Sunderland 1 Man Utd 0 (Reserves)
Sunderland edged a windswept Premier Reserve League match last night, but the main success was seeing Carlos Edwards comfortably negotiate an hour of the encounter at Eppleton CW.
And, judging by the way he hurled himself into a couple of full-blooded challenges, any lingering doubt the winger might have about the strength of his broken leg seem long gone.
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He might even have had a goal for his efforts, seeing a late first-half effort – the best produced by either side before the interval – beaten out by United keeper Tomasz Kuszczak.
An Ian Harte penalty won it at the death, but by then Edwards had departed the action and was wearing a fixed grin as he watched the closing minutes from the sidelines.
A classic encounter was never on the cards as the wind swept across the pitch at Hetton last night.
The sides did their best to play neat football on the ground, but possession rarely lasted more than a handful of passes and genuine scoring opportunities were at a premium.
Edwards was not the only man needing to make an impression.
For different reasons, Liam Miller needed to produce a hard-working display, and he did that, showing composure on the ball and always looking to be positive.
Roy O'Donovan accompanied Edwards off the pitch after an hour and the Irishman, previously sidelined due to a stomach muscle tear, may also come into boss Roy Keane's plans for Saturday's considerable Premier League test against Chelsea.
A word, too, for Jean-Yves M'voto, the young Frenchman of whom nothing was known when he arrived from Paris St-Germain last month.
He seems to be finding his feet well and for a giant of a man, knocks the ball about confidently. "One for the future," Keane said of the young Parisian when he arrived, and you can see his potential.
Incidents of genuine note were few and far between.
In fact, the first mark on my jotter came on 28 minutes, when Jamie Chandler niggled his way into the referee's notebook.
The first moment of potential danger for either keeper came a minute later when the tenacious O'Donovan robbed dawdling Gerard Pique in the United box, but was then pulled up for a foul.
The visitors' main man was Gary Neville, still making his way back from a succession of injuries.
This game was a million miles away from the frantic nature of the Premier League and it's very hard to imagine Neville re-establishing himself as a key man for Sir Alex Ferguson now.
He got 73 minutes, got booked and might have got a goal in the second-half, but the England defender, like Edwards, will just have been pleased to come through unscathed.
The Red Devils' best chance came on 38 minutes when Daniel Welbeck got clear of centre-back Paul McShane but skied his effort just inside the box with only Marton Fulop to beat.
Billy Dennehy followed Chandler and Neville into the book in the 42nd minute and Sunderland had a great chance to open the scoring barely 60 seconds later.
The lively O'Donovan once again pinched possession from Pique and Edwards seized on the loose ball, cut inside onto his left foot and blasted a shot that Kuszczak did well to beat away to his left.
There was little sign of the gusting wind abating as the second-half got under way with United carving out the first chance, Stepehen Wright being cautioned for his trip on Sean Evans before Chris Eagles curled the resulting free kick into the area, but Neville's touch let him down in front of goal.
Sunderland almost fluked a goal with 68 minutes gone after Harte's driven, low free-kick into the box was deflected goalwards, but Kuszczak was alert to save.
The former West Brom keeper, sent off during United's FA Cup exit against Portsmouth last weekend, was beaten on 74 minutes when Jake Richardson's corner was headed goalwards by McShane, but Eagles hacked the ball off the line and it looked destined to be a goalless night until four minutes from time.
Chandler exploited a huge gap on the right of the visitors' defence and seemed certain to score, but Kuszczak pulled off another decent stop.
The ball ballooned up for sub Jordan Cook to head into the empty goal, but David Gray – Neville's replacement – got back onto the line and pulled off the best save of the night, tipping over the bar.
The inevitable result was a red card for the young defender and a penalty for Sunderland, which Harte fired home confidently.
Based on chances, Sunderland deserved it.
SUNDERLAND: Fulop, Wright, M'voto, McShane, Harte, Edwards (Richardson 60), Weir (Brown 73), Miller, Chandler, Dennehy, O'Donovan (Cook 60). Subs not used: Carson, Pelter
MANCHESTER UNITED: Kuszczak, Neville (Gray 73), Simpson, Chester, Pique, Cleverley, Eagles, Possebon, Welbeck, Hewson, Evans (Barnes 80). Subs not used: Lea, Zieler, Fagan. Att: 1,032.
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Weather for Sunderland
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -3 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: South
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