More trophy for United
Table of Contents
The Premier League champions Manchester United lifted the Community Shield trophy for the second year running as they beat FA Cup winners Portsmouth 3-1 on penalties after a goalless draw at Wembley.
United, who also won the trophy on penalties against Chelsea last season, netted all three of their spot-kicks, while Portsmouth missed three of their four. Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick all on target for United as Lassana Diarra, Arnold Mvuemba and Glen Johnson all missed for Portsmouth. Jermain Defoe was the only Portsmouth player to score.
The European champions were playing without their main strike force of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. However, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was able to welcome back his captain Gary Neville to make his first appearance since March 2007.
United, who also defeated Portsmouth 2-1 on a friendly in Nigeria two weeks ago, had completely controlled the match and should have finished off Pompey before the penalties.
Darren Fletcher should have given United the lead in the 35th minute when Nani stole possession from Glen Johnson and delivered a perfect cross for Fletcher. But somehow the Scot completely missed his kick and knocked the ball away from goal with his second touch.
Four minutes into the second half, Fletcher went even closer when his sublime chip was tipped onto the bar by Portsmouth keeper David James.
Portsmouth were completely helpless in attack as their new little-and-large strike of Defoe and the £11 million Peter Crouch failed to strike. Defoe had few opportunities to run at the United defence with the ball at his feet, while Crouch did not have as much joy and was well marked by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic throughout the match.
In the final minutes, United had chances to win the match but young substitute Frazier Campbell and Tevez both shot over the bar and took the match to penalties.
Lassana Diarra blasted Portmouth's first spot-kick high over the bar, then Edwin van der Sar blocked substitute Arnold Mvuemba's effort with his legs before Johnson shot high into the stands to hand United victory.
United, who also won the trophy on penalties against Chelsea last season, netted all three of their spot-kicks, while Portsmouth missed three of their four. Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick all on target for United as Lassana Diarra, Arnold Mvuemba and Glen Johnson all missed for Portsmouth. Jermain Defoe was the only Portsmouth player to score.
The European champions were playing without their main strike force of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney. However, United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was able to welcome back his captain Gary Neville to make his first appearance since March 2007.
United, who also defeated Portsmouth 2-1 on a friendly in Nigeria two weeks ago, had completely controlled the match and should have finished off Pompey before the penalties.
Darren Fletcher should have given United the lead in the 35th minute when Nani stole possession from Glen Johnson and delivered a perfect cross for Fletcher. But somehow the Scot completely missed his kick and knocked the ball away from goal with his second touch.
Four minutes into the second half, Fletcher went even closer when his sublime chip was tipped onto the bar by Portsmouth keeper David James.
Portsmouth were completely helpless in attack as their new little-and-large strike of Defoe and the £11 million Peter Crouch failed to strike. Defoe had few opportunities to run at the United defence with the ball at his feet, while Crouch did not have as much joy and was well marked by Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic throughout the match.
In the final minutes, United had chances to win the match but young substitute Frazier Campbell and Tevez both shot over the bar and took the match to penalties.
Lassana Diarra blasted Portmouth's first spot-kick high over the bar, then Edwin van der Sar blocked substitute Arnold Mvuemba's effort with his legs before Johnson shot high into the stands to hand United victory.
Please subscribe to our RSS feed to receive more updates. You can also subscribe by Email and enjoy our latest posts sent directly to your inbox.
Post a Comment