Yorkshire Evening Post 21/9/11
Leeds United v Manchester United: Reds’ old brigade makes Whites pay
By Phil Hay
January 3, 2010 was a date for Leeds United to remember. September 20, 2011 will be forgotten by the weekend.
Lightning does not often strike twice and it refused to land on Elland Road last night.
Simon Grayson promised that Leeds would “do ourselves justice” against Manchester United and, on this occasion, respectability was all his players had to compete for. Once bitten and bitten badly, Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad did not even flirt with the threat of a second upset at the hands of Grayson’s.
Two goals from Michael Owen settled the best of the Carling Cup’s third round ties inside 33 minutes, giving Ferguson the comfortable evening he must have craved, and Ryan Giggs made an exhibition of the second half with a goal on the stroke of half-time.
Leeds bowed out of the competition without severe disgrace – real though that threat was after 45 minutes – but they could not conjure the magical performance which Premier League sides have come to expect from them in competitions like the Carling Cup. They have so often been the draw from hell.
Appetite
That Owen partnered Dimitar Berbatov in a weakened Manchester United team said everything about the strength of Ferguson’s hand, and he left Elland Road without embarking on a repeat of his scathing interview at Old Trafford 20 months earlier when a 1-0 defeat to Leeds in the FA Cup’s third round elicited praise for United’s superior appetite.
Grayson’s players were not lacking in that respect but Manchester United’s finishing was clinical in a first half when they produced a total of three shots on target.
Owen’s first strike was simple and his second excellent, both taken in the absence of any markers. Defensively, Leeds have struggled against less adept teams than Manchester United this season.
For Grayson, his attention reverted swiftly to the bigger fish he has to fry this week, namely Friday night’s Championship game at Brighton and Hove Albion.
It was not his intention to disregard yesterday’s tie but he made his priorities clear from the moment the draw for the Carling Cup’s third round was made on August 27. Neither he nor Ferguson were excessively consumed by an attractive knockout fixture at Elland Road.
United’s previous appearances in high-profile cup games had, through no coincidence, come at a time of convincing form: Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur while Leeds were heading their division, Arsenal after one defeat in 13 matches and Liverpool at a time when the club held an unbeaten record in League One.
Last night’s tie followed two of Leeds’ less convincing displays, both of which yielded precious league victories nonetheless, and nine competitive games without a clean sheet.
An allegedly ring-rusty Owen was thrown in against a changed United defence and tore it apart with repeated success.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s one-match ban made room for Leigh Bromby – a player who had missed the razing of Old Trafford in 2010 through suspension – and it was not unlike Grayson to turn to Luciano Becchio for a searching examination.
Ramon Nunez lost his place to the Argentinian, as somebody was bound to eventually.
Manchester United’s team bus received a police escort to the entrance of Elland Road and an Istanbul banner was unfurled in the away end as the teams walked from the tunnel.
Yet, for all its heat and aggression, the atmosphere was above-board for much of the contest and controlled by a sensible performance from referee Michael Jones, who kept his cards in his pocket for as long as he could.
Amid the manic noise, both teams ran on adrenalin. Mame Diouf raised a smile by tripping himself up during Manchester United’s first foray into Leeds’ box and Dimitar Berbatov appeared in the right place at the right time to hack a Darren O’Dea header off his own line in the fourth minute.
The resulting scramble could easily have generated the opening goal.
Grayson would have accepted it gleefully and felt a downward swing of emotion when his team conceded after 15 minutes, just as they appeared to have negated the earliest stabs at Andy Lonergan.
Ferguson’s players were unable to reach the goalkeeper until Ji-Sung Park diverted Berbatov’s through ball to Owen who scuffed a shot between Tom Lees’ legs and into the back of Lonergan’s net.
United’s immediate task was to stay in the game and prevent the floodgates from swinging open. Adam Clayton, a former Manchester City player, tested visiting keeper Ben Amos for the first time after dancing around several players on the edge of the box and Leeds worked to restore their shape and organisation.
Diouf and Fabio Da Silva became the first bookings of the night after loose fouls forced Jones’ hand.
Incisive
Manchester United’s attacks were few but incisive when they came, and Bromby did well to force Federico Macheda’s shot behind after Da Silva found his run in behind Lees.
But Lonergan was helpless again in the 32nd minute when Diouf picked out Owen on the edge of box and gave the striker all the room he needed to beat United’s keeper from 18 yards.
An orange flare appeared among Manchester United’s supporters after Owen’s second goal, effectively signalling the end of the contest.
Antonio Valencia could have put it beyond doubt four minutes later with a sliding finish from Owen’s pass which flew wide of Lonergan’s far post.
What Valencia had failed to do, Giggs did in first-half injury-time when he nutmegged Aidan White and stroked the ball beyond Lonergan with the outside of a boot.
Elland Road could see the writing on the wall as it had after the completion of Owen’s brace.
Grayson made no substitutions at the start of the second half, perhaps preferring to give his starting XI the chance to make the scoreline more agreeable.
Ferguson moved to withdraw Giggs in a clear indication that the Scot expected no fightback. He was not confounded.
Owen came within inches of completing his hat-trick in the 56th minute, finishing a counter-attack with a curling effort which arced around Lonergan’s far post, and Leeds’ tireless effort put Amos under no more pressure than he had survived in the fourth minute until substitute Nunez sliced a glaring chance wide in added time. The evening belonged to Manchester United and by the margin the form book predicted.
