YEOVIL TOWN 0, MANCHESTER UNITED 2
Second half goals by Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria eased Manchester United past Yeovil in the 3rd Round of the FA Cup.
United were appearing in their first competitive game at Huish Park, and former United manager Sir Alex Ferguson added a touch of stardust to the occasion by arriving on a luxury helicopter.
League One’s bottom club might have expected to struggle against such an expensively assembled United side but they were solid against their illustrious opponents.
Louis Van Gaal is taking this competition seriously, and rather than fielding a reserve side such as the one which lost 4-0 at MK Dons, he chose a strong side with six experienced changes from the Stoke game.
In came Paddy McNair, Tyler Blackett, Rafael, James Wilson, Ander Herrera and Darren Fletcher, while Jonny Evans, Phil Jones, Ashley Young, Robin Van Persie, Michael Carrick and Juan Mata were rotated out.
“They gave a lot of pressure to us, we didn’t have to time to pass the ball around.” said the Dutchman as he paid tribute to Yeovil.
“We changed in shape in the second half because of injuries to Rafael and Shaw. We had more of the ball and more patience and could score the winning goals.”
The Yeovil resistance lasted well into the second half following a sterile 45 minutes in which it took United over half an hour to register a shot on target courtesy of James Wilson after Ander Herrera had played him in.
Van Gaal was forced into half time changes due to injuries to Luke Shaw and Rafael, who has a suspected fractured cheekbone, but the forced change to 4-4-2 due to personnel seemed to reinvigorate United.
Despite this, Kieffer Moore could have given Yeovil the lead in the 55th minute but his finish was poor and easily saved by David De Gea after Samuel Foley’s cross was flicked on to him by substitute Jonny Evans and the Glovers went on the rue the missed chance.
Herrera went on to open the scoring in the 64th minute, turning and volleying a brilliant shot past Jed Steer in the Yeovil goal. The Spaniard was subsequently booked for overcelebrating his crucial goal.
Angel Di Maria, on as a second half substitute for Falcao, cleared a Yeovil header by captain Joseph Edwards off the line before going on to secure the win in the last minute after racing onto a Wayne Rooney clearance from his own half and then lifting the ball over Steer as Yeovil chased an equaliser.