Injury-hit Reds limp into final

Man United 4, Derby C 2 (agg 4-3)

INJURY-HIT Manchester United were forced to withstand a spirited late fightback from Derby County as they limped into the final of the Carling Cup.

The Reds overturned a first-leg deficit in their semi-final, but their Wembley day out came at a price as they picked up a host of new injuries last night at Old Trafford.

They finished the night with effectively eight players on the pitch as United, who had used all three substitutes, lost Nani while Jonny Evans and Anderson were hobbling badly in the closing stages.

It was a extraordinary finish to a dramatic match of numerous twists and turns.

The game turned out far from the foregone conclusion it appeared when Sir Alex Ferguson’s side established a 3-0 lead little over half an hour into the game.

Derby dug deep and substitute Giles Barnes scored two second-half goals which left United holding on to a precarious one-goal advantage at the finish.

Ferguson was without the likes of Edwin van der Sar, Nemanja Vidic, Rio Ferdinand, Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick, Ji-Sung Park and Wayne Rooney while Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Darren Fletcher were subtitutes.

But the Reds manager was delighted by his side’s display and vowed to play the likes of Darron Gibson, Danny Welbeck and Ben Foster in the final.

Ferguson said: “It was a bad night injury-wise, but we are in the final and should be celebrating that.

“Finals are always difficult to get to and the young lads have done fantastically well.

“It was a great performance in the first half when we were absolutely brilliant.

“We could have scored four or five and been out if sight.

“I think the injuries we picked up affected us in the second half.

“The youngsters will play in the final. The important thing is to see whether they have the temperament.

“It is always a test for any young boy to play in front of 70-odd thousand and they have done very well.”

United, 1-0 behind from the first leg at Pride Park, quickly wiped out the deficit and took charge of the tie.

Nani opened the scoring with another of his spectacular long-range strikes and that was quickly followed by further goals from left-back John O’Shea and Carlos Tevez.

Derby were handed an unexpected lifeline in the 80th minute when Evans, struggling with injury, conceded a penalty for a trip on Paul Green.

Barnes scored from the spot, but United quickly restored a two-goal aggregate advantage after Ronaldo converted a penalty when former Reds keeper Roy Carroll brought down Tevez.

But in the second of four minutes of added time Barnes struck Derby’s second goal with a superbly-executed free kick.

It meant a nervous finish because United knew if they conceded another goal and the game went into extra time they would be in dire straits due to the loss of so many players through injury.