Fledglings Merit Final Place

Sir Alex Ferguson will give United's youngsters a day to remember on Sunday 1 March, as reward for taking the Reds to yet another domestic final.

The manager is promising to play some of his young players in the Carling Cup clash against Burnley or Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. And while it will be the first major domestic final for the likes of Jonny Evans, Darron Gibson, Rafael and Danny Welbeck, it will be Sir Alex's 14th, following 15 semi-final ties.

“It’s a great record. The club have done well in semi-finals over the years and once again the players have done us proud," Sir Alex said.

“Wembley’s a special place. I think our record of going to finals there is terrific. Just being there is always a great experience but you obviously want to win the final because that's really the only way to enjoy it.

"Finals are always hard to get to. The young lads have done fantastic to be there and they will play in the final, absolutely.

"I was just disappointed I couldn't give Possebon a bit tonight. The injuries meant I had to bring on James Chester and Darren Fletcher. So that was a bit disappointing for young Rodrigo because he deserves a bit of it."

Chester made his debut, aged 19, as a second-half substitute for Gary Neville. Like so many fledglings in the past, the reserve team captain didn't look fazed by any means.

"He came on at a difficult time because we were starting to limp about the place, we'd lost a bit of momentum and we had some defending to do," said Sir Alex. "But he did very well.

"The important thing with our young players is to find out about their temperament.

"They've all proved again tonight they have an excellent temperament for playing on big occasions. It’s always a big test for a young boy in front of 75,000 fans and they’ve done very well with that."

Chester looked set for a comfortable introduction to senior football after the Reds raced into a three-goal lead but a late Derby resurgence made it a decent test and won the praise of the United manager.

"Obviously in the first half we could have been out of sight, our performance was absolutely brilliant. But Derby kept on plugging away and they got their rewards with two goals and it made it a good night for their ten or twelve thousand supporters who’ve travelled.

"It turned out to be a really good cup tie in the second half."