players,"
said Sir Alex afterwards. "They needed games tonight, they've not
had many first-team chances because the consistency of the
side means I've not needed to make many changes.
"If you look at that tonight, we had 11 fresh players from
Sunday and that tells you how strong the squad is. Because it's so
strong, the young lads couldn't get into the team. Paul Pogba,
Ravel Morrison and Larnell Cole... I'd like to have played them all
but the ones who really needed a game had to play.
"Any time Owen plays, he scores. You can't ignore that - he's a
fantastic professional with a fantastic ratio of goals per games.
He's just got that knack and is an amazing player. Berbatov had a
fantastic game tonight and scored a tremendous goal, it was a
marvellous piece of football and Dimitar slotted it home.
"But they've all done well - Antonio Valencia
and Cleverley's back and that's a good thing for us because
he's an outstanding footballer and it's his first game for a while
- since the Bolton match.