Man Utd 0 Coventry 2

The Reds disappointingly bowed out of the Carling Cup on Wednesday night as Coventry striker Michael Mifsud struck twice to give Iain Dowie’s Championship side a 2-0 victory over a young United team.

Sir Alex Ferguson gave first-team run-outs to some of the club’s rising stars, but the Reds showed their inexperience against a well-organised and determined Coventry side. Some valuable lessons for these young players will undoubtedly have been learned.

The match arrived as a welcome distraction for Sir Alex’s side from Premier League and European duties. Most of all, it offered an opportunity for some of United’s up-and-coming players to show what they can do.

With the accent firmly on youth, Sir Alex selected a starting eleven with an average age of just 21, most notably with club debuts for centre-half Jonny Evans and full-back Danny Simpson. “Tonight’s team will be built around the talented young players now back with us after spending most of last season on loan,” the manager said in his programme notes. “We have an exceptionally gifted group of young men who are in critical need of a higher grade of football.”

Eight of the starting eleven – Nani, Anderson and John O’Shea excluded – were handed their first starts of 2007/08. As with all infrequently assembled sides, it took this United team time to find their feet, especially under busy close attention from Coventry’s players who were prepared to fight for every ball.

The Reds grew in confidence in the opening stages. Pique started solidly at the back, Lee Martin and Nani

Team Line-ups

Manchester United: Kuszczak; Bardsley (Brown, 46), Pique, Evans (Carrick, 56), Simpson; Martin (Campbell, 46), O’Shea (c), Anderson, Nani; Eagles, Dong.
Subs not used: Heaton, A.Eckersley.

Coventry City: Marshall; Borrowdale, Ward, Turner, Osbourne (McNamee, 88); Simpson, Doyle (c), Hughes, Tabb, Mifsud; Best (Adebola, 90).
Subs not used: Konstantopoulos, De Zeeuw, Thornton.

Attendance: 74,055