Manchester United 2-0 Aberdeen: Ferguson's victorious return

Aberdeen 0
Manchester United 2

Carrick 45 pen, Rooney 69

THE teams walked out to a standing ovation. Fans packed into Pittodrie to pay homage to their own European greats, while the reigning European champions provided the opposition. A quarter century may separate the achievements but Sir Alex Ferguson is the figure who, having spanned the generations, presided over both feats, and he was treated to the greatest reception of all.

Six of the players who featured in Manchester United's Champiopns League win two months ago started the match yesterday. Whether they were happy to be in the north-east on a cold and wet July afternoon is debatable but the fact they were underlines the respect their gaffer still has for Aberdeen.

In a way the rain which fell as the match got underway was fitting. Sir Alex had pledged to give his Premier League superstars a potted history of the glorious night in Gothenburg a half century ago when he guided the Scottish club to a remarkable Cup Winners Cup victory over Real Madrid. If he had, then the appalling weather of that night must have rated a mention.

Then, at half-time, as one hero of 25 years ago left the field to deliver his team-talk, a spattering of others attempted to turn back time in a kick-about. John Hewitt may have lost his 1983 physique but the mere mention of his name was enough to evoke happy memories within the Aberdeen support. Most of whom were tucked into the ground to revel in such things.

The fact that not everyone shared their allegiance says a lot about the current fortunes of the club and the ready access the younger generation have to other leagues. For them, the heroes were decked in the Manchester United change strip. The way they had defied their parents and grandparents, who sat alongside them draped in Aberdeen scarves and swathed in recollections of bygone successes, to hail the opening goal suggested the occasion was also about seeing the likes of Wayne Rooney, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes up close.

It was the England striker who eventually found Manchester United a way through the determined Aberdeen set-up a minute before the interval. Latching on to a beautiful Michael Carrick through-ball, he homed in on Jamie Langfield's goal and with the merest hint of a shimmy he seduced the keeper into a lunge and won his side a penalty. In the absence of Christiano Ronaldo, it was Carrick who sent Langfield right while slotting the spot-kick to the left.

It was a disappointing end to the first half, given that Aberdeen appeared to have designs on a surprise result. A bright start saw them take the first shot, when summer signing Mark Kerr tried to scoop an effort into the Manchester United goal but it proved an easy enough take for Ben Amos. The keeper was deputising for Edwin van der Sar, who like the rest of the Old Trafford club's Euro 2008 contingent was absent from this affair.

A couple of minutes after Kerr's effort, Aberdeen had another speculative attempt. The ball found it's way out to Richard Foster, whose blocked cross from the right earned a corner. From that the ball was swung into the back post and Scott Severin tried to curl in a right-footed effort from a tough angle.

United were not flustered, though. Playing the game as the simple pre-season stretch-out it was to players without an emotional tie to the Scottish club or Gothenburg anniversary, they gradually moved out of neutral and in the 10th minute Rooney had a dinked shot saved by Langfield.

But Aberdeen were keen to impress and Jeffrey de Visscher almost opened the scoring in the 21st minute, when Lee Miller and Darren Mackie combined to set him up on the edge of the box but his low, drilled shot went just wide.

Miller and Mackie worked well together again in the 22 minute but with the latter delivering a ball across the face of goal, through Michael Silvestre's legs, the latter was marginally offside as he popped it into the net.

Without carving out chance after chance, the English side were in cruise control. Having gone a goal up, that tempo was disrupted throughout the second half as both managers made numerous changes to personnel. When Giggs and Scholes were replaced, they were greeted by respectful applause as they made their way to the dressing room.

In the 69th minute the United fans in the crowd found momentary respite from the pre-season ponderings when Carrick splayed a pass out to the right and Darren Fletcher sent a first-time cross into Rooney, whose young fans sprinkled throughout the crowd raised a cheer when he headed home.

But nothing like the one afforded Sir Alex Ferguson when he took the mic post-match and talked of "an emotional day", giving credit to his players of 1983.

"There's many clubs throughout Europe who haven't won a European trophy but that is part of Aberdeen's history," he reminded the home support.

As if anyone in the ground was unaware or had forgotten that night in Gothenburg 25 years ago.

Aberdeen: Langfield (Bossu 45), Foster, Considine (Mair 45), McDonald (Young 45), Diamond, Severin, De Visscher (Stewart 80), Kerr (Duff 45), Miller (Smith 80), Mackie (Maguire 45), Smith.

Manchester Ud: Amos (Woods 72), Neville (Simpson 45), Silvestre, Carrick, Vidic (O'Shea 45), Brown (Evans 60), Fletcher, Scholes (Gibson 60), Martin (Eagles 45), Rooney (Hewson 72), Giggs (Campbell 60).