Goals: Carrick (44, pen), Rooney (70).
Attendance 20,500
Manchester United made a winning start to the new pre-season campaign, goals from Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney gave United a victory over Aberdeen after hard game at Pittodrie.
Aberdeen, celebrating the 25th anniversary of winning the European Cup Winners’ Cup under Sir Alex Ferguson, stacked plenty of pressure on the Champions League winners, and were unlucky to see a first-half goal from Darren Mackie ruled out for offside.
United were back on the attack after 27 minutes when Giggs shot deflected wide after a swapping of passes with Michael Carrick. The deadlock was finally broken when Carrick split the defence with a beautiful pass to Rooney in the 43rd minute, Aberdeen keeper’s Langfield deemed to have brought the Golden Boy down as he tried to round the keeper. The spot kick was taken by Carrick and he sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to put United ahead.
After the half time, both teams did couples of changes to their line up. Aberdeen Goal Keeper was doing well to prevent united from scoring goals. A superb fingertip save from him prevented Giggs to double the score on, Bossu clawing his goalbound header onto the bar after the Welshman was picked out by Fletcher’s cross.
Twenty minutes from time, Rooney went one better by powerfully heading United’s second goal. Darren Fletcher took Carrick’s pass in his pace and bent in a teasing right-wing cross, which Rooney glimpsed insistently into the far corner.
Aberdeen goal keeper continued his high in the last minute with an acrobatic catch from Simpson’s fierce 20 yarder, but he could only watch helplessly as Eagles shot wide of an empty net seconds later after the ‘keeper had collided with Mair, leaving the final score 2-0 to Manchester United.
A first win of pre-season campaign kept Fergie and united fans very pleased, “They all did all right. There was no real great performances,” he told MUTV.
“You can’t expect any great performances – that’s the reason for pre-season games.
“The important thing is to get your fitness and also to come through without injury.”
United will play next game against South African side’s Kaizer Chiefs on Sat 19th July.
MANCHESTER UNITED: Amos (Woods 73); Neville (Simpson 46), Brown (Evans 61), Vidic (O’Shea 46), Silvestre; Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes (Campbell 61), Martin (Eagles 46); Rooney (Hewson 73), Giggs (Gibson 61).
