Friendly: NE Revolution 1 Man. United 4

The first half was one to forget, but a flurry of second-half goals, including four in the space of 11 frantic minutes, kickstarted Manchester United's pre-season tour of the United States and gave fans in New England's Gillette Stadium plenty to cheer.

The Reds ran out 4-1 winners and were the better side for long periods in the game, even if the first 45 minutes failed to yield more than a smattering of goal-mouth action.

Indeed, it took until the 50th minute for a net to bulge, as half-time substitute Michael Owen kept his cool to slot into the far corner when confronted by the onrushing Bobby Shuttleworth.

Before then, Wayne Rooney and Dimitar Berbatov missed presentable chances in the opening period, and starting Revs goalkeeper Matt Reis made two fantastic reflex saves. That action largely came in the last five minutes of the first half - before that, both teams lacked penetration in the final third and rarely tried their luck from distance.

Another of Sir Alex's second-half substitutes, Federico Macheda, made it 2-0 three minutes after Owen's opener with an equally composed finish before adding a third, and his second, on 61 minutes by lashing a shot into the far corner after Rafael's cross had eluded a crowd of players inside the penalty area.

By that time, New England Revolution, managed by former Liverpool player Steve Nicol, had pulled a goal back somewhat fortuitously. Benny Feilhaber's free-kick deflected in off his team-mate Kenny Mansally, with Reds goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard cruelly wrong-footed.

The goal of the game arrived on 80 minutes, as Gabriel Obertan, Ji-sung Park and Ryan Giggs combined superbly inside the penalty area to play in Park, who clipped an audacious finish over Shuttleworth.

It was a moment of true quality, and one the crowd of 51,523 lapped up. If the fans in New England had been disappointed at the interval, they could have no complaints at the final whistle.

Nor could Sir Alex. He would have anticipated a slow start – it was the team's first outing since the Champions League final, after all – but there were plenty of positives to take from the fixture. The Reds often looked composed on the ball, Ashley Young produced a lively Reds debut and, perhaps most importantly, nobody picked up any injuries.

United's Tour 2011 is underway, and off to a winning start.


Ashley Young