Reserves: S'land 1 United 0
Gary Neville completed his longest competitive outing to
date on his return from injury, notching a solid 73 minutes of
action as the Reserves were beaten by a late penalty at
Sunderland.
Chances were few and far between in a keenly contested but
scrappy fixture, with perhaps the best open-play chance of the
evening falling to Neville in the second half.
The United club captain was thwarted from close range by Black
Cats goalkeeper Martin Fulop, however, but he will be far from
disappointed with another important step on his road to recovery
after almost a year out of the first team picture.
It was Neville's replacement, David Gray, who was involved in
Sunderland's winner just 12 minutes after joining the match.
The Scottish defender finger-tipped Jordan Cook's header over
the bar after Tomasz Kuszczak had saved Jamie Chandler's initial
effort, leaving the referee no choice but to send Gray off and
award a penalty.
Former Leeds defender Ian Harte slotted the spot kick home to
inflict a harsh defeat on a Reds side who had enjoyed the majority
of what few chances there were.
In the first half, in-form winger Chris Eagles struck Fulop's
crossbar with a cross, while Danny Welbeck also stabbed over from
just inside the area after outmuscling former United defender Paul
McShane.
Just after the hour mark Neville saw his effort well saved by
Fulop, before Chris Eagles had a goal ruled out for a marginal
offside. Neville also drew the best out of his own goalkeeper, with
Kuszczak forced into a smart save after the veteran defender had
deflected Harte's long-range free kick.
Eagles was then denied a penalty when he tumbled under a
challenge from Harte with 18 minutes remaining, but it was the
former Leeds man who would have the final say with the late
winner.