SHREWSBURY TOWN 0 UNITED 3
Emirates FA Cup fifth round | 22 February 2016 |
Greenhous Meadow | Attendance: 9,370 | Scorers:
Smalling (37'), Mata (45+2'), Lingard (61’)
Manchester United set up an Emirates FA Cup
quarter-final meeting with West Ham after
comfortably seeing off Shrewsbury Town 3-0 on
Monday night.
The Reds dominated the game and took a
deserved lead on 37 minutes when captain-for-the-
night Chris Smalling fired home, before Juan Mata
doubled the advantage with a superb free-kick on
the stroke of half-time. Jesse Lingard grabbed a
third with just under half an hour remaining to cap
a clinical performance.
Ahead of the clash, Louis van Gaal made three
changes to the side that lost at Midtjylland on
Thursday, with Guillermo Varela, Cameron
Borthwick-Jackson and Morgan Schneiderlin all
coming in to the starting line-up.
The players walked out to a huge ovation at a
packed Greenhous Meadow, but United were quick
to settle into the contest, and in turn settle any
pre-match nerves. The first opportunity of the
game fell to Smalling with just two minutes on the
clock, as the defender rose unmarked in the area
but could only head Daley Blind’s corner over the
bar.
Having found the net in the Europa League last
time out, Memphis looked eager to make his mark
again in the opening stages, and twice cut in from
the left before firing high into the stands. It was
almost third time lucky for the Dutchman on 11
minutes, but after twisting and turning to find
space in the box, his low effort was palmed away
well by Shrews goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler.
With van Gaal’s men in total control of possession,
Mata went in search of an opener mid-way through
the half after picking up the ball on the right, but
the Spaniard’s shot deflected wide. The Reds
came even closer just before the half-hour mark,
when Memphis picked out Anthony Martial in the
area. Leutwiler did well to get a foot to the
Frenchman’s deflected strike, but the ball looped
into the air and had to be cleared off the line by
Abu Ogogo.
United finally made the hosts pay eight minutes
before the break, as Schneiderlin nodded the ball
into Smalling’s path, allowing the defender to volley
into the turf and beyond Leutwiler. A second soon
followed, after Martial was brought down on the
edge of the area, allowing Mata to dispatch a
perfectly-placed free-kick with the Shrewsbury
stopper rooted to the spot.
HALF-TIME STATS
POSSESSION: Shrewsbury 21% United 79%
SHOTS: Shrewsbury 0 United 15
SHOTS ON TARGET: Shrewsbury 0 United 4
CORNERS: Shrewsbury 0 United 6
After failing to register an attempt on goal in the
first 45 minutes, the home side introduced former
United midfielder Larnell Cole at the interval, but
the Reds continued to dictate the play. There was
little in the way of goalscoring opportunities until
the 54th minute, when Memphis again cut in from
the left, but saw his shot drop narrowly wide with
the help of a deflection.
United claimed a third just after the hour-mark
though, when Ander Herrera’s pin-point pass found
an unmarked Lingard at the far post, and the
winger slid the ball home on the half-volley to the
delight of the travelling fans behind the goal.
Lingard might have made it four ten minutes later,
after racing through on goal, but couldn’t get the
ball out of his feet and stabbed an effort just wide.
With the Reds’ progression all but sealed, Andreas
Pereira and Will Keane were introduced for the final
stages, and the duo almost combined to extend the
lead on 74 minutes. The latter turned and fired a
shot off the woodwork, but was injured in the
process, leaving United with 10 men for the final
quarter of an hour.
Despite the Shrews’ one-man advantage, the
damage had long been done, but the home side
had a final chance on 87 minutes. Agogo might
have claimed a consolation when he was found in
acres of space in the area, but headed wide when
it seemed easier to score. Instead, Sergio
Romero's clean sheet remained intact, and the
Reds will now face West Ham at Old Trafford with
a place at Wembley in the semi-finals at stake.
FULL-TIME STATS
POSSESSION: Shrewsbury 24% United 76%
SHOTS: Shrewsbury 2 United 25
SHOTS ON TARGET: Shrewsbury 0 United 5
CORNERS: Shrewsbury 0 United 8
THE TEAMS
Shrewsbury: Leutwiler, Whitbread, Grandison, Black,
Whalley, Brown, Grimmer, Ogogo, Mangan, Knight-
Percival (Cole 46’), Jean-Louis Akpa Akpro (Clark
81’).
Subs not used: Halstead, Sadler, Vernon, Clark,
Smith, Grandin.
Booked: Whitbread, Grimmer
United: Romero, Varela, Smalling, Blind, Borthwick-
Jackson (Riley 46’), Schneiderlin, Herrera, Memphis,
Mata (Pereira 65’), Lingard, Martial (Keane 71’).
Subs not used: Henderson, McNair, Poole, Carrick.
MATCH REACTION
" I have to say that the first 70 minutes we were
controlling the game and won every second ball
and played very good. We kept the ball also and
made goals – we could have scored more I think. I
was very happy for the players because they were
so committed to win." - Louis van Gaal
"I think it's a very special competition to play.
There is a lot of history and many difficult games
against sides like Shrewsbury and I think we did
well from the beginning and that was key." - Juan
Mata
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