Manchester United ease to victory over Cambridge United in FA Cup
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Version 0 of 1. Manchester United enjoyed the kind of relaxed evening that eluded Louis van Gaal’s men in the first game of this fourth-round encounter at the Abbey Stadium. Then Cambridge United, the League Two minnows, embarrassed the 11-times Cup-winners by holding them to a 0-0 draw that had the manager moaning about the conditions. On Tuesday night Van Gaal felt only contentment, a perfect outing completed by James Wilson’s 74th-minute goal that confirmed United’s passage to play Preston North End, a first meeting since 1972. The home team came close to the poorest of possible starts. When Greg Taylor moved past Wayne Rooney with ease the left-back threaded a ball infield that failed to find a team-mate. Instead Daley Blind mopped up yet, when attempting a regulation pass, he instead put Tom Elliott clear on David de Gea’s goal. The visiting No10 raced forward and made the right shape with his body to curl a finish past the Spaniard but hit a post rather than the back of United’s net. As has become customary a little time was required to decipher Van Gaal’s formation. This one turned out to be a 4-2-3-1, a rarity as it had Rooney to the right of the trident behind Robin van Persie, with Juan Mata in the middle and Marouane Fellaini to the left. In practice this meant Rooney floating in several long balls on the diagonal from his flank and Ángel Di María launching the odd Hail Mary towards Juan Mata when the Spaniard made runs into the visitors’ area. Twice Rooney received possession along his designated corridor and, from just outside the area, tried a pot-shot at Chris Dunn’s goal. The first of these was blocked, the second, after he cut inside on to his left foot, produced a tame effort straight at Dunn. Moments later the captain produced a moment of class. This time he was provider, skidding a pass along the turf into the run of Paddy McNair as the right-back surged into the area and fired over a dangerous-looking cross. Before this Di María was hurt in a clash with Cameron McGeehan but the Argentinian recovered to turn creator for United’s opener. It derived from the kind of pacey move that has too often been lacking this season under Van Gaal. McNair brought the ball out of defence and swept a pass infield to Mata. After the No8 switched play to the left he set off on another run into Cambridge’s 18-yard box. His timing proved supreme as Mata was able to meet a Fellaini knock-down, from Di María’s delivery, first time to give United the lead. McNair was enjoying himself. He moved Rooney aside to hit a volley that might have beaten Dunn but for a deflection and, when the 19-year-old next overlapped down the right, he won the corner from which United eventually added the second. The ball ended up at the feet of Van Persie, to the left of goal. With a crowd of team-mates still in the area the Dutchman stood up a precise cross and Marcos Rojo headed in his first goal for the club. This was on 32 minutes and United could coast along largely untroubled to the break, a Ryan Donaldson effort steered wide coming closest to concerning De Gea. From the XI that defeated Leicester City 3-1 here on Saturday Luke Shaw, Phil Jones, Antonio Valencia, Adnan Januzaj and Radamel Falcao had all made way. Van Gaal put these changes, in part, down to some of the five not having recovered sufficiently from the win over the Foxes, which seemed a strange admission regarding supposedly super-fit elite footballers. Further oddity was found in the fact that even after the reshuffle there was no place for Ander Herrera, the Spaniard surely by now wondering what he has to do to win the trust of his manager, especially as Michael Carrick is a long-term injury absentee. Herrera has not started a league game for more than two months, since 2 December. He eventually came on in the 66th minute, as a substitute for Di María. Asked how close Herrera came to starting, Van Gaal said: “You want always [to ask about] the player who is not starting. I have to compare. I give also Van Persie a rest during the match – I said at half-time I shall change you 60-70 minutes because I want you to play against West Ham [on Sunday] and it is difficult to play three matches in a week.” United’s second-half mission was to be professional and allow Richard Money’s men no way back into the tie. Rooney’s method was to try to add a third. One of the game’s born attackers thrilled the stadium by chesting the ball then striking a volley that caused Dunn a problem before, with Van Persie arriving at speed, he flapped the ball away. Kick-off had been delayed 20 minutes due to traffic congestion. For United, there is now the short trip up the M6 to Deepdale in a competition they must surely feel can be claimed, 11 years after their last triumph. |