David Moyes perhaps thought he had
seen most things during his challenging short stay at Manchester United,
until he turned up in Staffordshire on a wild winter’s night.
Not
only did the United manager witness a first half hail storm severe
enough for referee Mark Clattenburg to send both sets of players
scampering for the sanctuary of the dressing rooms, he also saw a rare
telling contribution from his winger Ashley Young.
Young’s winning goal — driven in to the Stoke goal from 25 yards in the 62nd minute — was struck so powerfully it threatened to take goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen’s hand off. In a season more notable for his play-acting, suffice to say Young owed Moyes this.
Some Stoke players, it must be said, didn’t really want to go off.
They aren’t really like that in Staffordshire. Nevertheless it was hard to question Clattenburg’s decision, given that the elements were, at that time, making it rather difficult to see — and stand up, straight.
In fact the weather that battered the Britannia during the first half was pretty much the most exciting event of the opening 35 minutes.
With United fielding a strong team — an indication perhaps of Moyes desire to win a trophy of some description in his debut season at Old Trafford — there was no reason why we shouldn’t have had an entertaining game against opposition that have started to find their feet under Mark Hughes.
Wayne Rooney — injured in training on Tuesday — may not have been present and fellow striker Robin van Persie was also absent with a thigh problem but there was still enough attacking talent in this side to take the game to Stoke at a ground where they usually tend to do quite well.
But with the rain sheeting down and the wind swirling dramatically the weather did affect the football, with both teams’ attempts to pass the ball quickly constantly undermined by the conditions.
As such there was precious little for either goalkeeper to do before Clattenburg (below) decided the weather was too bad to continue.
Stoke were certainly ambitious enough. Hughes said before the game that he had identified this as a competition he felt his team could win. No doubt inspired by Sunderland’s defeat of Chelsea the night before and still irritated by the manner of a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in the Premier League earlier this season, his team looked in no way overawed.
It was United who started the game on the front foot and they could actually have led inside four minutes as a neat passing move funnelled the ball towards Young in the inside right position.
Young had the confidence to shoot first time with his right foot and United’s travelling fans thought the ball had found the top corner.
As it was, the shot had passed the wrong side of the near post and into the side netting.
Gathered behind David de Gea’s goal in the first half, there were a good number of visiting fans and their support on such a dismal night was exceptional.
Stoke did threaten to upset their night on a couple of occasions, though, as full-back Geoff Cameron drove a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area in the 17th minute and Oussama Assaidi did likewise soon after, cutting in from the left to curl an effort over the corner of post and bar.
Late in the half, meanwhile, Jon Walters helped on a cross from the right when he may have been better leaving it for Stephen Ireland, arriving behind him.
Moyes’ team did force a number of corners but their delivery was generally poor, with Young often the culprit.
Extra time was never going to suit either team and both emerged for the second half with positive intent.
United were first to threaten as a
neat ball inside the full-back from Anderson gave Antonio Valencia an
opportunity to shoot and only a defensive block deflected the ball away
from goal.
At the other end Stoke’s Glenn Whelan advanced to try his luck from distance but the ball never looked like finding its way on target and disappeared in to the Stoke supporters behind the goal.
With the weather now somewhat becalmed, this was a considerably better game already and Moyes perhaps sensed an upward shift in his team’s momentum sending on a striker, Javier Hernandez, for a midfielder, Anderson, with half an hour left.
Within a couple of minutes, the Mexican had played his part, laying a Young pass back in to the England international’s path, enabling him to deliver a shot so powerfully struck that Sorensen never had a chance of stopping it. Walters had a great chance to equalise as Stoke rallied with 20 minutes left, but he couldn’t connect adequately with a cross from the left with the goal at his mercy from six yards.
It was United, though, who broke to seal the game as Patrice Evra ran on to a pass from Young to steady himself and curl a lovely goal across Sorensen and in to the corner with his right foot.
Young’s winning goal — driven in to the Stoke goal from 25 yards in the 62nd minute — was struck so powerfully it threatened to take goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen’s hand off. In a season more notable for his play-acting, suffice to say Young owed Moyes this.
