vs
Pre Season Friendly : Kaizer Chiefs vs Manchester United
Newlands stadium, South Africa
Saturday, 19 July 2008
Time: 9.30pm (please correct me if i'm wrong)
Hargreaves has joined Cristiano Ronaldo on the treatment table, while
Edwin van der Sar, Patrice Evra and Nani were given an extended holiday
after their appearances at Euro 2008.
Speculation suggested that
Hargreaves’ injury was worse than The Red Devils were making public,
but Ferguson insists that the problem is a recurrence of last season’s
tendonitis, and not linked to the his worries at Bayern Munich.
"It was apparent as soon as he came back to training. It is the same as last year. Some people get these things," Ferguson said.
"Maybe re-starting training on the firmish grounds brings it on or maybe it is just an inherent problem.
"We
are trying to sort it out now with injections. That is what we did last
November and it worked. Hopefully these work and by the time we come
back from South Africa he should be okay.
"Owen is not written off for the start of the season at all. I am sure he will be okay."
One
player who will definitely feature is long-term absentee and captain
Gary Neville, who has struggled with injury over the last 16 months,
and Ferguson has reiterated that the 33-year old will have the
opportunity to win back his place in the side from Wes Brown.
"For
Gary in particular this trip is very important. He came through his 45
minutes at Aberdeen on Saturday with no problem at all, which is
fantastic news," he added.
"The great thing about Gary is that he has not missed a training session since the last time he came back in April.
"We could have played him at the end of the season but Wes was doing so well.
"His
form was so good I didn't want to have doubts in my mind about picking
him. Wes had played in every game, so we kept it like that.
"But now, a new season is about to start and Gary will get his chance."
any live telecast ?
sopcast got
guangdong sports watching now... :)
currently down 1-0 at half-time
coz of some stupid penalty
http://www.justin.tv/widgets/jtv_live.r8165.swf?channel=mstv_1
can watch it here
chris eagle score liao
sweeet my eaglessssssssssssssssss!!
so its 1-1 full time or got et for friendlies
The Red Devils did, by and large, have the better of the play, but were
found lacklustre in the final third and fairly sloppy in defence.
Many
poor clearances allowed the Chiefs to have occasional spells of
sustained pressure and the lack of penetrating width was telling for
the Premier League-Champions League double-winners.
The first
half was played at a slow pace in front of an expectant crowd. United
could not get a solid passing game going and the Chiefs did fairly well
to fend them off and launch the odd counterattack of their own.
Both
teams looked like heading into the break with scores level before a
surging run into the box drew a foul from the returning Gary Neville,
and a penalty was awarded.
Quartey stepped up and sent Tomasz Kuszczak the wrong way with a placed spot-kick into the bottom-left hand corner.
Little
changed after the break as United still lacked killer instinct and
direct running, with full fitness still looking a couple of games off
and the Chiefs full of energy and eager to impress.
However,
Carlos Tevez's influence on the game grew as things progressed, and his
run out wide and magnificent cross landed on the head of Chris Eagles,
who had been extremely poor, yet could not miss an open goal.
Wayne
Rooney was withdrawn shortly after, as his infamously short temper
threatened to see him sent off (having already been booked) as he once
again struggled to perform. Eagles was also replaced by Frazier
Campbell, who looked sharp and relatively dangerous up front. Gary
Neville was given a rest after a fairly rusty performance for the
lively Danny Simpson.
From then on, it was the Red Devils who
looked more likely to score, but neither goalkeeper was called into any
kind of serious action as the match ended level.
extremely poor? oh my eagles... =( sobs
Sir Alex Ferguson backed Wayne Rooney after the unsightly side of the striker’s game reared its ugly head in Manchester United’s 1-1 draw with Kaizer Chiefs.
Rooney lost his cool as the Chiefs frustrated United for long periods in their first tour match out in South Africa, and he can consider himself lucky not to have been sent off.
Twice the England man petulantly kicked out at an opponent, but Ferguson claims Rooney did nothing wrong.
"He is learning how to control himself and it (the challenge) was next to nothing,” stated the United manager.
"I do not think he was out of order in this instance."
Gary Neville was also responsible for an illegal challenge, producing the trip that led to Kaizer Chiefs’ penalty, but Ferguson was full of praise for the veteran defender.
"Obviously his tackling has not improved," quipped the Scot. "Gary's enthusiasm and speed of play was quite phenomenal. I am very pleased and he is a remarkable man.
"Anyone who has played football knows that when you get to your 30s and been out of the game for 16 months, your comeback is very, very difficult. You have to give him a lot of credit."