Guardian:
‘In years to come Ross Flitney might be able to raise a smile to the question: which goalkeeper was sent off at Old Trafford after one touch of the ball? One day he may even laugh about the long, lonely walk from his goalmouth to the tunnel, across the full length of the pitch. But last night the 21-year-old was using his gloves to wipe the tears from his eyes.
‘From the subsequent free-kick Liam Miller scored exquisitely and, for Barnet, the tie had become an exercise in damage limitation before most of their players had worked up a sweat. United racked up another three goals, courtesy of Kieran Richardson, Giuseppe Rossi and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake, on a night when the referee Richard Beeby, according to Fairclough, "wrecked our big night" and the new kids on the block at Old Trafford showed why Ferguson rates them so highly.
‘Ferguson's disdain for this competition could be gauged by the fact that, even with a goalkeeper wearing the No1 jersey, United's shirt numbers totalled 322, with six players aged 21 and under. This was a glimpse into the future and, after an effervescent display of pass-and-move football, their supporters should have no complaints about the inclusion, say, of Ebanks-Blake and Rossi at the expense of Wayne Rooney and Ruud van Nistelrooy.
‘Yet the night ended disappointingly for the home side, with Gerard Pique's slip allowing Dean Sinclair a soft goal and Martin taken off on a stretcher. As Ebanks-Blake added the fourth, stewards were clashing with a dozen fans protesting about Malcolm Glazer's takeover, but order was quickly restored.’
Independent:
‘At a time when Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that he cannot compete with Chelsea in the transfer market, the quality of the young talent already in Manchester United's system is more of an issue than ever.
‘Unfortunately, those players were never properly tested on a night when opponents only three places from the foot of League Two were reduced to 10 men by over-zealous refereeing seconds into what should have been their big night.
‘This was a United team which included only one player - Phil Bardsley - from the one which started against Spurs in the Premiership on Saturday. There was Premiership quality, though, in much of Kieran Richardson's work, as befits a player with England caps.
‘He was not to be denied for long. After 19 minutes, United won another free-kick from a hard-pressed Barnet defence, this time on the right, and he swerved it through the ruck of players and inside the far post.
‘Giuseppe Rossi had two good chances to extend United's lead before half-time, but Adam Gross cleared his header off the line and Rossi then blazed over the top when Richardson had given him the opportunity to do far better.
‘Rossi made up for that miss six minutes into the second half when Lee Martin picked him out in the heart of the area with a precise low cross from the right. Rossi controlled the ball and swept it past Tynan in one clean movement.
‘There was still time for Sylvan Ebanks-Blake to capitalise on similar confusion at the other end for United's fourth.’
Times
‘Barnet’s first meeting with Manchester United should have been an experience to savour, but it was as good as over almost as soon as the whistle sounded. The natives were still taking to their seats when, with barely 90 seconds on the clock, Ross Flitney, Barnet’s 21-year-old goalkeeper, raced out to collect Phil Bardsley’s long punt and inexplicably handled outside his penalty area.
‘It was a moment of madness, but there were still audible gasps when Richard Beeby, the referee, brandished a red card. Law 12 of the Fifa rules governing Fouls and Misconduct states that a player should be sent off when he “denies the opposing team a goal or an obvious goalscoring opportunity by deliberately handling the ball”.
‘Unfortunately for Barnet, their luck would go from bad to worse. Scott Tynan replaced the unfortunate Louie Soares, but the visiting team’s reserve goalkeeper was powerless to prevent Liam Miller’s resulting free kick from sailing into the top corner. Talk about rubbing salt into fresh wounds.
‘It was always asking the impossible for a team 85 places below United in the football pyramid to mount a comeback and despite a 76th-minute consolation strike from Dean Sinclair, the Barclays Premiership side ran out 4-1 winners, Richardson, the outstanding Giuseppe Rossi and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake claiming the other goals.’
Telegraph:
‘Barnet goalkeeper Ross Flitney saw his dream night at Old Trafford ruined by referee Richard Beeby as his dismissal for deliberate handball just 90 seconds into the game killed this encounter as a contest before it had barely begun.
‘Although a brief protest by whistle-blowing fans opposed to the Malcolm Glazer takeover took the attention away from the pitch in the closing stages, Barnet's hopes of a giantkilling were snuffed out the moment Flitney was sent off.
‘Despite memories of last season's embarrassing 0-0 FA Cup stalemate against non-League Exeter City at Old Trafford and the humiliating 3-0 home defeat by York City in the League Cup 10 years ago, Sir Alex Ferguson had still opted to field a hugely inexperienced team against last season's Conference champions.’