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MOTD: Manchester United 3-0 Cambridge United

By on February 3, 2015

The fall back down to earth will be a long one for Cambridge United. Only here at Old Trafford were they given a glimpse of Manchester United at their best, where the Theater of Dreams offered a show of stars, flicks, back-heels, nutmegs, and goals. Goals against Cambridge, that is, who inevitably fell victim to the riches and treasures of the Premier League.

The first stark reminder of the balance of powers came when the players were reportedly told they’d have to buy their own replacement kits from the club shop should they swap theirs; none of them took heed of these warning anyway. It isn’t as Cambridge United lost hope, and their grit persisted throughout; rather, it was that United finally found their form. On a night when Angel Di Maria, Robin Van Persie, Juan Mata, Marouane Fellaini, and Daley Blind graced the pitch, Cambridge must have felt in the presence of football royalty. Alas, the resulting contrast in class was all too apparent as United cruised to a win.

To their credit however, Cambridge’s players did not appear daunted by the task at hand. The League Two side set up with two up front, about as attacking oriented as they could get against United, and nearly took the lead just seconds in. Daley Blind was caught on the ball and his poor pass was cut out by Tom Elliot, only for the forward’s low curling effort, one-on-one with David De Gea, to strike the base of the post. Who knows what would have happened had that gone in, yet it is fair to say United tightened their game at that warning sign. Thus, what turned out to be their biggest opportunity also effectively put the match to bed. Twenty-five minutes in, a dominant United took the lead, as Fellaini rose at the far post to head down Di Maria’s cross for a tap-in for Mata. Seven minutes later, when Marcos Rojo flicked Van Persie’s lovely cross into the bottom right corner, the road for Cambridge seemed all too long.

Credit to Richard Money’s side has to be given – in fact, until the dying embers of the match they never surrendered, and Robbie Simpson later tested De Gea before Cameron McGeehan shot just wide of the target late on. But for all Cambridge’s chances — the majority of which were on the break — United only furthered their onslaught in the second half. It took an amazing performance from goalkeeper Chris Dunn to deny first Van Persie’s low volley shot across goal, then Di Maria’s dipping effort and finally multiple saves from Wayne Rooney, who would also curl wide from twenty-yards. Eventually, it was James Wilson who found space for a shot from twenty yards out to put the match to bed.

Despite the loss, Cambridge can find solace in many things. They weren’t beaten by a B-team, in fact, Louis Van Gaal played his starting eleven and added later that winning the FA Cup is a priority for United. Further, in addition to the experience of a lifetime for players and fans, Cambridge the club will return home with a reported two million pounds from their FA Cup run, half from their tie with United alone. That more than solves the problem of the dressing room toilets, which in any case a local business reportedly replaced for free. Fake it until you make it – Cambridge came one step close to football royalty tonight.
Man of the Match: Angel Di Maria

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.