Tour 2013: Kitchee vs Utd (A rare win for Utd on tour as youngsters shine brightly)

Yes, you read that right, Utd won on Tour. And that means….absolutely nothing. I’d never heard of Kitchee, but they play in the Hong Kong league, which I think excuses me that lack of awareness. Having had the time to keep up with this match with live text feeds from the newspaper, it became clear very quickly that those covering the action were a little hacked off at the station. They signed up to cover classic Champions League encounters and ferociously contested derby games, not pre-season meanderings in the Far East. But Utd were in residence and Kitchee turned up, so they reluctantly settled over their laptops.

First off, the pitch. Rare that is the highlight of any pre-match build-up, but Hong Kong has experienced some horrendous weather in recent days and having already been given a mauling by Tottenham and Sunderland over the weekend, all the focus was on whether it would actually be playable. Utd had already cancelled Sunday’s practice having seen it. But it had dried out a bit, and perhaps best summed up by the fact it wasn’t bad enough not to play, but not conducive to great passing. Or as it was described by the text feed: “David Moyes is just hoping that none of his players get injured. The pitch looks like the 1976 Cup semi-final has just finished”
The action got underway over at the Guardian feed: 1 min It starts. This is rubbish. But for all the spreading of doom, what action prevailed was quite an entertaining game. The starting team were: Amos; Evra, Smalling, Keane, Fabio; Zaha, Carrick, Anderson, Young; Cleverley and Welbeck. Good to see Zaha in there, as he has been fantastic in his early games so far, easily shining in the tepid tempo of Utd’s play. He and Lingard, both younger than I by some months (which is depressing in a way), have been the Tour stars. That may count for nothing ultimately, but new manager, new times, and opportunities must be grabbed. Both have done so in tremendously commendable fashion, whereas others have missed the early chance.
Right, action, yes, knew there was something. Early threats from Zaha were followed up by an Anderson belter (missed) before the 15 minute breakthrough from Welbeck. Carrick lofted the ball over the defence in a brilliant pass, especially given the conditions. Young connected well according to commentary, but actually it was poor and was diverted onto the post by a deflection. Nevertheless, that had the goalkeeper sold and the rebound was converted smartly by Welbeck for 1-0. The goal brought about a flurry of chances; Zaha at the one end (doing the hard work and failing the easy), and Belencoso at the other (yes, him). A second goal took just six minutes and it fell to Utd. Following a corner, the play found Cleverley on the wing. His cross was deep and curling and it found the head of the looming and unmarked Smalling, whose powerful header was handled but not stopped. 2-0.
On a bit of a roll, Utd found a third in just another four minutes. An overlong cross from Young was chased down by Zaha. An outside-the-boot pass through the defenders found Fabio, our defender, who proceeded to goal and collected £200. The Brazilian converted also with the toe poke for a simple and delicious third. Good play and Zaha in the midst of good things again. I am all for him getting picked ahead of the other candidates on the wing judging on involvement.
After the break, more youth entered the fray in the forms of Buttner, Lingard and Januzaj, replacing Evra, Young and Welbeck (all three positively veterans in comparison). Januzaj has not been in the same form as Lingard, but he’s looked alright regardless, and within five minutes, he had the goal he’d been craving. Buttner was provider in a simple combination of cross and header. Very easy goal for Januzaj who had no one within a mile of him. 4-0.
Kitchee clearly thought 4 was a good enough headstart for Utd and three minutes later decided to get on the scoresheet themselves. Not endowed with obvious quality or danger men, they made themselves felt through Lam who, having only scored 1 goal last year (officially making him half as bad as Welbeck), bucked previous form with some nice footwork and a long-distance and perfectly placed cracker. Well worth hunting down to watch on youtube.
Januzaj had the next efforts, but the keeper Wang was equal to both. Kitchee then doubled their count with another eye-catching goal. Alex Alkande, whoever he is, gathered the ball, completely outwitted Buttner and Carrick (think it was them) by playing extremely unethical and turning in the box. Yes, turning. Last thing anyone in the Utd box expected apparently, for the space opened up in the simple move and Alkande put the strike past Amos, who thumped the ground in anger at the uselessness in front of him.
4-2, but we still had time for the cherry on top of the cake. On the eighty minute mark, Lingard, surrounded by 4, some say 6, others say 15, men apparently had no other option so just decided to give it a whack. The ball sailed clear of everyone and curled majestically into the net with the keeper nowhere close to doing a thing about it. Another well worth seeing and that cements Lingard as the highest scorer on tour with four goals, I believe. I hope he gets his chance, particularly in the cup. Dangerous player.
And so it ended: 5-2. Utd wrap up their Eastern ventures with a win. The ‘Moyes Out!’ comedy chanters lose their material for a few days. Zaha and Lingard the brightest again, and well-deserving a final mention. Anderson best summed up by the Guardian: good-moments, appalling moments, disappearance trick. Fitting words. Utd now travel home to the UK before the next encounter…in Sweden. Apparently, Rooney will feature.
This is not the end of this post just yet. The focus may have been east, but back west, preparations are also underway for the new season. A friendly against Crewe was also played, under the managership of Warren Joyce, and featuring Nani, Vidic and Valencia, more than enough talent to at least mention. 2-0 to Utd in short summary, with Nani grabbing both goals. The first an accurately placed free-kick (yes, he can do them!) and the second a good run, balance kept under the challenge, and a slotted home finish out of keeper’s reach. His work buys him a day before I can go back to complaining about him.
A last word on new additions. Varela is it so far. The Fabregas bid, well both of them, has been up there in the news along with Rooney, Suarez and Bale. Both failed and Barca say they ain’t selling. The offers have been high cash too, but the door would appear to be closed. I am not worthy to question, of course, but as much as he is the type of player we should be chasing, it would appear a lost cause with Barca’s obvious insistence. On contemplating a third bid, Moyes did not sound sure. The answer would appear to already be there. He still hopes for new additions, but says this is the squad that won the league at a canter and he’s happy. Fair point, and Zaha is a great new addition already, but we do really really really need a CM of quality. It is very obviously lacking at times. This is also the squad that exited the Champions League somewhat disappointingly and could control things against the best much better with that sort of support. Fingers crossed.