[ad_1]
Ole Gunnar Solskjær started the night demanding a much improved performance, but ended it very grateful for Dean Henderson’s winning save on his debut when Manchester United finally beat Luton Town.
The goalkeeper was on loan last season at Sheffield United, but nine years after joining Carlisle as a teenager, he finally landed a first appearance for United as he tries to pressure David de Gea and England’s Jordan Pickford this season.
However, while his teammates worked for most of this match until late goals from substitutes Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood added to Juan Mata’s penalty in the first half, the 23-year-old was only called up to the action later when Luton denied what it seemed. a certain draw, ensuring that Solskjær’s team now face a trip to Preston or Brighton in the next round.
“It could have been a penalty shootout or worse, so Dean did his job really well,” the coach said. “That’s the job that our goalkeeper sometimes has to do: make a save when asked without having much to do before. Everyone has the opportunity to compete for a place on the team and he is no different. “
United’s last visit to Kenilworth Road, in April 1992, ended in a 1-1 draw, and subsequent defeats to Nottingham Forest, West Ham and Liverpool dashed their hopes of becoming champions for the first time since 1967. Much has gone by. changed since then, of course, with Luton having spent the intervening period bouncing around the lower reaches of the pyramid, including a five-year spell out of the league that ended in 2014. But having struggled to return to the second tier once again and surviving last season after an inspired five-game undefeated streak following the return of Nathan Jones as coach, four wins out of four to kick off the new campaign have rekindled memories of the glory years that culminated in the victory of this competition in 1988, when Ray Harford was the coach.
Jones clearly has other priorities, however, and nine changes from the team that beat the Derby at the weekend were only improved by their counterpart, with Solskjær making 10 changes to the team that so meekly surrendered to Crystal Palace on Saturday. Harry Maguire, the captain, was the only player who kept his place as new signing Donny van de Beek started for the first time after his goal against Palace.
Henderson was largely a bystander during the opening period, as the visitors started on the front foot, with Van de Beek pulling the strings from position 10. James Shea was right to stop Mata’s shot after a clever the Dutchman’s mannequin after a cross from Jesse Lingard in the 15th minute before Fred saw a deflected shot. But, led by former United trainee Ryan Tunnicliffe in midfield, Luton grew steadily in the game as Jones’ players began to find their passing rhythm.
Therefore, United were grateful that George Moncur dropped Brandon Williams at the edge of the break and Mata hit home from the point to give the Solskjær side a hardly deserved lead at half-time. If the Norwegian expected that to be the catalyst for a better second-half performance, he would have been disappointed in the way Luton’s second string dominated possession early on.
Greenwood, Rashford and Bruno Fernandes were sent to warm up early and the temptation to introduce one of their star spins must only have increased when Odion Ighalo failed to make the most of a huge opportunity following a mistake on Luton’s defense. Van de Beek could have finally settled the tie had his effort from close range been on both sides of Shea and the introduction of his attacking trio in the 78th minute was an acknowledgment from Solskjær that United still had work to do.
Henderson’s brilliant save from Tom Lockyer’s header shortly thereafter underscored exactly why he was concerned, with Eric Bailly helping to get the ball off the line after an initial panic, much to his coach’s relief, before Rashford and Greenwood finally resolved. things. “I am very proud of my players,” Jones said. “We have shown that we are capable of achieving something special.”
