Van Gaal fury as twitchy Man United held by Cambridge

FA Cup Fourth Round

No goals but millionaires failing to beat minnows always means the FA Cup magic quota has been fulfilled; Manchester United continue to look like an assembly of individuals rather than a team.

“We have to be better and when we do create chances we have to take them. It’s frustrating,” admitted Michael Carrick.

No doubt Louis van Gaal will carry on regardless though you can be sure David Moyes, remembered as a journeyman defender in these parts, would not have escaped without a reputational kicking.

“Yes of course it is frustrating,” said Van Gaal last night. “We make the same error as against Yeovil Town and against QPR, we did the same playing style more or less in the first half.

“Then I have to be angry again. In the second half we did much better but okay we are not out of the cup. That is the most important thing.

“I was angry again but it is part of my job. I can only give the credit to the coach, to the staff they did marvellous, but what I already said every aspect of the match is against us — the pitch, the referee, everything that you can think about this is against you.”

Van Gaal decided to give Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata the night off and, having declared that four at the back gave him a “twitchy ass” on the bench, proceeded to pick four at the back.

Tom Elliott, Cambridge’s battering ram lone forward, looked keen to make the prophecy come true and immediately bludgeoned his way into the visitors’ box, winning a corner.

Suddenly David de Gea’s six-yard box was packed with jostling bodies and the Spaniard’s missed punch won’t have impressed Real Madrid. The white shirts were immediately under pressure again when Marouane Fellaini flattened Cameron McGeehan but Elliott’s back post header was wide.

It was just the sort of start the home fans, who had queued round the block to secure tickets, had hoped for, short of a goal of course. Wayward passed from Phil Jones, and there were a few of them, were cheered heartily, as was Chris Dunn’s near-post save to deny Danny Blind. Twice the pink ball was hoofed out of the ground.

Another Cambridge corner saw Liam Hughes volley wide and although the visitors were able to break at speed through Angel Di Maria, the shot from Radamel Falcao was blocked by Greg Taylor.

The fallen champions, humiliated at MK Dons in the Capital One Cup and less than convincing in the third round at Yeovil, were being matched by their League Two hosts, with Fellaini booked for a foul on Sullay Kaikai after Adnan Januzaj had fired at Dunn.

Cambridge chaos in the style of former boss John Beck, who used to make a sandpit in each corner for long balls to plop into, almost led to an opener. Michael Nelson saw an effort blocked by team-mate Josh Coulson, who rose to nod the loose ball just over. Ryan Donaldson followed suit not long after.

At the other end Dunn dealt with two Di Maria efforts.

Seventy-six league positions separated the two teams but the first-half had belonged to the lowest-ranked team in the competition, who had only returned to the Football League in August having teetered on the brink of extinction more than once in their nine years of exile. The chances they had created were route one but they had played good football elsewhere on the pitch.

It was a similar story after the break, with United looking threatening one moment — another Di Maria effort at Dunn — and ordinary the next. Cambridge chances had dried up however; it was a question of whether the visitors’ class could tell.

It almost did on the hour mark when Falcao, given desultory service in the first half, finally had the ball at his feet and facing goal thanks to Michael Carrick’s pass. Dunn did well however, getting enough on the shot to divert it over.

Cambridge had former Old Trafford bit-part player Luke Chadwick up their sleeves and sent him on in search of a cup fairytale in the 76th minute, with the veteran having declared beforehand that playing at the Abbey Stadium meant more to him than the Theatre of Dreams. It didn’t happen but Cambridge were more than happy to take an Old Trafford replay.

CAMBRIDGE UNITED (4-2-3-1): Dunn 7; Tait 7, Coulson 7, Nelson 7, Taylor 7; Hughes 7 (Chadwick 76), Champion 7; Donaldson 7, McGeehan 7, Kaikai (Dunk 53, 7) 7; Elliott 7.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-1-2-1-2): De Gea 7; Valencia 7, Jones 6, Rojo 7, Blind 6 (Shaw 86); Carrick 7; Fellaini (Herrera 67) 6, Januzaj 6; Di Maria 7; Wilson (van Persie 67) 6, Falcao 6.

Referee: Chris Foy.