Solskjaer dig at home goalkeeper
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer took a verbal swipe at Tranmere goalkeeper Scott Davies after Manchester United cruised into the fifth round of the FA Cup. Tranmere’s captain is a boyhood Manchester City fan and in interviews published yesterday morning he explained: ‘It would be great if my club could have an influence on United having another bad day.’ United had looked vulnerable before arriving on the Wirral, but even still it was a surprise when, in the tunnel, Solskjaer crossed paths with Davies and said: ‘Thanks for helping us fire up the fans and the players.’ Solskjaer, who broke with tradition and allowed his players to stay at home on Saturday evening rather than in a hotel, was delighted with the six unanswered goals United rifled past their League One opponents, especially as there were six different scorers.
The manager was most pleased to see Mason Greenwood, the highly-regarded young striker, complete the rout with a secondhalf penalty. Solskjaer gave instructions for the 18-yearold to take the kick to boost his confidence.
‘I told them to tell Mason to take it,’ said Solskjaer. ‘Strikers should always want to take penalties and I wanted to give him some responsibility.
‘ Maybe the first 15 to 20 minutes was a culture shock for him, because it’s a different type of football from what he’s used to. It’s about trying to give him that responsibility and ownership. ‘Good finishing is the difference sometimes in games. When you score two or three goals early on, it makes it a comfortable day. The boys enjoyed it, I enjoyed it and the fans enjoyed it, so it was a good day.’ The pick of the goals was the opener from capt a i n Harry Maguire, who scored his first goal for the club when his 25-yard drive flew past Davies after a slight deflection. Solskjaer said: ‘ That’s not the way we thought it would happen but finally it’s come and it’s good for him. It’s always nice to get your first goal.’
Tranmere began enthusiastically but had no answer to United’s quality. Reaching the fourth round, however, has helped with the club’s finances and Micky Mellon, their manager, refused to be too dispirited by the margin of defeat.
‘A centre half bending one in from 25 yards is definitely different from what we normally face,’ said Mellon, whose side came into the contest having played 120 minutes on Thursday night in a third round replay against Watford.
‘But we got everything and more out of this cup run — financially, exposure-wise — and now it will be about what the season has always been about and that is keeping Tranmere in this division and keeping moving the club forward from a team who were in nonLeague two years ago.’