ManUtd 4-0 Kaizer Chiefs (Vodacom Challenge Final): Going, Going, Gone

Paul James

My son Thomas is in pre-season training for a team in one of the Sheffield Sunday leagues. Their coach has a “fat club” for those who need hard work after the summer. On Saturday the match at the Loftus Versfield Stadium in Pretoria was refereed by a fully fledged member of such a club, a spherical little fellow who is probably happy at home among the lovely people living free upon the beach of sunny Madagascar whence he comes.

The trouble was that Floriant Raolimanana’s amiable and sunny disposition was out of place on a South African pitch with the levels of violence displayed in this tournament. It nearly ended in disaster, but Rooney’s absence from the team the following day was nothing worse than a dead leg.

It would be churlish to dwell too much since at the eighth time of asking in a country which includes an alleged 40 million of our fans, United at last played like United. We may have been helped by Kaizer Chiefs’ weariness after their demolition of Orlando Pirates on Thursday, but fair’s fair, we had only been a few hours off the plane when we met the Chiefs last week.

United’s display in this final was, in the end, assured and pleasing on the eye and I trust that all those South African United fans thought they had at last got their money’s worth.

What was especially pleasing to someone like me (who would like to send nearly all the glory seeking overpaid mercenaries to disappear up their own backsides on foreign beaches) was that a bevy of United’s reserves and youngsters got their chances and took them.

Kuszczak was back in goal. The back four at the start was Simpson, Vidic, Cathcart and O’Shea. Fletcher, Carrick and Possebon started in a middle three and Rooney up front was flanked by Giggs and Martin.

Of the debutants, Rodrigo Possebon was assured and confident on the ball, especially when given it under pressure; Craig Cathcart was generally solid and effective; he erred on the side of caution, which is no bad thing in a debutant centre half, but nearly allowed Marco Mthembu through for an opening goal.

Of the others, Danny Simpson was my man of the match and Lee Martin looked like a youngster who should be given the opportunity to play when points are at stake during the absence of the Bronzed Narcissus.

Any United problems in the first half were down to the almost complete failure of Carrick’s passing radar and a slightly clumsy and gangly performance from Fletcher. This made Possebon’s performance in midfield even more impressive and overall we were much more open in style and approach than has previously been the case in South Africa.

Four minutes had gone when Giggs headed on O’Shea’s ball and Rooney tried a trademark chip which just cleared the bar. Three minutes later a brilliant Rooney angled ball destroyed the defence and fell to Giggs begging to be volleyed into the net. He laid it off for Fletcher not to reach. On the quarter hour Rooney was quick to rob the hesitant defender but his clever shot across the goalkeeper was well saved by Itumelung Khune.

An attractive, flowing game reached its decision points after the half hour. First Khune averted danger from Martin on the United left by hoofing the ball the length of the field.

“Never let it bounce” they used to say to defenders at school, but Cathcart did just that and Mthembu was in at the edge of the area; he steered the ball past the flailing Kuszczak towards the empty net and went flying in the resulting collision but he got neither the penalty for which he was looking nor a goal; as the ball rolled toward the goal Vidic got back and Simpson had the sound sense to stand aside and allow the more senior player to clear.

Within minutes Tshabalala put wide a free kick which should never have been awarded and moments later Martin harassed at an apparently harmless throw-in not far from their corner flag, and as a result the clearance was picked up by Rooney on the left touchline.

Martin’s run was a superb example of the craft of an old-fashioned winger, using his speed and skills to leave his fullback for dead, cut along the bye line and float in the cross. It was for Fletcher, who stretched but failed, and it fell to Giggs eight yards out from the far post. Ryan let it bounce and cracked it in the net the way he should have dealt with his earlier chance; 39 minutes 1-0. United were now in command.

After half time Chris Eagles came on for Martin and 18 year old Tom Cleverley came on for Possebon and had a splendid half a game, though he had the advantage of playing in a confident, attacking midfield with much improved Carrick and Fletcher.

The first action of the second period was Rooney motoring past Jonathan Quartey at full pace and being taken out by a nasty and cynical backheel, studs on knee cap. It should have been a red card. The good thing was that instead of getting peeved as he had in the first half when chopped from behind, once he had stopped limping Rooney tried to take his revenge with the ball.

Indeed, United were flowing now, Khune just saving Giggs’ drive and Rooney unable to bury the rebound, breathtaking control from Rooney for a Fletcher through ball, a great move between Cleverley and Giggs up the left, a beautiful cross from Rooney which Cathcart headed wide.

Then Simpson, whose attacking up the right was nearly as good as his tackling, produced a peach of a ball forward and Rooney was turning and away from his man, so enormously onside that even this flag-happy linesman had to let it go. Rooney took it to the edge of the area and then slotted it between Khune’s legs; 56 minutes 2-0.

A prolonged piece of United interpassing turned into something meaningful when Cleverley picked up the pace, gave it to Giggs and moved forward. Giggs raked a long ball right to Simpson who put in a high cross to the far post. There Rooney nodded it down and back into the area and Cleverley swept it into the net between goalkeeper and post; 61 minutes 3-0; a grand team goal.

On came Evans for Vidic, and Scholes and Gibson for Fletcher and Carrick, and Scholes proceeded to give a flawless exhibition of how to find any United player with the ball from anywhere on the pitch. With twenty five minutes to go Tevez came on for Giggs and Campbell for Rooney. United had used up all their agreed substitutions and were denied the right to bring Ben Amos on for Kuszczak.

There looked to be more goals in the game. Eagles was too gentle with a chance from Simpson’s cross, Campbell was blatantly shoved over in the area, nothing given, Campbell ran on to a through ball, was clipped by the goalkeeper but got off his feet only to see Jimmy Tau clear his shot off the line.

Then Gibson and O’Shea worked the ball through to Eagles who was onside and moved through the last line of the defence. He made a good effort to control it but it ran loose to Campbell, who cracked it into the corner of the net from fifteen yards; 85 minutes 4-0.

We had a save from Kuszczak, a brilliant run by Tevez, a lobbed header which Scholes ensured went into the net by bundling the goalkeeper (disallowed) and at the final moment of the four minutes of added time, a suicidal challenge at the edge of the area on Gert Schalkwyk which won no penalty but which ran to Thabang Lebese, who curled a lovely shot against Kuszczak’s far post.

The award ceremony went on for ever but at last Ryan Giggs got to collect a trophy two thirds his own size and the United party could do a runner for the airport with their newly acquired booty and with barely time to shower, hurriedly closin’ the book on their latest South African tour.

Copyright © Paul James