Boss Delighted With Youngsters

Although the experience of Michael Owen and Ryan Giggs provided the goals to seal Carling Cup progress, Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted to see another clutch of youngsters take their chance at Elland Road.

Zeki Fryers oozed maturity in his 80-minute outing against Simon Grayson’s Leeds before succumbing to cramp late on, while fellow debutants Paul Pogba and Larnell Cole also acquitted themselves well in their respective cameos.

“They did well,” Sir Alex told Sky Sports. “I thought young Fryers did very well and showed good composure. He wasn’t fazed by it, which was really good because you always want to see what their temperament’s like. The atmosphere here, as you know, is hostile and he coped with it very well.

"The first half was a tremendous performance by us. Our movement off the ball and possession of the ball was very good. In the second half, in fairness to Leeds they kept trying and showed a very determined attitude. They never gave in and we just wanted to make sure we were through.

“Paul Pogba came on at half-time and had a good 45, young Larnell Cole came on at the end, which was very good for him. He’s a very young under-18s player, he’s the youngest of the players coming on so it was good for them to get a taste of the atmosphere and a taste of what the first team’s like.”

“It’s lovely to get their careers underway,” added Owen. “Zeki starting the game was big for him and it was great the way it panned out in terms of how we were playing in the first half. He must have felt right at home straight away, and fair play to him, I thought he was fantastic. He put in a great performance and he should be delighted with himself.”

Fryers’ late withdrawal with cramp facilitated an unlikely switch to defensive duties for Dimitar Berbatov, who joined Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia in moonlighting at the back. According to Owen, though, the Bulgarian is hardly a novice in the role.

“He does it all the time in training, so we know he’s capable of it,” revealed Michael. “He thinks he can play centre half, so he was probably first to lift his hand when we lost Zeki. It was no surprise to see Berba at the back!”