SOCCER - WORTHINGTON CUP Q/F - MAN UTD 1 CHELSEA 0: The teams treated this quarter-final so seriously that, despite all the ambition and entertainment, they could not be separated until the 80th minute. Then, David Beckham threaded through a pass on the right and Diego Forlan drilled his shot home as if his status as a Manchester United marksman had never been in question.
With some tickets unusually being sold on the night at Old Trafford, it was only the contemporary price that prevented the game from being a complete throwback. A retro-tie carried great charm, with both teams showing a hearty enthusiasm that comes more easily when there is a valuable win to be had and, for once, no fear of failure. Defeat in this cup is never a cause for utter desolation.
The influence of fashion need not always be adverse and the trend towards fielding credible line-ups in this tournament has been refreshing. For much too long leading managers have reacted to the League Cup draw as if they had been invited to enter their millionaire players for a revamped version of It's A Knockout.
In a match that carried overtones of the contest for the Premiership itself, the teams were trying to hint at their credentials while still withholding key information about themselves. This breeziness will not be repeated at this ground on January 18th when there are points at stake.
There was nothing agonised about the action last night as the players went into the attack as naturally as kids who can conceive of nothing else to do with the ball. The lack of goals by the interval had to be attributed to a pair of back fours who are improving and who coped well without a screen of curmudgeonly midfielders ahead of them.
United, too, might have been deadlier if Ruud van Nistelrooy had not been left out to nurse his sore thigh. There was a frailty about the finishing.
When Ryan Giggs outpaced the defence to reach a long ball, his lob over Carlo Cudicini was not quite strong enough and Mario Melchiot got back to clear. An inadequate sense of direction restricted the visitors later as Enrique de Lucas volleyed negligently wide from an excellent cross by Jody Morris.
Chelsea are belligerent guests at Old Trafford and have strained United's hospitality by losing only three of their last 19 league matches at the ground. That might account for the air of expectation that saw Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink drawing a splendid save from Fabien Barthez at the start of the game. The same forward also threatened to open the scoring with a header from a Graeme le Saux corner that Barthez blocked.
As half-time approached, however, the regular danger was coming from Paul Scholes. Although the United midfielder has sometimes appeared a grudging forward, his turns and sudden changes of direction confused Chelsea when he was on the fringes of their penalty area. A floated effort slipped tantalisingly wide in the 40th minute.
United depended all the more on Scholes's invention because this looked like a recuperative exercise for Beckham, even if Mario Stanic did enhance the authenticity of the England captain's participation by knocking him down and getting booked.
The goalless condition of the game was not exactly a delight to Alex Ferguson but he does have a keen appreciation of the value of competition. Open as the play was, the forwards were made to feel that only their peak form would be sufficient if they were to score.
The quickness of the covering was apparent, with United and Chelsea counting respectively on the way in which Mikael Silvestre and William Gallas could make up ground and close a gap. Marcel Desailly was on the bench here and, majestic figure as the veteran is, Claudio Ranieri must have misgivings about dropping either Gallas or John Terry.
There was a fine edge, especially, to the tackling of Wes Brown who made admirable challenges on Hasselbaink and later Gianfranco Zola when an opening goal was feasible. Only purists would have been thrilled, however, by the nullifying excellence.
It took Beckham, at last finding his touch, and Forlan to put a stop to all that.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Barthez, Gary Neville, Brown, Silvestre, O'Shea, Beckham, Veron, Phil Neville, Giggs, Forlan, Scholes. Subs Not Used: Carroll, Blanc, Stewart, Nardiello, Richardson. Booked: Phil Neville. Goals: Forlan 80.
CHELSEA: Cudicini, Melchiot, Gallas, Terry, Le Saux, De Lucas (Zenden 66), Lampard, Morris, Stanic, Hasselbaink (Gudjohnsen 78), Zola. Subs Not Used: de Goey, Ferrer, Desailly. Booked: Terry, Stanic.
Referee: S Bennett (Kent).
- Guardian Service
