Barclays Premier Reserve League
18 March 2010, Moss Lane
MANCHESTER UNITED 2
Brandy 22°, C. Evans 55°
BURNLEY 0
Goals from Febian Brandy and Corry Evans gave United a hard-fought victory over Burnley, and kept the Reds on course for the Barclays Premier Reserve League North title.
Owen Hargreaves' 45 minute cameo proved a consuming subplot to the game, but the midfielder's slick outing and a vital victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Warren Joyce's side made for a positive evening on all fronts.
Almost all pre-match talk centred around the 29-year-old's return after nearly two full seasons on the sidelines, and he seldom squandered possession in a clinical display amid a congested midfield battle which made for a stuttering opening to the game.
Little surprise then, that open play yielded few chances in the first half. Indeed, it was through a set-piece that the visitors almost opened the scoring on 15 minutes when Joey Gudjonsson cracked a stunning 20-yard free-kick against the top of Ron-Robert Zieler's crossbar.
Burnley's frequent reliance on the offside trap suggested that United would be able to forge chances aplenty, but the visitors' plot was largely well-executed. Only once was it sprung, by Reece Brown, only for Rodrigo Possebon's subsequent shot to be blocked and Oliver Norwood's rebound to hurtle well over.
A minute later, however, the Burnley-born midfielder played a huge part in United's opening goal. Norwood again demonstrated his trademark prowess from set pieces with a wicked inswinging free-kick which Brandy glanced beyond Diego Penny in the visitors' goal.
Down but not deterred, Burnley roared straight back and Zieler was twice called upon to make solid saves before the interval. Straight from the second-half kick-off, the German was scrambling when Gudjonsson's effort from inside his own half brushed the bar.
Substitute Nicky Ajose played a pivotal role in United's killer second goal, on 55 minutes. Having been released but pushed slightly wide by Brandy's pass, the winger worked his way away from goal, turned back and curled in a superb back-post cross which skipper Evans steered high into the roof of Penny's goal.
Magnus Eikrem, on for Hargreaves, also had a key role to play in the scoreline, as he proved an unlikely saviour for Zieler five minutes later. The German had missed his punch at a corner, but as the ball ricocheted towards goal, Eikrem hacked it to safety to preserve United's clean sheet.
Brandy forced a smart save from Penny and Zieler gratefully clutched another Gudjonsson blockbuster, but the save of the match came on 80 minutes when Penny somehow stretched and arced to reach substitute Scott Moffatt's glorious 25-yard piledriver.
Unfazed by his near miss, the defender displayed his customary determination in the final minute to clear Wes Fletcher's shot off the line, following a melee in which Zieler had made a superb close-range save from Christian Kalvenes.
That steadfast refusal to concede characterised a United performance of great resolve; one which puts the Reds in a commanding position as the season reaches its nitty-gritty stage.
Manchester United: Zieler; R. Brown, Wootton, Gill, Dudgeon (Moffatt, 66°); Stewart, Hargreaves (Eikrem, 46°), C. Evans, Possebon (Ajose, 46°), Norwood; Brandy.
Indice 
