Hernandez Rounds Off A Brilliant Week

Manchester United 3 - Wolves 2
Scorers
Manchester United: Bebe (56), Park (70), Hernandez (90)
Wolves: Elokobi (60), Foley (75)

Team: Amos, Smalling, Evans, Rafael (Neville 74), Brown, Gibson, Carrick, Park (Morrison), Obertan, Bebe (Hernandez 81), Macheda

Scintillating end after a horrible first half. As expected, Ferguson threw out a youthfully looking team against Wolves in the Carling Cup. There a sense of deja vu since we met Wolves around the same period in the same competition en route to lifting the cup. Hopefully with this result it would spell the same outcome this season.

The first half was a bona fide bore-fest in the truest sense of the word. Neither team could string anything together that is even worth a mention. Thankfully the second half was a completely different affair altogether.

Bebe opened the scoring with a fortunate goal. It looked like a cross that went over the line before a Wolves defender cleared it. On the replay it clearly went over the line. No dispute there.

Our lead was short-lived. Wolves responded in frantic fashion and were soon level from a corner, with defender Elokobi heading it home. No one was marking him.

The goal spurred Wolves on and we were lucky to withstand some nervy moments before Park restored order with a deadly strike after Wolves failed to clear their lines. This time to shore up the defence, Ferguson threw on a calcified Gary Neville in place of the attacking-mind Rafael. Brown went into the centre to pair up with Smalling, while Evans, who was shaky in defence all night, went into left-back.

Immediately that proved to be a major mistake. Neville simply does not have the legs left in the game. It only took a minute for him to be exposed as Wolves worked their way to a rare Kevin Foley goal. It was definitely folly on Ferguson's part.

Wolves continued to exploit Neville on the right but were unlucky not to snatch a winner. The footballing gods were definitely on United's side. On a break-away, substitute Hernandez was released by Gibson and he had the confidence to take on his defenders, ignore support on both sides to fire home the winner as time wore out.

Can't exactly say we were deserved winners, but Hernandez definitely deserved it. He was on the pitch for only 10 minutes, but every touch was pure class.

Going give comments on some of the players we rarely see:

Neville - He's been a great servant and captain to the club. He bleeds red and there shouldn't be any doubts about it. But from the last couple of games, I think it's becoming crystal clear that he no longer has the legs to play at the top level. Over the weekend, he was completely exposed by Etherington and today it's the same story with Jarvis. If he gets on the pitch on Saturday against Spurs, Bale will eat him alive. As much as I hate to say this, it's time for the legend to retire gracefully.

Macheda - He needs games and he's not getting it regularly at Old Trafford. And probably because of that, he's not getting any better. Alot of grunt work and nothing really positive to show. Maybe it's time he gets loaned out to horn his skills.

Obertan - Really skilful player but seems to lack the confidence. He took an ill-advised shot from a narrow angle in the second half when centring to an open Macheda seemed like the right choice. I'm sure many would blame him for being selfish, but to me it looked like he didn't even have the confidence to make the pass. The entire game prior to the shot, he was simply not making that final pass. Very disappointing to see him have the same problems as he had while in Bordeaux.

Bebe - After watching a full game, you can understand why he's so highly-rated. He has an incredible work-rate, both going forward and coming back to defend. There were flashes of brilliance but it's going to take a while before we even see some semblance of a football player. As of right now, he's just so damn raw. He's idea of playing on the right flank is to take on his defender, run down the right byline and cross. From the few reserve games I've caught, he does the same on the left wing. It will take a while before he truly understands the game. We need to give him the kind of time we gave Ronaldo and Nani. Remember when they both joined, both were pretty raw and took awhile before they came good. I'm not saying Bebe will reach the same level, but you simply cannot deny the potential. Right now he's way rawer that Ronaldo or Nani when they first joined.

Smalling - Simply the best player out there. Of all the youngsters on show today, he's the most ready to step into the first team. And when I say youngsters, I'm including 'veterans' like Evans and Gibson.