Antonio Aces Red Bow

Sir Alex Ferguson saw plenty of promise in Antonio Valencia's first appearance in a United shirt against Boca Juniors.

The Ecuadorian winger scored in the Reds’ 2-1 win over Boca Juniors, and although Sir Alex wasn’t entirely happy with the team’s performance he was pleased with the contribution of his summer signing from Wigan Athletic.

“I thought we were poor. It was a disappointing team performance,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “Boca pressed the ball and it was something we weren’t used to from the Far East games.

"No disrespect to the Far East teams, but that was a real game for us tonight in that sense. We’re back in the real world and hopefully we’ll come on from this game.

“There were positive moments though - we were very satisfied with Antonio’s first game," he added.

"He had to go back to Ecuador to get his work permit and that meant he missed some of the pre-season work, but he has shown that he has good talent, balance and he’s a good athlete. So we have got something to work with there.”

The boss was also pleased with the performances from the two youngest Reds on the pitch. Teenagers Craig Cathcart, who stepped in after Nemanja Vidic picked up a calf injury in the warm-up, and Fabio both excelled.

“Craig Cathcart made his first appearance for the first-team, and it was a very good night for him. And, of course, young Fabio is impressing all the time.”

Anderson’s brilliant free-kick also provided some joy for the manager. “It’s the miracle of Munich!” he joked. “But maybe it will spark the boy off, it might give him the incentive to shoot more. He’s got the talent, so hopefully he can do more.”

The only real negatives from the match were the injuries to Wes Brown and Vidic.

“Wes got a little pull in his thigh and there’s no point carrying on in pres-season games," confirmed the boss. "It was wise to just take him off. And Vidic pulled his calf muscle in the warm-up. Once again it’s our defenders falling down.”