Preston v Man Utd
Manchester United survived a second-half scare at Deepdale to see off Preston and set up an FA Cup quarter-final tie with holders Arsenal.
A season of high-profile cup upsets looked like it could claim yet another victim when Scott Laird fired the League One side ahead soon after the break.
But United's disjointed attack finally found some fluidity when expensive loan signing Radamel Falcao was replaced after an hour, and recalled midfielder Ander Herrera led the revival.
Herrera, making only his third start in three months, squeezed home the equaliser with Wayne Rooney avoiding contact with the ball in an offside position, before Marouane Fellaini's close-range finish gave United the lead in a thrilling tie.
Rooney, back playing in a more advanced role, made certain of victory with a late penalty that he won and converted himself to give the scoreline a gloss that Preston did not deserve.
If United boss Louis van Gaal did not quite restore Rooney to his front line for this tie, he did at least push his captain higher up the pitch from the deeper midfield position he has occupied recently.
His movement was impressive early on but being closer to the sharp end did not allow Rooney more scoring opportunities, with a blocked shot from Luke Shaw's pull-back his only effort on goal in the first half.
His United team-mates were also frustrated as they struggled to break down a well-drilled and hard-working North End side, roared on by a noisy home support.
Angel Di Maria bent a free-kick a few inches wide but that was the closest the 11-times winners came to making the breakthrough before the interval.
However you described Van Gaal's latest formation - 4-1-2-2-1 being a close approximation - it was not helping United turn their vastly superior possession into chances.
When they did find time and space in dangerous positions their delivery was frequently disappointing, with Di Maria a repeat offender with wasted balls.
It all meant Preston goalkeeper Thorsten Stuckmann did not have a shot to save before the break
North End's own threat had been restricted to a couple of tame shots from distance and a Joe Garner header that looped over the bar.
But that all changed two minutes into the second half when Garner sent Laird galloping into the box to power in a shot that was heading wide before deflecting off Antonio Valencia and squeezing under De Gea.
FA Cup quarter-final draw |
---|
Aston Villa v West Brom |
Bradford City v Reading |
Liverpool v Blackburn |
Manchester United v Arsenal |
Ties to be played on the weekend of 7-8 March |
United's response was hardly venomous, with the Preston defence easily dealing with the crosses hoisted into their box.
In fact the home side went closer to making it 2-0 when Tom Clarke got on the end of a whipped free-kick but could not connect with his shot in front of goal.
After an hour, Van Gaal had seen enough. He hauled off the ineffective Falcao for Ashley Young in a change that helped turn the game in his side's favour.
Young supplied the pass for Herrera's equaliser and Fellaini, pushed further forward as part of the switch, followed up his own saved header to power home United's winner from close range.
Preston were not quite finished yet, with Kyel Reid fizzing one shot wide and Callum Robinson firing another straight at De Gea from the edge of the area.
But United made sure of their progress with two minutes to go when Stuckmann sent Rooney tumbling, although there were some suggestions he might have dived, and he stepped up to send his penalty high into his net.
Preston boss Simon Grayson:
"We did create some good chances at times and the players can wake up in the morning and be very proud of what they've done.
"Hopefully we can use this as motivation for the rest of the year. Our sole aim at the start of the season really was to get promoted to the Championship.
"We'll take a lot of positives and we'll take the money - we need more money to get some more players in."
Lineup, Bookings (5) & Substitutions (4)
Preston North End
- 21 Stuckmann Booked
- 05 Clarke
- 23 Huntington
- 06 Wright (Wiseman - 75' )
- 07 Humphrey
- 08 Kilkenny Booked (Reid - 75' )
- 19 Welsh
- 12 Gallagher
- 03 Laird Booked
- 09 Davies Booked (Robinson - 75' )
- 14 Garner
Substitutes
- 04 Wiseman
- 17 Reid
- 22 King
- 27 Robinson
- 30 Brownhill
- 35 Hudson
- 40 Ebanks-Blake
Manchester United
- 01 de Gea
- 25 A Valencia
- 12 Smalling
- 05 Rojo Booked
- 03 Shaw
- 17 Blind
- 21 Herrera
- 07 Di María
- 31 Fellaini
- 10 Rooney
- 09 Falcao (Young - 60' )
Substitutes
- 06 Evans
- 08 Mata
- 11 Januzaj
- 18 Young
- 32 Valdés
- 33 McNair
- 49 Wilson
Live Text Commentary
Full Time Match ends, Preston North End 1, Manchester United 3.
90:00 +4:44 Full timeFull Time Second Half ends, Preston North End 1, Manchester United 3.
90:00 +4:39Attempt missed. Joe Garner (Preston North End) header from the right side of the six yard box misses to the right. Assisted by Paul Gallagher with a cross following a corner.
90:00 +4:16Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Antonio Valencia.
90:00 +2:55Hand ball by Paul Gallagher (Preston North End).
90:00 +2:50Attempt missed. John Welsh (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left following a corner.
90:00 +2:48Attempt blocked. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
90:00 +2:45Attempt saved. Scott Laird (Preston North End) header from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kyel Reid with a cross.
90:00 +2:22Corner, Preston North End. Conceded by Antonio Valencia.
90:00 +1:15Daley Blind (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
90:00 +1:15Foul by Chris Humphrey (Preston North End).
87:12 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Preston North End 1, Manchester United 3. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) converts the penalty with a right footed shot to the top left corner.
