THE INDIE
Manchester United do not lose FA Cup semi-finals these days, nor do they ever leave Villa Park a beaten side. So they will be at Wembley on 19 May, setting a record by appearing in their 18th final, which was reached in typically cavalier fashion.
Early on, a repeat of last Tuesday's 7-1 demolition of Roma appeared possible, but after Wayne Rooney scored in the seventh minute, potentially dangerous set pieces kept a spirited Watford in the game. The impressive Algerian Hameur Bouazza even brought the underdogs parity briefly and in the second half United's four attacking players tended to leave their midfield outnumbered.
Rooney's second goal relieved much of the pressure on a defence that lost Rio Ferdinand, who will have a scan on a groin strain today. Gary Neville, Nemanja Vidic, Mikaël Silvestre and John O'Shea were all missing and further injuries would seriously hamper prospects of winning anything, let alone repeating the Treble of 1999.
If there is one statistic to encourage Chelsea and others, it is that United have kept only one clean sheet in seven games, a fact attributable to constant changing of personnel and the recently uncertain form of Edwin van der Sar in goal, as well as the club's traditional belief that the best form of defence is keeping the ball at the other end of the pitch. That generosity of spirit allowed Watford the equivalent of a puncher's chance, namely the possibility of exploiting the set pieces that would inevitably come their way.
"I asked them to come off the pitch knowing Manchester United had been in a game," Watford's manager, Adrian Boothroyd, said, "and after a slow start we did that. We had them rattled at 2-1, but they were too strong for us and we didn't take our chances in the second half." Overall, however, it was certainly not the humiliation that might have been expected for a team doomed to relegation and facing a side at the top of their game. Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged the qualities of the opposition saying: "They've got good players who ask questions of you, their delivery into the box is very good but we passed that test. It's been a great week for us."
Watford's outstanding player all season has been the goalkeeper Ben Foster, on loan from United, so it was particularly unfortunate that he was ineligible. Richard Lee, the young deputy and a boyhood United fan, was kept predictably busy, though he must have been as astonished as everyone else in the stadium that there was a Watford goal to celebrate in between the favourites' first-half pair.
Rooney opened the scoring, thunderously, by taking Michael Carrick's pass out on the left and stepping inside the full-back Adrian Mariappa to hit a fierce shot past Lee, who did not seem to have time to set himself. Boothroyd, sitting in the stand, was immediately on the mobile to his coaches in the dug-out, though it was difficult to see what suggestions he could be offering other than a relevant prayer. But midway through the half, Van der Sar hurt his nose in a high challenge, opted to kick clear instead of catching and conceded a throw on the left. It fell for Tommy Smith, whose cross was met by the Bouazza with an inspired overhead kick that flew high into the net.
Alas, only two minutes later defensive fallibility ruined that good work as Rooney, switching to the right, found all the space he needed to take Smith's pass and lay it square for Cristiano Ronaldo to tap in his 21st goal of the season.
THE OBSERVER
Aidy Boothroyd's line about victory here equalling the shock of the moon landing might have needed a tweak involving Man setting up house on Mars if Watford, the Premiership's bottom club, had actually managed to knock out the Premiership leaders. Instead, the team whose warm-up for this tie was the midweek demolition of Roma in the Champions League reached the first FA Cup final at the revamped Wembley, in front of a crowd that rolled and rocked Villa Park.
United's eighteenth appearance in the showpiece event came thanks to a scintillating Wayne Rooney display that included two goals and allows United's fans to keep dreaming that the 1999 Treble can be emulated. It also means the neutral might hope that when Chelsea meet Blackburn this afternoon in the second semi-final, Jose Mourinho's men will prevail. That would set up the middle one of three possible meetings between the clubs that could decide the FA Cup, Premiership and Champions League - an unprecedented finish to a season that already should linger in the memory.
So pleased was Sir Alex Ferguson that he actually attended the post-match press conference. 'I'm very happy. You should feel the atmosphere in the dressing room right now. We've told Cristiano Ronaldo and Gabriel Heinze they'll see just how special it is at Wembley with all the fans outside waiting for them.'
The Portuguese winger began on the right in the same fluid 4-2-3-1 formation as Tuesday, with Paul Scholes in for Darren Fletcher and Patrice Evra instead of John O'Shea. That had Wayne Rooney on the left behind Alan Smith, a decision that had the best endorsement when the former scored after six minutes.
'I thought he was just out of this world today. Full of aggression and running everywhere,' added Ferguson. The opener came when Rooney turned Adrian Mariappa and let fly from the left angle of the area to beat Richard Lee on the near side, a result that should disappoint the keeper, who was standing in for the ineligible Ben Foster.
'I'm disappointed because I thought we had a bit of a chance and I am a dreamer, but it wasn't to be,' was Boothroyd's verdict. If he felt his side might have closed down United a little better then he was not saying. Roma were also guilty of not pressing enough.
Chelsea, of course - still on for the Quadruple - will not allow any kind of freedom. Should they make it to Wembley, then the last two clubs to win the Cup at the old Wembley will compete in the first final at the new one. But they could well have other glories in mind.
THE TELEGRAPH
Despite the embarrassing number of empty seats and a match that never had the fans who did come on the edge of theirs, Football Association bigwigs and their new sponsors, e-on, could afford smiles of satisfaction as Manchester United, who have won the FA Cup more times than any other club, eased their way into the first final at the new Wembley. Now the FA and sponsors will be praying that Chelsea see off Blackburn Rovers today to give them a final that will guarantee the stadium a worthy Cup final baptism.
