Wes Brown’s headed goal enough to see-off Crawley at Old Trafford
Match Report – Manchester United 1-0 Crawley Town
Competition: FA Cup, 5th Round
Kick-Off & Date: 5:15pm, Saturday 19th February
Venue: Old Trafford, Manchester (Home)
Attendance: 74,778
Manchester United managed to hold-off pressure from non-league side Crawley Town in The FA Cup 5 Round at Old Trafford. The Red Devils go through to the 6th Round thanks to a 28th minute headed goal from skipper Wes Brown, after Darron Gibson had sent-in a sublime cross. But it was the visitors who had most of the possesion at a packed Theatre Of Dreams, on front of thousands of travelling fans and millions of TV viewers worldwide… Losing 1-0 to United ? – There’s no great shame in that…
Wes Brown made a rare start for the home side, with Sir Alex Ferguson selecting the local defender as captain. Anders Lindegaard made his Old Trafford debut, with John O’Shea filling-in on front of the tall Dane. Brothers Rafael and Fabio Da Silva controlled the flanks, while Michael Carrick and Darron Gibson started in midfield. Oliveira Anderson played off the pair, with Gabriel Obertan and Bébé acting as wingmen. Chicharito started as lone striker.
Right from the kick-off, Crawley Town didn’t disappoint their travelling fans with a spirited and in-your-face attitude. Manager Steve Evans lived every pass from the sidelines, and had a word or two with the fourth official. Willie Gibson and Sergio Torres worked hard in midfield, with Matthew Tubbs looking to test Lindegaard in the early stages. Ben Smith was closest to opening the scoring for the Sussex club, but Lindegaard held his nerve.
However, the class between the two sides was exposed from set pieces, with Crawley failing to make anything of corners, throw-ins or free-kicks. Darron Gibson – on the other hand – was playing a blinder for United, making fantastic crosses, passes and through balls from his centre position. It wasn’t long before his influence paid dividends…
From a corner, Gibson played a short ball to Gabby Obertan, who returned the favour. The Irishman’s cross was inch-perfect – finding the head of skipper Wes Brown on the edge of the six-yard box, gliding past Crawley Town’s defence and goalkeeper Michel Kuipers. In only his 9th appearance this season, Brown stepped-up to the occasion with deadly effect on 28 minutes – grabbing only his 5th goal for the club.
Wes Brown puts United ahead on 28 minutes at Old Trafford
Gibson continued in sensational form, controlling the midfield. It was a mystery how Sir Alex’s men went into the break with only a goal to their name. Chicharito and Obertan had come tantalisingly close to opening the floodgates on many occasions – but Crawley held-out solidly. After the break, cue Wayne Rooney in place of Anderson…
But it wasn’t Rooney who made any impact, instead Chris Smalling – replacing Rafael 10 minutes after the break – brought a calmness to United’s defence. Steve Evans’ side had the majority of the chances early in the second half, with Bébé and Obertan disappointing on the flanks for the home team. Darren Fletcher had to come in for an injured Fabio, who had earlier missed a glorious goal-mouth chance, moving to a relatively unfamiliar position at left-back.
The introduction of United’s third substitute meant the three youngsters on the bench – Josh King, Ryan Tunnicliffe and Paul Pogba – failed to make debuts. It was a rare mistake by Sir Alex, allowing The Red’s two wingers to deteriorate.
9,000 Crawley Town fans made the trip to Manchester
David Hunt set the alarm bells ringing for United, when he was allowed space to get a shot away in the box. But Fergie’s Red Army failed to respond, with Matt Tubbs coming close to scoring an ironic goal against Lindegaard when his bicycle kick went cm’s over the bar. Unfortunately for Crawley, it lacked the clinical strike-power of Rooney’s Manchester Derby winner.
Steve Evans and ‘The Red Devil’ fans has the last shout, when substitute Richard Brodie hit the crossbar with a header in the last minute. But United held-out, and booked their place rather shamefully in the 6th Round of The FA Cup. Sir Alex’s men have a great opportunity to do the treble this season, but will want to vastly improve on current showings.
Nonetheless, a win is a win, isn’t it ?…
United Team: Anders Lindegaard, Wes Brown, Fabio Da Silva (Darren Fletcher ’69), Rafael Da Silva (Chris Smalling ’54), John O’Shea, Oliveira Anderson (Wayne Rooney ’46), Michael Carrick, Gabriel Obertan, Darron Gibson, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez, Bébé.
Goal(s): Brown ’28
Bookings: Brown ’83, Rooney ’89
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