Youngsters Inspire Hong Kong Victory

By David Hobbs
July 23 2005

Manchester United kicked off the tour of Asia with a comfortable 2-0 victory over the Hong Kong national side courtesy of goals from young strikers Dong Fangzhuo and Giuseppe Rossi.

Youngsters Inspire Hong Kong Victory

Hong Kong 0

Manchester United 2
Rossi 68
Dong 74

The tough, humid conditions were welcomed by Red Devils boss Sir Alex Ferguson who claims the Asia tour will sharpen his players in preparation for the upcoming season.

As expected, two sets of United teams took to the field both playing 45 minutes each. Dong Fangzhou made his senior debut after finding form on-loan at Royal Antwerp.

It took time for the first-half team to find their feet and a defensive mistake from Spaniard Gerard Pique allowed Chan Ho Man to capitalize but was stopped in his path by a solid Edwin van der Sar.

Ji Sung Park and Wayne Rooney came close before the interval as Hong Kong goalkeeper Fan stopped everything in his path.

Despite a hat-trick in midweek against Peterborough, Ruud van Nistelrooy wasted several chances including a double miss following goalkeeping heroics from Fan.

The second-half outfit found their feet quicker than the first after assessing their opponents. The hosts failed to clear skipper Ryan Giggs' corner from the face of goal and that prompted Giuseppe Rossi to take full advantage and stab home from close range.

Dong Fangzhou doubled his side's advantage five minutes later with a delightfully calm poke over Fan to cap off an impressive performance.

Final Score: Hong Kong 0 - 2 Manchester United

Manchester United (First Half): Van der Sar, P Neville, Pique, Ferdinand, Fletcher, Park, Jones, Richardson, Scholes (skipper), Van Nistelrooy, Rooney.

Manchester United (Second Half): Howard, Bardsley, G Neville, Silvestre, O'Shea, Kleberson, Smith, Giggs (skipper), Fangzhou, Rossi, Saha.