MATCH REPORTS

Last updated : 04 December 2003 By Editor
Times:
MEN 2 Boys 0. All the side issues of contracts, takeovers and horses may have left Sir Alex Ferguson feeling that he is caught between a Rock and a hard place, but there is a more pressing concern for the Manchester United manager. The cold, harsh reality is that Arsenal’s reserves are better than his.

The night after Arsenal demolished Wolverhampton Wanderers, Ferguson tested the depth of his squad with the safety net of not giving two hoots about the Carling Cup. The result was that a West Bromwich Albion side who smelt blood from the first whistle moved into the last eight with some aplomb.

Ferguson has been told before that you never win anything with kids, but he might have expected a side containing six full internationals to at least enjoy parity with one that was relegated in May. The only downside for the jubilant West Bromwich players was Gary Megson’s new fitness regime includes forcing them to wear surgical tights after a dip in a post-match cold bath.

It was a match that made Ferguson’s gripes about squad depth appear well-founded. Paul Tierney and Phil Bardsley made their debuts in defence and there was a rare start for Kieran Richardson, a member of last year’s FA Youth Cup winning side. Ferguson heralded Bardsley’s performance as “superb”, but the real accolades all belonged to Megson’s men.


Telegraph:
When his team come to the endgame of the Premiership this season there will be no Carling Cup to concern Sir Alex Ferguson or drain the resources of his squad, but it will not be that which plays on the Manchester United manager's mind today. Rather it will be the ease with which a second string including six internationals were brushed aside by Gary Megson's tough First Division side.

A midweek start in the Carling Cup has been just about as good as it has been for Nicky Butt of late, so the England international, who had started just two games since the beginning of November, was unlikely to have been too miserable about playing last night.

Back in midfield was Kieran Richardson who made the bench for the Community Shield against Arsenal and had not been heard from since. In the centre of defence there was a debut for Paul Tierney who, at 21, must have wondered when the day would finally arrive, and also one for Phil Bardsley, 18, who was part of the club's FA Youth Cup winning team last season.

As a test of his suitability to the more prosaic varieties of English football, David Bellion will find few experiences more demanding than leading the line alone against West Brom's defence. There was barely a chance sent the Frenchman's way all half and behind him there were very few early performances that would have changed Ferguson's mind about the way he manages his squad.

In midfield, Butt had failed to exert much of an influence. The rumours of an ankle injury and a growing disillusionment with Ferguson seem to hang heavy on the England international. He was presented with the one chance of the first half for United but could only head Bellion's cross straight at Russell Hoult.


Guardian:
If the president of Fifa gets his way, this may be Manchester United's final appearance in the League Cup. Sepp Blatter wants the number of matches played by Europe's leading clubs reduced to a maximum of 45 a season, and given that United's manager Sir Alex Ferguson made 10 changes from the team he put out against Chelsea on Sunday, Blatter might suggest his case had been made for him.

Of last night's team, only John O'Shea started at Stamford Bridge and, at 28, Nicky Butt was the oldest man in a red shirt by two years. Roy Carroll and Kleberson aside, the rest were boys. As Arsenal illustrated on Tuesday, some squads are now big enough and good enough for managers to field a second XI and still be good enough, but Albion soon put such arrogant assumptions in their place.

With the M6 its usual self, kick-off had to be delayed for 15 minutes. Albion warmed up twice, and they certainly appeared more prepared than United. Danny Pugh had already brought a save from his own goalkeeper when Albion took the lead. Neil Clement overlapped down the left, his cross was only half-cleared, and Bernd Haas volleyed athletically past Roy Carroll.

Such was Albion's physical superiority it seemed as though United were about to be overwhelmed. Every time Albion went forward gaps appeared, and had Rob Hulse not produced a leaden first touch when put through by Danny Dichio it would have been 2-0 in the first 10 minutes.

Gradually though the kids at the back began to settle - and once they did those ahead of them began to see something of the ball. United's pace and touch was a joy to behold, but too often the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Kieran Richardson and David Bellion went charging up blind alleys.


Indie:
If any club has given the lie to Alan Hansen's claim that "you win nothing with kids", it is Manchester United. But a team of youthful understudies could not prolong United's interest in the Carling Cup last night, Bernt Haas and Scott Dobie scoring at the start of each half to take West Bromwich into the quarter-finals for the first time since 1982.

Twenty-four hours earlier, an Arsenal side similarly sprinkled with fresh-faced wannabes had humbled Albion's Black Country rivals, Wolves, by 5-1. However, United found the First Division leaders deserving of their second top-flight scalp after the win at Newcastle in the third round, Albion even "enjoying" the luxury of a missed penalty by Jason Koumas.

When the clubs last met at The Hawthorns, in January, Albion raced into an early lead. Koumas' goal, like the hopes of Premiership survival it ignited, was to prove illusory, yet there were no complaints when Gary Megson's side again broke through in the opening minutes.

Albion seizing a sixth-minute lead. Clement, finding space on the left, crossed to the near post, where Rob Hulse rose to flick the ball back towards the edge of the penalty area. Haas charged in to despatch a right-footed volley beyond Carroll from 16 yards.

Pugh's torrid start continued when he cut down Koumas. Mr Winter, who as a fourth official reported Sir Alex Ferguson to the Football Association for heated comments the United manager made at Newcastle earlier this season, pointed to the spot. Koumas struck his penalty kick confidently, only for Carroll to spring to his left, parry and then smother the ball.

Albion had further chances to increase their advantage. Carroll again excelled to block a close-range header by Danny Dichio, while Hulse, allowed a free shot, skied the ball on to the Smethwick End roof, which even Jonny Wilkinson might find difficult to do.

Both teams might have scored as the second half began at the same ferocious pace. No sooner had Haas' right-wing cross been headed against the underside of the bar by Dichio in the 48th minute than Kleberson drew a diving save from Hoult with a 20-yard drive.

In the 56th minute O'Connor set up Clement to cross for Dobie to announce his arrival by scoring with a low, glancing header.


West Bromwich Albion (3-5-2): Hoult; Gregan, Gaardsoe, Gilchrist; Haas, Johnson, O'Connor, Koumas (A Chambers, 64) Clement; Dichio (Sakiri, 85), Hulse (Dobie, 55). Substitutes not used: J Chambers, Murphy (gk).

Manchester United (4-5-1): Carroll; Bardsley, O'Shea, Tierney, Pugh; Ronaldo (Eagles, 77), Fletcher, Butt, Kleberson (Nardiello, 77), Richardson; Bellion. Substitutes not used: Jones, Wood, Williams (gk)