Manchester United cruise past Scunthorpe United in the Carling Cup
Manchester United overcame Championship-side Scunthorpe United in the third round of the Carling Cup on Wednesday, winning 5–2 to secure entry into the next round.
Scunthorpe took the lead early on, but United fought back swiftly to earn a 5–1 lead by the middle of the second half.
"We're holders of the Carling Cup, we've done that two years in a row and you can see from the players' attitude that we want to keep hold of it," said Mike Phelan, assistant boss at United, in Sir Alex
Ferguson's absence.
Wright with a memorable goal
Scunthorpe midfielder Josh Wright received a ball just outside the area in the 17th minute, and his high shot into the near-corner caused Glanford Park to erupt.
United were quick to reply, though, as Chris Smalling sent a long ball through for Darron Gibson to chase from midfield. Gibson, who came close to scoring several times against Rangers FC last week, raced
clear and on to the ball, hitting a lobbed finish over Joe Murphy in Scunthorpe's goal to pull the Premier League side level.
Smalling then scored his first goal for United after a corner. Wesley Brown sent Ji-Sung park through on the right side of the area, and the South Korean's decisive cross was met by the defender at the
near post.
Scunthorpe's defence was exposed once again after the break when Federico Macheida's through-ball left Michael Owen alone with the keeper. No stranger to such situations, veteran striker Owen waited for
Murphy to make the first move, slotting the ball into the right corner once he did.
United were awarded a corner kick in the 54th minute. Owen sent the ball back into play at the back post, and the ball eventually fell to Park, who hit a fierce drive low into the right hand corner to
give Ferguson's team a 4–1 lead.
Owen gets a brace
Park then led United's counter attack in the 71st minute, driving to the edge of the box before cutting inside and hitting a strike straight at Murphy, who managed to parry. Always one to pounce, Owen
burst forward to get to the rebound, hitting the loose ball into the empty net for his second of the night.
With the game clearly out of their reach, Scunthorpe continued to press in front of their home fans, and eventually their efforts paid off. Wright's corner was cleared, but only back to the feet of the
20-year-old. The second time, he picked out Martyn Woolford, who stretched to guide the ball into the far corner of the net. It was a well-deserved consolation.
Ferguson's team travel to Bolton Wanderers on Sunday for their second Premier League derby in seven days.
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