Despite a sloppy start to the second half, United were never really off the bridle on Grand National day as they ran out pretty comfortable winners, taking them another giant, if easy, stride towards a treble. Waging a campaign for trophies on three fronts, however, is beginning to take a terrible toll on their defence, Rio Ferdinand limping off after 40 minutes with a groin injury.
Already without two of his other centre halves, Nemanja Vidic and Mikael Silvestre, plus right-back Gary Neville, Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson might have to raid his FA Youth Cup final team by the time the season ticks into its final weeks. Not that you can hope to win anything with kids.
Watford were bigger outsiders than anything that ran at Aintree yesterday and but for one spirited spell that might have seen them get a second equaliser, they pretty much played like it. They now return to the drudgery of trying to prevent themselves finishing bottom of the Premiership, their only realistic ambition. Their fans could not even take up anything like their full quota of tickets, which means the FA could have even redder faces when the semi-finals move to Wembley next season.
Ferdinand tore off the black armband all the players were wearing for the anniversary of Hillsborough and threw it to the ground in frustration after he was forced off. His absence for any length of time would be a huge blow to Ferguson, although as long as he can keep those two diamonds, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, fit, opposition defenders will continue to have most of the headaches. Ronaldo has been winning all the accolades of late but here, apart from a flash of temper that brought another avoidable yellow card, it was Rooney whose form was as white hot as his boots.
As Ronaldo tripped over his own stepovers at times, Rooney burned with straightforward attacking intent, scoring twice and putting another on a plate, or more accurately, a silver platter, for Ronaldo, who came off 15 minutes from time.
If Rooney had not lost his footing when trying to lob Watford's reserve goalkeeper Richard Lee, he might have ended up with a spectacular hat-trick. But fresh from the 7-1 hammering of Roma in midweek, it seemed that United were in the mood to fill their boots again when Rooney scored after just seven minutes, running on to a Michael Carrick pass and smashing the ball into the net after turning inside Adrian Mariappa.
THE SUNDAY TIMES
Watford, to their credit, provided stiffer opposition than Roma, but class will out in the end, and Manchester United are in the FA Cup Final and on their way to what could be another historic Treble. When Wayne Rooney scored the first of his two goals after only seven minutes it looked like it could be another United landslide, but Watford fought back gamely to equalise through Hameur Bouazza before Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and substitue Kieran Richardson rattled in three to settle the issue.
Safely through to yet another final - a record 18th - United's only concern will be the loss of Rio Ferdinand, who went off in the first half with a groin strain. Already without Nemanja Vidic for the rest of the season with a broken collarbone, and with Mikael Silvestre also hors de combat, they can ill afford the loss of another centre-half.
Not all the tickets had been sold, Watford unable to dispose of their full allocation, but the Holte End was full to bursting with their supporters, and if the numbers were slightly down on expectation, there was no faulting the atmosphere. The class divide between the two teams was such that it seemed more like the little and large of the third round than the semi-finals, but Watford were commendably competitive. United, their resources so much greater, were able to recall Paul Scholes, suspended for the annihilation of Roma in midweek, in place of Darren Fletcher.
Also back was Patrice Evra, to the exclusion of John O'Shea. Evra was at right-back, instead of his customary station on the left, enabling Wes Brown to partner Ferdinand in central defence. It was a double act that lasted only until the 40th minute, when Ferdinand limped off and, with Fletcher on at right-back as substitute, Sir Alex Ferguson switched Gabriel Heinze into the middle.
Behind so soon, Watford were in danger of going the way of Roma. Running and transferring the ball swiftly, and using it with perceptive precision, United's kaleidoscopic attack regularly threatened to add to their lead, forcing their ill-equipped opponents to dig deep to avoid embarrassment. To their credit, they applied theselves in the best tradition of underdogs everywhere, and Bouazza, their leading scorer, raised their morale with a 25-yard shot, from right to left, that was too close for Edwin Van der Sar's liking.
The big Dutchman was even less impressed when Damien Francis clattered into him, drawing blood from his nose.
After receiving treatment, the goalkeeper was still shaking his head to clear his senses when a throw-in from the left from Jordan Stewart found its way to Tommy Smith, who helped it into the middle for Bouazza, in a central position, 10 yards out, to score with a spectacular overhead volley which went in via the underside of the crossbar. The situation cried out for Watford to consolidate their new-found equality, but they couldn't. Instead, United were ahead again within a minute when Rooney, after exchanging passes with Smith, drove to near the byline on the right before cutting the ball back for Ronaldo to bundle it home at nudging range, past Adrian Mariappa's desperate lunging intervention. The man of the moment was at it again, pushing his candidacy for Footballer of the Year. United would have had a third just before half-time but for the outstanding reaching save with which Lee kept out Rooney's close range shot.
Nothing if not game, Watford pushed forward in search of a second equaliser, and were not far from it when the United defence failed to clear a long throw-in and Bouazza was only a foot wide from six yards. The French-Algerian was soon rampaging back, running past Heinze, who was grateful for Evra's timely tackle on the edge of the penalty area. United need to draw the Hornet's sting and sought to do so by slowing play down with a prolonged session of keep-ball.
This culminated in Smith setting up their third goal, crossing from the right for Rooney to supply a characteristically emphatic finish at the far post. United had the two-goal cushion they wanted and, with half-an hour still to play, it was game over.
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