On a clichéd cold and wet Wednesday night in Stoke it was Manchester United’s Ashley Young who proved the difference in the Capital One Cup quarter final.
The often maligned winger walked away with the man-of the-match award after his superb strike opened the scoring in a game played in horrific conditions.
Referee Mark Clattenburg pulled the teams off the pitch in the first half after a heavy hail-storm forced a suspension of play and Manchester United manager David Moyes acknowledged the part the weather played.
“The conditions were a leveller, particularly in the first half it was really difficult for the players to play. The wind was blowing all over the place. Players will tell you that to play in heavy wind is as bad as anything,” Moyes told Sky Sports
“I think the first goal tonight, whoever got it, was going to make a big difference.
“It was a tight game, we had some good play at times but we hadn’t created too many chances, but I don’t think Stoke created too many either.
“I thought that once we got the first goal we were in control. When we got the second goal, we went on and saw the game out well.”
Young broke the deadlock on 62 minutes with a thunderous strike after a neat one-two with substitute Javier Hernandez. Those keeping an eye on the live Manchester United Scores at scores.co.uk will have been ecstatic at this point!
Following a disjointed first half United capitalized on their lead and Patrice Evra dampened any hope of Stoke revival with a rare right-footed curler on 78 minutes.
The Frenchman has been a threat from set-pieces for Untied of late but this time the full-back collected a pass from Young and cut into the box to unleash a beauty past a helpless Thomas Sorensen.
United now face Sunderland in a two-legged semi-final after managing to avoid Manchester City who were paired with West Ham.
While the competition has throughout the years been a breeding ground for young talent Moyes fielded a strong side at the Britannia and intends to do all he can to capture his first piece of silverware.
He added: “Manchester United Football Club are used to winning trophies, so it’s no surprise to them and it’s nothing different. It’s business as usual but we are all delighted that we’re in the semi-final,” Moyes said.
“Going into the last couple of rounds it looked like the top teams were going to be in and around the semi-finals, but some big results tonight and last night mean it has changed around a little bit.
“But Sunderland have just had a really good result against Chelsea and we are going to have to play well over the two legs to get to the final.”
Image courtesy of Prime7, with thanks
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