Fletcher spurns chance to give United half-time lead

Manchester United 0 Portsmouth 0

Darren Fletcher, standing in for the injured Cristiano Ronaldo, spurned a glorious opportunity to put Manchester United ahead in a tepid first half of the FA Community Shield at Wembley.

Set up by Nani’s neat pass after Glen Johnson’s careless error, Fletcher scuffed his shot with only goalkeeper David James to beat.

United had several first-team regulars missing but still had the edge against a battling Portsmouth side whose FA Cup final goal hero Kanu missed out with a thigh injury.

New strike pairing Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe were subdued.