RED & BURIED
10-man Canaries are KO’d at death by Harry clincher
Manchester United captain Harry Maguire clinched a semi- final spot but admitted his side made the win harder than necessary.
Maguire popped up in the penalty area to stab home the winner with two minutes of extra time remaining against a Norwich side down to 10 men.
The clincher came after Todd Cantwell levelled for Norwich following Odion Ighalo’s opener and the skipper admitted his side weren’t at their best.
Maguire said: “It was a difficult game and we made hard work of it. We weren’t at our best and sometimes in cup games that happens.
“You have to find a way to go on and get the victory and get through to the next round. We’ve managed it in the end.
“We had a tough game obviously with the heat in the Premier League but we made changes so we should have been fresh. I can’t really put my finger on it at the moment. We’ll have to watch it back and analyse it. But in the end we’ve got there, we’re pleased, we’re in the semifinal and that’s all that matters.”
Ighalo had given Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side the lead in the second half with a smart volley but Cantwell’s long-range drive forced another 30 minutes.
The Canaries were up against it however when defender Timm Klose was sent off for hauling Ighalo to the ground and denying a clear goalscoring opportunity.
But they were just minutes away from a penalty shootout with spot-kick expert keeper Tim Krul waiting after holding firm in extra- time until Maguire directed home at the death.
United were made to dig deeper than they could have imagined by the Premier League’s bottom side, who rallied impressively after falling behind, helped by a special performance by Krul in goal.
Red Devils boss Solskjaer said: “It is cup football for you, the game was not the greatest spectacle but we kept the ball OK and did not threaten much.
“Delighted to be in the last four and got a good workout for many of the players. Nice for Harry Maguire to get the winner.”