Ruthless Rashford exposes the gulf
THEY held out for three hours against Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace, but Colchester United dropped their guard for a moment at Old Trafford last night and the Carabao Cup adventure was over.
Another 50 minutes had been added to the League Two club’s shutout of Premier League opposition this season when they had the audacity to break over halfway and test Sergio Romero in the Manchester United goal for the first time.
Romero got down low to save from Ryan Jackson and rolled the ball to Nemanja Matic who swung it 40 yards into the path of Marcus Rashford.
United’s leading scorer galloped towards the penalty box and cut inside Thomas Eastman and Luke Prosser before hammering a shot past goalkeeper Dean Gerken.
Play had swung from one end to the other in a matter of seconds. A Colchester team who had beaten Tottenham and Palace on penalties after goalless draws in the previous rounds had finally been broken. United were on their way towards a two-legged semi-final against Manchester City.
Five minutes later Mason Greenwood got free down the right and tried to pick out Rashford at the far post, forcing Jackson to put the ball into his own net as he tried to stop the England star.
And five minutes after that, Rashford turned provider as he popped up at the far post again to meet Juan Mata’s pass and roll the ball back across goal for Anthony Martial to stretch out a leg and score.
Three goals in 10 minutes. ‘ Three- nil in your cup final,’ taunted the United fans.
That felt harsh on the lowest ranked team left in the competition, but such are the tough lessons at this level.
It was all about that crucial first goal in a game that rather summed up this United team.
Put up a white wall, as Colchester did last night, and they struggle to find a way through it. Overstretch yourself and United are capable of delivering a counterpunch to hurt even the best teams in the country.
‘It was the first time they really went for it and we had a chance to counter and that settled it,’ said manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
‘Sergio’s intent in going forward was the key. In games like this you need a first goal to settle doubt and it will flow more.’
Solskjaer paid respect to his opponents by naming a strong team that surprised Colchester boss John McGreal.
‘We were expecting a couple more of the younger boys and when you see a fully-loaded team like that you do think, “This is big football”,’ said McGreal. ‘ But we stuck to the game plan. The idea was to frustrate them.’
It worked in the first half. Rashford threatened with a couple of early free-kicks but United struggled to find a way through, as they have in similar situations this season. The only tactic that looked like breaking Colchester’s resistance was the excellent long-ball delivery from deep off the boot of Andreas Pereira, but Rashford and Greenwood both failed to capitalise.
Full marks to McGreal’s side for some magnificent defending, not least when captain Luke Prosser threw himself in front of Martial to block the Frenchman’s goalbound effort.
Gerken hardly had a save of note to make and by the interval Martial had resorted to shooting from 30 yards.
If Gerken was underworked Romero was little more than a spectator and there was a huge roar from the away supporters a when Jackson got Colchester over halfway with a run in the 43rd minute and won a corner off Harry Maguire.
It all changed within six minutes of the restart as Rashford claimed his 14th goal of the season, beating his previous best return for United and we are only at the halfway point of the season.
‘I was really pleased with him,’ said Solskjaer. ‘They kept kicking him but he got up and ran, he made chances and movements. He was a leader through the way he acted.’
The United boss knows it will be a very different game in the semifinal against a City team still smarting from league defeat in the Etihad derby earlier this month.
‘Fantastic days in Manchester!’ was Solskjaer’s response to the draw. ‘We do really respect them and in my opinion they are the best team in England. We need to get our game heads on.’
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Romero 6; Young 6.5, Tuanzebe 6.5 (Garner 65mins, 6), Maguire 7, Shaw 6 (Williams 62, 6); Pereira 7.5, Matic 7; Greenwood 6.5, Mata 6.5,
RASHFORD 8 (Lingard 62, 6); Martial 6.5.
Subs not used: Grant, Jones, McTominay, Chong.
Booked: Young.
Scorers: Rashford 51, Jackson 56 (og), Martial 61.
Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 7.5.
COLCHESTER UNITED (4-5-1): Gerken 6; Jackson 6.5, Eastman 6, Prosser 7, Bramall 7; Harriott 6 (Poku 77, 6), Pell 6.5 (Stevenson 66, 6), Comley 6 (Gambin 73, 6), Lapslie 6, Nouble 6.5; Norris 6.
Subs not used: Ross, Sowunmi, Brown, Clampin, Gambin, Poku.
Booked: Pell, Gerken, Harriott.
Manager: John McGreal 6.
Referee: David Coote 7.
Attendance: 57,559.