Amad celebrates making it 3-2
Amad celebrates making it 3-2
One down, two to go for the season on the trophy front. What a go Manchester United gave it at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
It is small mercies for Ruben Amorim that United's calendar will now have two free midweeks in January. United threatened another evocative comeback at Tottenham yet their back-up goalkeeper denied them a remarkable recovery.
Amorim is yet to master rotation and he may rein it in after Altay Bayindir's egregious errors. His air-punch from Son Heung-min's winner - direct from a corner - was replayed to pantomime cheers on the four large screens.
Bayindir had the temerity to appeal and was booked. The referee also flourished the yellow card at Bruno Fernandes, always prone to protesting a pointless cause. There was no VAR and it was not needed.
This result and performance are a more reliable gauge of the issues that Amorim will have to address than Sunday's Manchester derby. That physical aspect that Amorim opined United had to improve was glaringly exposed here, as Dominic Solanke treated Lisandro Martinez as no more of an obstacle than a training cone.
With full backs for wingers and an incompatible front three, United fired blanks until the cavalry arrived. What will particularly smart is they were the better side for the majority of this chaotic contest.
United's approach play in the first half was promising, there were clear-cut chances for Christian Eriksen and Antony, Manuel Ugarte oozed authority in midfield, Eriksen was vintage at times and Leny Yoro demonstrated why United invested so heavily in him.
Yet Tottenham had sharper tools in the box. Literally. Solanke pounced on Bayindir's haphazard goalkeeping and Dejan Kulusevski was teed up by a lazy clearance from Martinez. It was 3-0 after 54 minutes.
Tottenham's second, 47 seconds into the second half, temporarily sapped United of belief. Their 5,794 supporters were bullish despite the 1-0 scoreline but quietened down after Kulusevski struck. Solanke, a scorer twice against United for Bournemouth last season, had it easier against the pushover Martinez than he did with Willy Kambwala.
The United followers will take comfort despite being deprived of a January semi-final. With committed players on the pitch and on the bench, the team went down with a fight and there was vocal appreciation from the away end at full-time.
It typified United's goalscoring woes that their first goal came from someone who seldom scores in Joshua Zirkzee. He had already had an adroit header palmed away by Fraser Forster before he pounced on the goalkeeper's complacency.
The United supporters were suddenly raucous again and Amorim ordered Alejandro Garnacho to embark on a more rigorous warm up. Garnacho was positively engaged as he geed up Fernandes before he took a corner. Garnacho was summoned in the 70th minute
Amad, sent on at 2-0, turned cheerleader and the United supporters offered the desired response. Amad then displayed greater gusto by charging down the farcical Forster as he delayed a clearance from his own six-yard area to make it 3-2. Forster was sarcastically cheered when he next managed to clear his lines.
Four times Amad turned to the United supporters and whipped them into a frenzy. He was the first to lift Noussair Mazraoui up after he scooped the ball wide. United did not get another chance to level the tie.
Despite the three second-half goals, this was additional evidence that Amorim needs a potent goalscorer and diligent yet attack-minded wingers to slot into his system. United will do well to fill any of those vacancies in the January transfer window.
That inevitability about United is starting to resurface. They tallied two goals 115 seconds apart in an uproarious finale at City and inflicted another double whammy seven minutes apart here.
Tottenham fans may have had flashbacks of relinquishing a 3-0 advantage at the old White Hart Lane in 2001. This time, Spurs did not completely fold and they claimed the contest-killing sixth goal, via the aid of Bayindir.
There were five more changes from the derby and the most inexcusable came in goal. Bayindir has played three games under three different United managers this season and may struggle for a fourth. Andre Onana consoled him at full-time but the replays were damning.
Amorim was at least proactive with his changes. Zirkzee and Amad fuelled belief while Kobbie Mainoo slickened the play as United mounted a comeback.
'Excuses ta ra Rashford', read a bedsheet unfurled in the away end, signed off by the M34 Dane bank reds. The 'ta ra' was a reference to the infamous banner that Pete Molyneux unfurled in December 1989 imploring Alex Ferguson to go. Ferguson's turnaround began weeks later with Mark Robins's pivotal winner at Nottingham Forest. United matchgoers are not for turning on Rashford.
Rashford should spare us any phoney posts on Instagram. He was spared a backlash from the travelling United followers. There was a hearty rendition of Amorim's name less than 12 minutes in. The matchgoers' loyalty is to the manager and not the wantaway player.
Bayindir made a bad start, miscuing a pass into touch and failing to emerge from his area. He then compounded it with bad keeping, beating Pedro Porro's optimistic punt out to Solanke to lash in on 15 minutes.
United will rue Eriksen and Antony's spurned shots from cut-backs at 1-0. Going in level may have broken a fragile Spurs. Instead, United fell to pieces early in the second half.
One of Amorim's backroom staff members, Adelio Candido, was on his feet as the ball eluded Rasmus Hojlund. Amorim, initially a placid presence in the technical area, became more vexed as the game got away from United.
They at least gave it a go.