Youth is Served: Manchester United 5 - Kitchee FC 2

photo by j / f / photos	via PhotoRee

With the pitch in diabolical shape after repeated drenchings from torrential rain, Manchester United played five-time Hong Kong League champion Kitchee FC in a game Monday night that was played solely on account of the English Champion's global commercial obligations. Facing the dual task of beating their easily outgunned opponent while trying mightily not to get injured, United used a youthful squad to dominate the proceedings, scoring three goals in just ten minutes of the first half to rip the contest wide open in the early going.

After Anderson fired wide of the post from 18 yards to offer a preview of things to come, Ashley Young hit the post and left Danny Welbeck with a relatively routine rebound to hand his side the lead after only 15 minutes had elapsed from the game clock. Chris Smalling rose highest to head home Tom Cleverley's cross and double the visitor's advantage just seven minutes later, before Fabio took Wilfried Zaha's imaginative feed and bent the ball beyond the outstretched arm of the beleaguered Kitchee goalkeeper to put the outcome beyond doubt.  Only the final margin of victory remained uncertain at the break.

Adnan Januzaj scored less than five minutes after the restart, steering Alexander Buttner's cross into the net and stretching the visitors' advantage to four, but it was at that point in the contest that the home side finally woke up. Kitchee pulled the first goal back with the best effort from either side on the evening, with Lam Ka Wak firing just past the fingertips of a leaping Ben Amos with a strike that brought fans of both sides to their feet.

In Moyes Time: Cerezo Osaka 2 - Manchester United 2

photo by Roby Ferrari	via PhotoRee

 

 

Ten minutes in and there were signs to encourage both sides, the ball zipping around the humidity-slicked surface of Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan like a greased watermelon on the Fourth of July. Although the players ran around the pitch as if intent on circling the track which surrounded it, there was precious little payoff in front of net -- in main part due to the sharp goalkeeping on display at both ends. As the game clock hit a half hour, the contest had comfortably settled into a tit-for-tat affair, with each attack by the visitors equaled impressively by the home side. It was Osaka, though, who finally broke the deadlock, taking advantage of a Chris Smalling mistake to grab a 1-0 lead -- showing that, if nothing else, United had become accustomed to playing from behind in the David Moyes era.

Although the visitors enjoyed a brief flurry of dominant, fluid football as the interval drew near, the second half began with the home side on level footballing terms once again. Ashley Young demonstrated that his diving was already in mid-season form, but the resulting Shinji Kagawa effort from the spot was denied -- rough justice for the hopeful fans in Osaka, perhaps, but justice nonetheless. The crowd favorite make quick amends, however, slotting Ryan Giggs' quick assist through Osaka 'keeper Kim Jin Hyeon's legs from a tight angle to pull his side level less than two minutes later.

Inauspicious: Singha All-Stars 1 - Manchester United 0

photo by Oneras	via PhotoRee

They're baaaaaack!  Or at least some of them are. In a game most notable as the inaugural bow of David Moyes, the subplot involved the paucity of players available for the English champions as they took the pitch last night in Thailand against the Singha All-Stars. As it was, and keeping in mind it was only a pre-season game (and the squad's 2013/2014 debut, at that), Moyes' first lineup in charge of Manchester United looked like this: Amos, Fabio, Ferdinand, Evans, Buttner, Carrick, Anderson, Cleverley, Januzaj, Giggs, Welbeck. Some familiar names to be sure, but also at least one that caused anyone in the stadium but the most fervent of Reds to go scurrying for their souvenir game day program. 

A listless first half was always likely due to the oppressive heat and humidity at game time, and lethargy was definitely what the crowd witnessed during the contest's first thirty minutes. The sole source of energy from the visitors was powered by the feet of young Adnan Januzaj, who easily shifted sides of the pitch while simultaneously showcasing deft footwork, nice control and decent speed. Although United appeared to be getting on top of the match as it drifted toward halftime, it was only the outstretched right arm of goalkeeper Ben Amos which kept the scoreline level at nil at the break. 

While the Singha All-Stars grabbed an unexpected lead less than five minutes after the restart, the visitors continued their feckless display well into in the second half. Even the much ballyhooed introduction of newboy Wilfried Zaha failed to change the outcome -- although the Championship Player of the Year did crash the post with a curling shot in the 82nd minute that would have put United on level terms, perhaps undeservedly so.