Chicharito Saves The Day Again

Yesterday, United took on Wolves in the last 16 of the Carling Cup. On these nights, we typically look to play some of our young squad, or players that don't seem to be finding much first team action. Some of the players that benefited from this were Amos, Fabio, Evans, Obertan, Gibson, Macheda and Bebe. Even though we may not be as sharp in these games as those played by our first 11, I almost get more excited to watch these games. I love seeing the young guns come out and put on a good show for the crowd. They rarely get the opportunity to show what they can do, especially at Old Trafford, so it was important for their experience that they make the best of this opportunity.

For those of you who did not see it, the first half was a complete bore. Their were a few good moves by both teams, but overall I was completely disappointed. The second half was about as good as it gets. United started strong and got a goal from Bebe, who was making his full debut for the club. Regardless of how it went in, looked to be a cross that deflected over the goalie's head, the ambition of Bebe and creativity he possessed out on the wing was very good to see.

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In the typical United fashion, at least for this season, we gave up the equalizer to Wolves on a set piece. It looks as though our defending problems are across the entire squad, not just the first team. It was really surprising to me that Wolves was able to respond so quickly, as I thought we might kill the game off after getting the first goal. However, after the equalizer, we pushed forward even more. Park, who hasn't had his best season with the club to this point, scored a fantastic goal to put United ahead 2-1. He cut across the box and finished across the face of the goal, with his left foot. It had to be over with just about 15 minutes left, right?

Wrong. We conceded again. 2-2. This was really getting frustrating to see our boys give up goal after goal like they had been all season. This was already the 8th time we had given up a lead this year. Fergie looked to make some changes late on, and brought on Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez to try and take control of this game. I thought it was important to bring him on, even if it was for just a minute or two, so that the crowd could show their appreciation to him for his goals at the weekend. He had about 10 minutes to make an impact and did he ever make such an impact!! Normally a striker, he seemed to find a role right behind the front line, almost as a midfielder. He passed the ball around with such class, however it didn't seem as though we would get an equalizer and we would be heading to extra time. As the 90th minute came, so did the heroics. Chicharito picked up the ball in his own half and played a great ball to Gibson. Gibbo ran with it for about twenty yards as you could see Chicharito make the run all the way up the field. The ball was perfectly slid into the Mexican as he calmly put one defender on his butt, and then dispatched the winner past the keeper. I couldn't believe that he had done it again. He is unbelieveable, and with Rooney out with an ankle knock and in bad form, this is exactly what United needed. He now has 6 goals in 11 games, and his per minute scoring is 1 goal every 90.5 minutes, which is the best in England (Drogba 119, Berba 125, Tevez 142, Malouda 146, Rooney 457). Hernandez reminds of a United great, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. If only he is able to live up to the hype and do what Ole has done for the club. Maybe, if we can get to another European Cup Final, he can try and equal the heroics of that night in Barcelona, 1999.