South China vs Man United (last game in 1986 ended 2-2) United lineup : Schmeichel, Irwin, P Nev, May, Johnsen, McClair, Scholes, Keane, Poborsky, Solskjaer, Sheringham 1st half summary :- 5th min Sheringham showed his displeasure for an offside call against him. He had a case though, he was onside. 9th min Solskjaer showed good understanding between himself and Irwin. He sent Irwin down the right flank. The resulting cross gave United a corner. 11th min Keane was cleverly put through by Sheringham. Sheringham held on the ball on the edge of the box and waited for Keane to run pass him. Keane's first shot was blocked, his rebound shot molested the horizontal bar and went out. 15th min A rare attack by SC gave United a good scare. A long deep cross from SC's half was met by an on rushing SC player, his first timer shot headed for the sky though. 22nd min Poborsky's curling shot from the left was parried away by the keeper, no one else could reach the rebound. 22nd min From the resulting counter attack (from SC), Smikes held on to a low cross from his left. 30th min A good run and cross by Poborsky wasn't wasted as Solskjaer met the ball with a header. The ball went towards the keeper. 31st min Poborsky created chaos when he supplied yet another good cross which beat the keeper but not Sheringham. The latter's header hit the foot of the left upright, his 2nd try was saved on the line. Sheringham missed the chance to open his account. Slow motion showed that the ball might have crossed the line, but it was really close. 33rd min Smikes saved a SC screamer with a flying one hand save. United defence allowed the SC player to shoot from 30m out. 40th min Chaos again in the SC box. Poborsky spotted Irwin completely unmarked in the box. Irwin's low shot was cleared by the onrushing keeper. The ball went back to Irwin, his deep cross was cleared away on the line. Sheringham missed the ball by a few cms. First half score 0-0 (Alex will kick a few tea cups in the room) In the nutshell: The match is livier compared to the Thai game. The game's very physical and fast. SC wasn't overrawed by the event. Though SC defended for most of the half, they have quality counter attacks. United's game was quite smooth, again Scholes called for all the balls. His never say die spirit will definitely make it hard for Alex to leave him out of the side. The defence looked comfortable (though there weren't much threats). 2nd half :- 46th min McClair gave Sheringham a clean pass, but Sheringham delayed his shot. 52nd min United relaxed and let SC have a run. A SC's cross was being headed wide. The player was not challenged by May. 56th min Scholes showed that he can also shoot with his left foot. His low shot from the edge was saved comfortably by the keeper (who incidentally looked amazing like Southall). 58th min Triple sub. Cruyff for Solskjaer, Crooke for Poborsky and Philip Mulryne for Scholes 59th min Cruyff immediately started to work as he sent a good ball to Keane who was lurking around the edge. However, Keane was slow in placing his shot. 60th min Cruyff met P Nev's cross with a header, but it went high. 64th min Cruyff appeared to be going all the way when he was checked illegally. No sending off for the SC defender, only a yellow. From the resulting freekick, Sheringham headed over the bar. 67th min Cruyff (are you tired of his name yet?) looked like a possessed demon. He fought hard with 2 SC players for the ball, and he got it! He then tried a low shot, it rebounded off the keeper's body. The ball went straight to Sheringham's shin guard and it went out of play. 68th min Cruyff.. NOT!. A good one-two by 2 SC players sent one of them through to face Smikes. But the slice shot went wide of Smikes' goal. A little scare there. 71st min Yes, we know the name.. Cruyff controlled Nev's pass superbly. But his turn and shoot try was blocked. 74th min United relaxed yet again and let SC have a run. Same result as the other time, a header went wide. 75th min Cruyff again! A cool cross from Irwin on the right was met by Cruyff. His header went into goal. He has done it! The keeper was not amused. South China 0 Man United 1 78th min Double sub Clegg for Irwin and Thornley for Sheringham 87th min Keane's header from a free kick (Thornley was fouled) went wide. 88th min McClair tried a 25m shot. It was good and it flew past the right upright by centermetres. Final score : South China 0 Man United 1 In a nutshell : It wasn't as good as the first half. The sub did United good. Cruyff was totally different from his last outing against the Thais. Perhaps, the reason that he was used as a striker instead of a midfielder did the job. He was determined and hardworking. He chased, fought and shot whenever he could. He, personally, is my MOM despite his late entry. When Scholes left the field, Keane would have taken control, but he faded towards the end of the game. So no one really took charge of the midfield, hence SC was allowed to control the game once in a while. Cruyff's goal took the sting out of SC. Even though they tried to come back, they appeared to be tired. Hence United were not in trouble most of the time. Smikes had a relatively easy game (except the one save he had to make in the first half). United do look kind of dull without wing play. It's play through the middle were at times ineffectively and unimaginative. Poborsky was once again willing. But he's style was direct, get the ball and dash (like Kan Kan). That could be easily read by the opponents. Only P Nev managed a few good crosses. Irwin tried a few, one resulted in a goal, the rest were not so threatening. Johnsen and May pair looked comfortable. Makes you wonder who will go off for Silva. Solskjaer had a quiet outing, he did not look fit at the moment. After two games, I'm sure all United fans will not only cast their eyes on Silva and Sheringham, but also on Scholes. Can he really do it when it really counts? Next game : Japan! ========================================================================= Monday, July 21 1997 Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson believes the signing of the Brazil defender Celio Silva has ensured his squad is strong enough to retain the Premiership title. 'I'm sure there is money in the kitty, but I don't have any plans to use it,' said Ferguson after United had beaten Hong Kong champions South China yesterday with a 76th minute header from substitute Jordi Cruyff. 'We are always looking to improve ourselves but at this moment I don't see anyone - unless you are talking about the top teams, who won't sell anyway. I'm quite happy with the squad I have.' Ferguson, who hopes Silva will receive a work permit within a couple of weeks, said United were capable of lifting their fifth title in six seasons. 'We must have a good chance. We have as good a chance as anyone.' Many in the 40,000 capacity crowd began leaving before the final whistle and South China club officials agreed to refund some fans their $50 admission because Ryan Giggs, David Beckham and Gary Neville, who had featured in advertising for the match, did not play. Sheringham's first game was in a similarly dull 2-0 win against Thailand's national side. "Teddy was more involved today than he was in the first match, so as each gig goes along I think he will get better," said Ferguson. The other bright spot in a dull game was Czech international Karel Poborsky, who ran hard and crossed well with little reward. United, playing in an all-blue away strip, nearly got the blues when Hong Kong's birthday boy, star player Leslie Santos missed a sitter in the 69th minute after a neat one-two.