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Man Utd held by Burton, Fulham and Spurs out
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-01-09 09:03
LONDON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Manchester United were held to a humiliating
goalless draw by minor league Burton Albion in the FA Cup third round on Sunday
as Alex Ferguson's policy of playing a weakened team backfired for the second
year running.
Burton Albion's
Tinson tackles manchester United's Saha during FA cup third round match in
Burton-on-Trent. [Reuters] | United, Cup winners
on a record 11 occasions and runners-up last season, fielded only a handful of
first team regulars and looked distinctly ordinary on a sandy, bumpy pitch
against a spirited Conference side of part-timers.
Elsewhere, Tottenham Hotspur, fourth in the Premier League, blew a 2-0 lead
to lose 3-2 at second division strugglers Leicester City while fourth division
Leyton Orient pulled off the shock of the round when they overcame Premier
League Fulham 2-1 at Craven Cottage.
Sunderland, bottom of the top flight, beat minor league Northwich Victoria
3-0.
A year ago a weakened Manchester United were held 0-0 at home by minor league
Exeter City and had to recall the big names to secure a 2-0 victory in the
replay.
This season, despite being out of Europe and with little hope of catching
Chelsea in the league, Ferguson repeated his tactic with only Wes Brown, Mikael
Silvestre and John O'Shea from his usual first-choice side starting the match.
UNFAMILIAR LINEUP
The unfamiliar lineup, with striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer making his first
start for 19 months, struggled to impose themselves on a hard-working Burton
side, managed by Nigel Clough, son of the late former Nottingham Forest manager
Brian.
United did not really look dangerous until the introduction of Wayne Rooney
and Cristiano Ronaldo for the last 30 minutes but their best chance came in
injury time when goalkeeper Saul Deeney saved with his feet from Ritchie Jones.
"I had nothing to do really all game which was a bit of a surprise against
one of the best teams in the world," Deeney told Sky Sports.
Clough said: "It was a staggering performance really. In the first half it
was pretty even but in the second it seemed like we were under the cosh for
about three hours.
"Now the lads have got a couple of days off to get ready for Stourbridge on
Tuesday night. But I'm thrilled for them that they will get the chance to run
out at Old Trafford."
Ferguson said: "Everybody in the country would expect us to beat them but
that's cup football.
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