Carlito double sinks United

Top scorer and summer rejector of our poorer city rivals Carlos Tevez this evening settled an old score with his former employers as the mighty Blues came from behind to give themselves a lead ahead of next week's second leg. An early Ryan Giggs goal had put Stretford in front, but a spirited if at times flat showing resulted in a victory that leaves the club on course for its first major final in almost three decades.

Any victory over our local rivals must be cherished, and the fact that we managed to win a game that we started so poorly is especially encouraging, but overall i think we were second best and not as up for the occasion as i hoped we might be. United thoroughly dominated for the first and last half-hour of proceedings, and a mixture of resolute defending and luck saw us home when a draw would have been a fairer result.

The key for me was not conceding an away goal, but early on we allowed them far to much possession and despite both sides going with a five man midfield they always seemed to have spare bodies available and we especially struggled with cross-field passes. To Mancini's credit he saw it once more and fiddled with the formation, but overall i don't feel we were bold enough. United are a mediocre side yet we sat deep with nine men behind the ball for large periods.

To concentrate on the positives for a moment, though, and not wanting to sound like a miserablist, we managed to again get something from a game against one of the league's better clubs. Four wins, a draw and just one defeat in our six games against the top four this season proves we're making progress, and despite lots of last-ditch defending towards the end i think we managed it without playing anywhere near our best.

Roberto certainly surprised us with his initial side. Firstly with Boyata coming into the centre of defence with Micah moving to full-back, but more so with Pablo Zabaleta on the left of a four-man midfield. I don't think Dedryck let himself down. Odd moments of naivety are natural and considering the occasion he can go away relatively happy with himself. Zab also put a shift in around the pitch. It was certainly the case, however, that we improved once things had been rejigged.

The United goal was a poor one to concede. Garrido put several meaty challenges in later but in the early stages he was obviously our weak link and his poor positioning left Valencia as a permanent option down their right flank. When you sit off a top side and allow them to knock it round in the middle you're asking for trouble, and the flatness of the opening stages were quite underwhelming.

For all United dominated initially they really created little in front of goal during the entire first period. Our sporadic attacks, upped after the tactical switch and especially after the half-hour, yielded better goalscoring opportunities, and Carlos Tevez and Micah Richards should have both made better of headers in good positions. Those chances appeared to give us an added confidence and you definitely sensed a leveller was on its way.

To be completely honest i'm not sure the penalty was warranted, but you take them in these sort of games knowing full well that others would in similar positions. Rafael was extremely naive and Bellamy had the better of him. The initial foul was outside the area, and by rights we should have had a free-kick. There was some contact later, though, and although Craig probably played for it some do say if there's contact it's a player's right to go to ground.

Carlos hadn't been getting much service in attack until that point, the chance aside, but to his credit he, as usual, chased every ball no matter how much of a lost cause. The penalty was dispatched with aplomb before the prawn sandwichers and if anything the half-time whistle could have done with coming ten minutes after it did as the momentum really shifted and the baying home crowd sensed the game was there to be won.

Though i'm not at all a fan of the fella, i must say that i thought Wayne Rooney was tremendous throughout. Indeed he, and possibly Ryan Giggs, were, so far as they were concerned, the only two with any real ideas going forwards, and that's been the case for the last year or so. He really tested our defence during the second period and could have had three or four. His movement was textbook and only some brave goalkeeping from Shay Given kept him at bay.

When the goal that proved to be the winner did arrive, although Tevez will get the credit for the finish, several deserve props for helping it in. First, SWP's driving run earned the corner, Bellamy delivered a great ball in, and Zaba and Vince, not known for their engineering of goals at the other end, combined well to create the chance. Carlos' quick-thinking had us ahead, though, and whilst gestures to opposition bench and crowd are perhaps a little premature, they were joyous to witness.

The game could have been over shortly after that strike, Bellamy laying on a chance for SWP to blast at van der Sar. From there on in it was all United, they really did outplay us save the odd no-nonsense challenge from Nigel de Jong. We retreated far too much and were looking tired and winded. Waves of attacks came at us, passes were almost all being misplaced, they were finding space time after time without really trying, it was all too easy and a goal looked on the cards.

Ultimately, hanging on to secure the victory means the manager was correct in his decisions, but i'd have preferred to see us push on, try for another goal. I've not the slightest clue what formation we were playing late on, but we were happy to repeatedly hoof forwards and allow United the ball. They didn't have enough quality to level, but the introduction of Owen coincided with them upping pressure once more, and at times it was desperate but we hung on.

Well done to the lads for getting the result without playing particularly well, people regularly point out that 'sign of a good team' when the likes of tonight's opposition manage it. It's also not the first time this season that we've found ourselves in tricky positions and turned games in our favour. It was by no means a great performance, but a win's a win against them lot, and we're well capable of going to Legoland and getting a draw. Roll on Wembley.

Team:
Given, Richards, Garrido, Boyata (Onuoha '69), Kompany, de Jong, Wright-Phillips (Sylvinho '84), Barry, Tevez (Benjani '79), Bellamy, Zabaleta