Unfortunately, there’s also something quintessentially United – at least as far as the class of the 2013-14 season are concerned – in snatching victory from the jaws of defeat only to extend the agony and ensure that the blow, when it’s finally delivered, is even more painful.
Yet United managed to achieve the rather remarkable feat tonight, as the only shot on goal they conceded in 119 minutes found its way into the net, before a dramatic last minute winner was upstaged by a crushing defeat on penalties.
Who knows, perhaps had Danny Welbeck, Adnan Januzaj, Phil Jones and Rafael not been so frightened when stepping up to take their kicks, we’d be celebrating a turning point in David Moyes’ career at Old Trafford.
Maybe, had David De Gea not allowed Phil Bardsley – Phil Bardsley, for heaven’s sake! – shot to dribble into the back of the net courtesy of an appalling and uncharacteristic mistake, we’d be talking about the prospect of an all-Mancunian League Cup final.
Instead, we’re left to pick up the pieces of yet another defeat, one that will hurt even more for the manner through which it arrived and for the circumstances that surrounded it.
In a season of poor performances, United’s standards plummeted even further, 120 minutes of utterly dire and uninspiring football, the team’s deficiencies ruthlessly laid bare by a very organised Sunderland side.
Javier Hernandez’s header which almost gave United the lead five minutes into the first half was to be the exception rather than the rule, as United’s midfield struggled to create any momentum, Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick failing to drive the team forward, while Welbeck and Hernandez were left isolated up front.
When the goal did arrive – via a Jonny Evans’ header following a corner – United didn’t push forward in search of a second, rather they sat back for the whole second half.
United were playing against their nerves and the pressure engulfing Old Trafford as much as against Sunderland, a damning statement of where the players’ minds are.
A flurry of subs saw the ineffective Shinji Kagawa being replaced by the equally useless Antonio Valencia, while Carrick was the latest player to fall victim of injuries and was replaced by Jones, with Evra coming on for Buttner.
Extra time proved to be an absolute torture, United failing to hang on to possession while Sunderland pegged them in their own box, applying a pressure not seen at these latitudes in a semifinal since Barcelona visited for the Champions League in 2008.
That was Barcelona, this was Sunderland. And the visitors looked to have booked their ticket to Wembley as they scored with thief first shot of the game after 119 minutes, United’s fear of doing some constructive with the ball finally catching up with them.
Hernandez’s goal after a brilliant assist by Januzaj had us all believing that this might, after all, be the lucky break we had been waiting for.
As Craig Gardner skied his penalty and Steven Fletcher had his saved, that belief was strengthened, particularly as De Gea redeemed himself by denying Adam Johnson the joy of taking his team to Wembley.
Vito Mannone was to take that accolade, saving Rafael’s penalty – the third United player in a row to miss after Januzaj had his penalty saved and Jones’ whistled over the bar – and sealing a deserved win for Sunderland.
For United, things are going to get a whole lot worse before they get better.
No comments:
Post a Comment