United edge past brave Crawley

A rattled Manchester United were lucky to beat non-league Crawley Town 1-0 in the FA Cup fifth round.

Brodie hits the bar for non-league side in injury time

A rattled Manchester United were lucky to beat non-league Crawley Town 1-0 in the FA Cup fifth round. Sir Alex Ferguson's second-string side found it difficult to gain a foothold in the game, spending large potions of the game under severe pressure from the away team. The non-league side showed no fear in the early going, not giving a much-changed United line-up a chance to dictate the play. The Old Trafford fans could breathe a sigh of relief after Wes Brown glanced home a header after 28 minutes from a sublime Darron Gibson cross. But Crawley didn't allow the goal to affect their confidence and stayed in the tie until the death, nullifying the half-time introduction of Wayne Rooney. And substitute Richard Brodie came within inches of sealing a replay after his looping header struck the bar in injury time.

Difficult start

The Blue Square Premier promotion contenders started brightly and grew in confidence as the contest went on, their valiant push for an equaliser gathering momentum with each passing minute. If it was not a surprise Brown was named in Ferguson's starting line-up, it was a shock he received the captain's armband ahead of central defensive partner John O'Shea. The 31-year-old has drifted out of the first-team picture since he featured in the 2008 Champions League final, to the extent this was only his 11th appearance of the season. Indeed, he was tipped to leave Old Trafford during last month's transfer window and given the performances of Chris Smalling this season, his future beyond the end of this season is uncertain to say the least. However, Brown can always be relied upon to give everything in the United cause. Goals have never been part of his repertoire. But with United struggling to turn their possession into something more tangible, he led from the front. Gibson had just picked out Javier Hernandez with an excellent pass that led to a corner. Gibson then drifted the ball over from the left touchline, Brown leapt highest, and the faintest of touches took it past Michel Kuipers and into the bottom corner.

Chances

The hosts should have doubled their lead before the interval. Gibson's defence-splitting pass to Fabio left the Brazilian to race through on Kuipers' goal. However, he prodded the ball with his right foot instead of shooting with his left and the end product rolled disappointingly wide of the target. A second goal would have been harsh on Crawley though. Their performances so far this season have led Ferguson to predict Crawley will be in the Football League next term. The money being thrown at them has not won favour with all their rivals, with plenty questioning exactly where it is coming from. However, this represented the biggest day in their history given Manchester United are on a different scale altogether. Had Ben Smith's 30-yard strike been on target, it might have given them a shock lead too. Unfortunately for the visitors, it dipped narrowly wide of a goal being manned by Anders Lindegaard, who was making his home debut.

Rooney run-out

The introduction of Rooney at the break indicated Ferguson was not entirely satisfied with what had gone before. Smalling's arrival in place of Rafael 10 minutes after the re-start was a statement of the dominance Crawley enjoyed in that period, even if O'Shea's stout defending kept them at arm's length. Rooney had barely touched the ball but eventually he advanced into a shooting position, even if he was unable to keep his 20-yard effort on target. By that point though, Crawley had realised there was nothing to fear and attacked in the same manner they will probably do against Southport on Tuesday. Hunt got on the end of Brodie's cross and flashed an effort just wide, then, aiming for the same goal Rooney found in such spectacular fashion seven days earlier, Matt Tubbs' overhead kick sailed narrowly over. There was one chance left, which Brodie was unable to take, failing to provide the perfect end to a dream day.

Manchester United	Team Statistics	Crawley Town
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
4	Shots on Target	1
5	Shots off Target	7
2	Blocked Shots	2
7	Corners	1
8	Fouls	6
6	Offsides	4
2	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
81.5	Passing Success	73.2
18	Tackles	24
88.9	Tackles Success	75
57.3	Possession	42.7
48	Territorial Advantage	52