Leeds United v Manchester United: Reds’ old brigade makes Whites pay
By Phil Hay
January 3, 2010 was a date for Leeds United to remember. September 20, 2011 will be forgotten by the weekend.
Lightning does not often strike twice and it refused to land on Elland Road last night.
Simon Grayson promised that Leeds would “do ourselves justice” against Manchester United and, on this occasion, respectability was all his players had to compete for. Once bitten and bitten badly, Sir Alex Ferguson’s squad did not even flirt with the threat of a second upset at the hands of Grayson’s.
Two goals from Michael Owen settled the best of the Carling Cup’s third round ties inside 33 minutes, giving Ferguson the comfortable evening he must have craved, and Ryan Giggs made an exhibition of the second half with a goal on the stroke of half-time.
Leeds bowed out of the competition without severe disgrace – real though that threat was after 45 minutes – but they could not conjure the magical performance which Premier League sides have come to expect from them in competitions like the Carling Cup. They have so often been the draw from hell.
Appetite
That Owen partnered Dimitar Berbatov in a weakened Manchester United team said everything about the strength of Ferguson’s hand, and he left Elland Road without embarking on a repeat of his scathing interview at Old Trafford 20 months earlier when a 1-0 defeat to Leeds in the FA Cup’s third round elicited praise for United’s superior appetite.
Grayson’s players were not lacking in that respect but Manchester United’s finishing was clinical in a first half when they produced a total of three shots on target.
Owen’s first strike was simple and his second excellent, both taken in the absence of any markers. Defensively, Leeds have struggled against less adept teams than Manchester United this season.
For Grayson, his attention reverted swiftly to the bigger fish he has to fry this week, namely Friday night’s Championship game at Brighton and Hove Albion.
It was not his intention to disregard yesterday’s tie but he made his priorities clear from the moment the draw for the Carling Cup’s third round was made on August 27. Neither he nor Ferguson were excessively consumed by an attractive knockout fixture at Elland Road.
United’s previous appearances in high-profile cup games had, through no coincidence, come at a time of convincing form: Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur while Leeds were heading their division, Arsenal after one defeat in 13 matches and Liverpool at a time when the club held an unbeaten record in League One.
Last night’s tie followed two of Leeds’ less convincing displays, both of which yielded precious league victories nonetheless, and nine competitive games without a clean sheet.
An allegedly ring-rusty Owen was thrown in against a changed United defence and tore it apart with repeated success.
Patrick Kisnorbo’s one-match ban made room for Leigh Bromby – a player who had missed the razing of Old Trafford in 2010 through suspension – and it was not unlike Grayson to turn to Luciano Becchio for a searching examination.
Ramon Nunez lost his place to the Argentinian, as somebody was bound to eventually.
Manchester United’s team bus received a police escort to the entrance of Elland Road and an Istanbul banner was unfurled in the away end as the teams walked from the tunnel.
Yet, for all its heat and aggression, the atmosphere was above-board for much of the contest and controlled by a sensible performance from referee Michael Jones, who kept his cards in his pocket for as long as he could.
Amid the manic noise, both teams ran on adrenalin. Mame Diouf raised a smile by tripping himself up during Manchester United’s first foray into Leeds’ box and Dimitar Berbatov appeared in the right place at the right time to hack a Darren O’Dea header off his own line in the fourth minute.
The resulting scramble could easily have generated the opening goal.
Grayson would have accepted it gleefully and felt a downward swing of emotion when his team conceded after 15 minutes, just as they appeared to have negated the earliest stabs at Andy Lonergan.
Ferguson’s players were unable to reach the goalkeeper until Ji-Sung Park diverted Berbatov’s through ball to Owen who scuffed a shot between Tom Lees’ legs and into the back of Lonergan’s net.
United’s immediate task was to stay in the game and prevent the floodgates from swinging open. Adam Clayton, a former Manchester City player, tested visiting keeper Ben Amos for the first time after dancing around several players on the edge of the box and Leeds worked to restore their shape and organisation.
Diouf and Fabio Da Silva became the first bookings of the night after loose fouls forced Jones’ hand.
Incisive
Manchester United’s attacks were few but incisive when they came, and Bromby did well to force Federico Macheda’s shot behind after Da Silva found his run in behind Lees.
But Lonergan was helpless again in the 32nd minute when Diouf picked out Owen on the edge of box and gave the striker all the room he needed to beat United’s keeper from 18 yards.
An orange flare appeared among Manchester United’s supporters after Owen’s second goal, effectively signalling the end of the contest.
Antonio Valencia could have put it beyond doubt four minutes later with a sliding finish from Owen’s pass which flew wide of Lonergan’s far post.
What Valencia had failed to do, Giggs did in first-half injury-time when he nutmegged Aidan White and stroked the ball beyond Lonergan with the outside of a boot.
Elland Road could see the writing on the wall as it had after the completion of Owen’s brace.
Grayson made no substitutions at the start of the second half, perhaps preferring to give his starting XI the chance to make the scoreline more agreeable.
Ferguson moved to withdraw Giggs in a clear indication that the Scot expected no fightback. He was not confounded.
Owen came within inches of completing his hat-trick in the 56th minute, finishing a counter-attack with a curling effort which arced around Lonergan’s far post, and Leeds’ tireless effort put Amos under no more pressure than he had survived in the fourth minute until substitute Nunez sliced a glaring chance wide in added time. The evening belonged to Manchester United and by the margin the form book predicted.