86:13 BookingBooking Thorsten Stuckmann (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
86:10Penalty Manchester United. Wayne Rooney draws a foul in the penalty area.
86:10Penalty conceded by Thorsten Stuckmann (Preston North End) after a foul in the penalty area.
84:28Ander Herrera (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
84:28Foul by Paul Gallagher (Preston North End).
83:01Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
83:01Foul by Tom Clarke (Preston North End).
82:36Attempt saved. Callum Robinson (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Attempt missed. Kyel Reid (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the left.
77:25Attempt blocked. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ángel Di María.
76:56Ashley Young (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
76:56Foul by John Welsh (Preston North End).
76:00Attempt missed. Ander Herrera (Manchester United) right footed shot from outside the box misses to the left. Assisted by Antonio Valencia.
74:34 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Preston North End. Scott Wiseman replaces Bailey Wright.
74:22 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Preston North End. Kyel Reid replaces Neil Kilkenny.
74:05 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Preston North End. Callum Robinson replaces Kevin Davies.
71:52 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Preston North End 1, Manchester United 2. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) right footed shot from the left side of the six yard box to the top right corner.
71:51Attempt saved. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) header from the left side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Antonio Valencia with a cross.
70:01Chris Smalling (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
70:01Foul by Kevin Davies (Preston North End).
69:01Attempt missed. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high from a direct free kick.
68:04 BookingBooking Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
67:58Foul by Marcos Rojo (Manchester United).
67:58Joe Garner (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
66:18 BookingBooking Neil Kilkenny (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
66:10Ashley Young (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the left wing.
66:10Foul by Neil Kilkenny (Preston North End).
65:20Hand ball by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
64:19 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Preston North End 1, Manchester United 1. Ander Herrera (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Ashley Young.
61:38Attempt blocked. Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
60:43Attempt saved. Joe Garner (Preston North End) header from the centre of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Chris Humphrey.
60:07Hand ball by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
59:31 SubstitutionSubstitution Substitution, Manchester United. Ashley Young replaces Falcao.
57:08Attempt saved. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Ander Herrera.
53:40Attempt blocked. John Welsh (Preston North End) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Bailey Wright.
53:01Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
53:01Kevin Davies (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
52:23Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
52:23Bailey Wright (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
51:17Foul by Marcos Rojo (Manchester United).
51:17Kevin Davies (Preston North End) wins a free kick on the right wing.
50:26Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
50:26Foul by Paul Gallagher (Preston North End).
47:57 BookingBooking Scott Laird (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for excessive celebration.
46:51 Goal scoredGoal! Goal! Preston North End 1, Manchester United 0. Scott Laird (Preston North End) left footed shot from the left side of the box to the top right corner. Assisted by Joe Garner.
46:17Foul by Falcao (Manchester United).
46:17Bailey Wright (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45:09Foul by Falcao (Manchester United).
45:09Paul Huntington (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45:00Second Half begins Preston North End 0, Manchester United 0.
45:00 +1:17 Half timeHalf Time First Half ends, Preston North End 0, Manchester United 0.
45:00 +1:08Attempt blocked. Joe Garner (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked.
45:00 +0:33Foul by Wayne Rooney (Manchester United).
45:00 +0:33Tom Clarke (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
45:00 +0:23Attempt saved. Paul Gallagher (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Kevin Davies.
42:39Offside, Preston North End. Neil Kilkenny tries a through ball, but Joe Garner is caught offside.
39:10Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Paul Huntington.
38:33 BookingBooking Kevin Davies (Preston North End) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
38:25Ander Herrera (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
38:25Foul by Kevin Davies (Preston North End).
38:10Attempt blocked. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Antonio Valencia.
37:05Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
37:05Foul by Tom Clarke (Preston North End).
33:37Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
33:37John Welsh (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
28:12Falcao (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
28:12Foul by Bailey Wright (Preston North End).
26:47Attempt missed. Joe Garner (Preston North End) header from the centre of the box is too high. Assisted by Paul Gallagher with a cross following a set piece situation.
26:00Foul by Ander Herrera (Manchester United).
26:00Scott Laird (Preston North End) wins a free kick on the left wing.
23:31Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United) wins a free kick on the right wing.
23:31Foul by Bailey Wright (Preston North End).
23:09Antonio Valencia (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
23:09Foul by Kevin Davies (Preston North End).
20:25Foul by Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United).
20:25Chris Humphrey (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:51Marcos Rojo (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
19:51Foul by Joe Garner (Preston North End).
18:26Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Tom Clarke.
17:18Attempt blocked. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Luke Shaw with a cross.
14:24Attempt missed. Ángel Di María (Manchester United) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses to the right from a direct free kick.
13:30Falcao (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
13:30Foul by Bailey Wright (Preston North End).
11:22Foul by Antonio Valencia (Manchester United).
11:22Scott Laird (Preston North End) wins a free kick on the left wing.
8:28Attempt saved. Joe Garner (Preston North End) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the bottom left corner. Assisted by Neil Kilkenny.
6:58Ander Herrera (Manchester United) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
6:58Foul by Scott Laird (Preston North End).
4:42Foul by Daley Blind (Manchester United).
4:42Kevin Davies (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
3:05Offside, Preston North End. Thorsten Stuckmann tries a through ball, but Joe Garner is caught offside.
2:36Foul by Marcos Rojo (Manchester United).
2:36Kevin Davies (Preston North End) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
1:50Corner, Manchester United. Conceded by Chris Humphrey.
0:00First Half begins.
0:00Lineups are announced and players are warming up.
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