Strike: Ashley Young (left) scored Manchester United's first goal against Stoke City
Some Stoke players, it must be said, didn’t really want to go off.
They aren’t really like that in Staffordshire. Nevertheless it was hard to question Clattenburg’s decision, given that the elements were, at that time, making it rather difficult to see — and stand up, straight.
In fact the weather that battered the Britannia during the first half was pretty much the most exciting event of the opening 35 minutes.
With United fielding a strong team — an indication perhaps of Moyes desire to win a trophy of some description in his debut season at Old Trafford — there was no reason why we shouldn’t have had an entertaining game against opposition that have started to find their feet under Mark Hughes.
Wayne Rooney — injured in training on Tuesday — may not have been present and fellow striker Robin van Persie was also absent with a thigh problem but there was still enough attacking talent in this side to take the game to Stoke at a ground where they usually tend to do quite well.
Take that: Young strikes from the edge of the area after good work from Hernandez
Joy: Ashley Young (centre) was given a yellow card for celebrating with United fans
Torrential: The match between Stoke and United was suspended for ten minutes due to a hail storm
But with the rain sheeting down and the wind swirling dramatically the weather did affect the football, with both teams’ attempts to pass the ball quickly constantly undermined by the conditions.
As such there was precious little for either goalkeeper to do before Clattenburg (below) decided the weather was too bad to continue.
Stoke were certainly ambitious enough. Hughes said before the game that he had identified this as a competition he felt his team could win. No doubt inspired by Sunderland’s defeat of Chelsea the night before and still irritated by the manner of a 3-2 defeat at Old Trafford in the Premier League earlier this season, his team looked in no way overawed.
It was United who started the game on the front foot and they could actually have led inside four minutes as a neat passing move funnelled the ball towards Young in the inside right position.
Young had the confidence to shoot first time with his right foot and United’s travelling fans thought the ball had found the top corner.
As it was, the shot had passed the wrong side of the near post and into the side netting.
Ouch: Stoke's Stephen Ireland attempts to protect his head from the hail
Before the storm: Peter Crouch (left) gets above United's Phil Jones to win the ball
Confusion: David Moyes (centre) didn't want the game to be suspended
Opener: Ashley Young scored for United after a clever one-two with Hernandez on the edge of the Stoke area
Strength: Oussama Assaidi (left) holds off Rafael during the Capital One Cup quater-final
Chilly: David De Gea looks on through the hail during the clash between Stoke and United
Gathered behind David de Gea’s goal in the first half, there were a good number of visiting fans and their support on such a dismal night was exceptional.
Stoke did threaten to upset their night on a couple of occasions, though, as full-back Geoff Cameron drove a shot over the crossbar from the edge of the penalty area in the 17th minute and Oussama Assaidi did likewise soon after, cutting in from the left to curl an effort over the corner of post and bar.
Late in the half, meanwhile, Jon Walters helped on a cross from the right when he may have been better leaving it for Stephen Ireland, arriving behind him.
Moyes’ team did force a number of corners but their delivery was generally poor, with Young often the culprit.
Extra time was never going to suit either team and both emerged for the second half with positive intent.
Battle the elements: Stok's Marc Wilson (right) and Danny Welbeck (left) race for the ball
Off we go: Patrice Evra (centre) uses a towel to protect himself from the downpour of hail
At the other end Stoke’s Glenn Whelan advanced to try his luck from distance but the ball never looked like finding its way on target and disappeared in to the Stoke supporters behind the goal.
With the weather now somewhat becalmed, this was a considerably better game already and Moyes perhaps sensed an upward shift in his team’s momentum sending on a striker, Javier Hernandez, for a midfielder, Anderson, with half an hour left.
Within a couple of minutes, the Mexican had played his part, laying a Young pass back in to the England international’s path, enabling him to deliver a shot so powerfully struck that Sorensen never had a chance of stopping it. Walters had a great chance to equalise as Stoke rallied with 20 minutes left, but he couldn’t connect adequately with a cross from the left with the goal at his mercy from six yards.
It was United, though, who broke to seal the game as Patrice Evra ran on to a pass from Young to steady himself and curl a lovely goal across Sorensen and in to the corner with his right foot.
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