Three goals in the first six minutes helped Manchester United
beat Reading 3-2 in an enthralling FA Cup fifth-round replay on
Tuesday and earn a place in the quarter-finals.
Argentine defender Gabriel Heinze started the scoring in the
second minute with a low drive past Reading reserve keeper Adam
Federici.
Two minutes later, Louis Saha chested down a Rio Ferdinand pass
and struck the ball home for his first goal in 11 matches for
United since December.
The Premier League leaders' relentless start continued when Ole
Gunnar Solskjaer breached the offside trap and took his time to
curl a shot past Federici in the sixth minute.
A shell-shocked Reading stemmed the flow of goals, managing some
pressure of their own and getting on the scoresheet in the 23rd
minute after John Oster's corner was headed across goal by Ivar
Ingimarsson for Dave Kitson to nod in.
Striker Leroy Lita, who came off the bench to replace Kevin
Doyle, set up an interesting final few minutes when he took
advantage of some sloppy United defending to head the ball into the
right corner of the net in the 84th minute.
Brynjar Gunnarsson then rattled the bar at the death but a
shaken United clung on.
"It was a fantastic Cup tie. Credit to both sides," United
manager Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports. "They put on a great
show."
Reading manager Steve Coppell praised his side's resilience but
also admitted he had made a tactical error in starting with three
central defenders.
"Looking back that was a mistake," he told reporters, saying the
team had been more comfortable when he switched to a 4-4-2
formation. "To keep coming back is one of the team's best
characteristics."
Both sides fielded largely second-string players, with Reading
putting all their efforts into their first season in the Premier
League and Manchester United aiming for a league title and European
success.
United visit Middlesbrough in the quarter-finals on March 10
after the Premier League side had to win on sudden death shoot-out
for a second successive round/
They edged out second division West Bromwich Albion 5-4 on
penalties following a 1-1 draw.
Australia striker Mark Viduka had equalised Darren Carter's
first-half crisp shot. West Brom were reduced to 10 men in extra
time when striker Nathan Ellington was dismissed for a lunge.
Blackburn Rovers host Arsenal in Wednesday's replay.
(China Daily via AP February 28, 2007)