Sunderland 2-1 Manchester United: Borini penalty hands
Black Cats first-leg advantage
The Liverpool loanee's second-half spot-kick saw Gus
Poyet's men pick up a crucial win at the Stadium of Light after Nemanja Vidic
had cancelled out Ryan Giggs' own goal.
Fabio Borini's second-half penalty helped Sunderland to a
2-1 win over Manchester United in the first leg of their Capital One Cup
semi-final, leaving David Moyes' hopes of silverware in doubt.
The visitors saw Ryan Giggs smash the crossbar from range
while Adnan Januzaj had a goal ruled out for offside in the first half, but it
was Gus Poyet's men who took the lead in stoppage time of the first period as
United's veteran Welshman bundled the ball into his own net.
The Red Devils responded immediately after the restart,
Nemanja Vidic levelling the scores from a corner, but when Tom Cleverley felled
substitute Adam Johnson inside the box, Liverpool loanee Borini was able to
restore the hosts' lead from the penalty spot.
The Capital One Cup may not be high on Manchester
United's list of priorities this season, but after defeat to Tottenham and an
FA Cup exit to Swansea City, the overall picture is not a good one for David
Moyes.
It was a poor game in truth, in which only Adnan Januzaj
really impressed for the Old Trafford outfit, but they were back in the tie in
the second half thanks to a Nemanja Vidic corner, after Ryan Giggs had bundled
the ball into his own net before the interval.
And United might have had at least a draw if match
official Andre Marriner hadn't given a penalty for a soft challenge by Tom
Cleverley on Adam Johnson, who must have felt only minimal contact.
The tie is far from over with the second leg at Old
Trafford, but this defeat makes the second visit of Swansea in the space of
seven days all the more important.Both teams made seven changes, with Marcos
Alonso making his debut for Sunderland, while United named a strong line-up
that included Patrice Evra, Michael Carrick and Vidic.
The hosts enjoyed the majority of possession in the
opening exchanges and had the first glimpse of goal on 12 minutes with Borini's
scuffed effort.
United began to settle into the match with Januzaj
looking particularly threatening, and Moyes’ side went agonisingly close to
breaking the deadlock when Giggs’ deflected strike rattled the crossbar after
25 minutes.
The visitors also thought their pressure had told on 38
minutes when Januzaj fired home after initially striking against Giggs, but the
linesman ruled the latter was offside when he blocked the ball.
And United’s failure to take their chances counted
against them on the stroke of half-time as Wes Brown knocked Sebastian
Larsson's free kick across the six-yard box where Giggs, sliding in to
challenge former United team-mate Phil Bardsley, inadvertently applied the
final touch from close range.
It did not take long for United to restore parity after
the break, however, as Vidic leapt highest to head home Cleverley's whipped
corner on 51 minutes.
But, rather than building on their equaliser, it was
Sunderland who came closest to regaining the lead on 62 minutes when Larsson's
volley was parried to safety by David de Gea.
Three minutes later, Poyet's side did move ahead when
Johnson - who had replaced Emanuele Giaccherini from the bench - was the victim
of a clumsy tackle by Cleverley in the area and Borini blasted the resulting
penalty into the roof of the net.
With 20 minutes remaining, the lively Januzaj almost
levelled with a bending effort that curled wide of Vito Mannone's far post.
United piled on the pressure in the closing stages with
Januzaj twice coming close and an effort from Evra just evading the far post,
but Sunderland withstood the barrage to ensure they will take a lead to Old
Trafford in the second leg on January 22.
Culled from Goal
