Manchester United 1 Wanderers 2

Wanderers (4-5-1)

JUSSI JAASKELAINEN ... 9

Breathtaking, matchwinning saves, despite his injury

BRUNO N'GOTTY ... 8

An outstanding first full Premiership game

GUDNI BERGSSON ... 9

Towering at the heart of the defence

MIKE WHITLOW ... 8

Always on hand to deal with danger

SIMON CHARLTON ... 8

Less adventurous but no less effective

BO HANSEN ... 7

Disciplined in a well worked game plan

KEVIN NOLAN ... 8

His goal was the stuff of dreams

PAUL WARHURST ... 7

Injured but soldiered on through a key period

PER FRANDSEN ... 8

Comfortable in top class company; denied a penalty

RICARDO GARDNER ... 8

Pacy and threatening, should have scored

MICHAEL RICKETTS ... 9

Made one, scored one - fitting rewards for his efforts

Subs: Jermaine Johnson (7) for Warhurst 54 mins, Anthony Barness for Hansen 82 mins. Not used: Dean Holdsworth, Rod Wallace, Steve Banks.

MANCHESTER UNITED (4-3-3)

FABIEN BARTHEZ ... 6

No clangers but no chance with the goals

PHIL NEVILLE ... 7

His forays helped United raid on the right

DAVID MAY ... 6

Looked tired towards the end

WES BROWN ... 6

Oops! Ricketts punished his slip-up

MIKAEL SILVESTRE ... 6

Licensed to get forward but crossing was poor

NICKY BUTT ... 7

Always looking to create but not crafty enough

JUAN SEBASTIAN VERON ... 9

Great strike; United's star performer by a mile

PAUL SCHOLES ... 6

Frustrated on his 200th Premiership appearance

OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER ... 7

So close to scoring late on but no joy this time

ANDY COLE ... 6

Foiled by Jaaskelainen's wonder save

DWIGHT YORKE ... 5

Unable to make any headway; virtually anonymous

Subs: Luke Chadwick (5) for Yorke 65 mins, Ryan Giggs (5) for Scholes 65 mins, Gary Neville for May 78 mins. Not used: Michael Stewart, Roy Carroll.

Referee: Graham Barber (Hertfordshire).

Attendance: 67,559.

Goals: United - Veron 25 mins; Wanderers - Nolan 25 mins, Ricketts 84 mins.

Shots/headers on target: United 5, Wanderers 3.

Corners: United 8, Wanderers 0.

Fouls committed: United 11, Wanderers 7.

Offsides: United 3, Wanderers 5.

Man of the Match

SAM ALLARDYCE

THERE were star performers on the field but the Wanderer who deserves the accolade more than any other was the man who drew up the game plan and gave his team the confidence to go out and make it work.

Big Sam has made a massive impact in his first two years at the Reebok but, taking account of the calibre of the opposition, this was arguably his finest hour.

Moan of the Match

MERCIFULLY it turned out to have no bearing on the result but Graham Barber was clearly worng - even Fergie admitted it - to wave away penalty appeals when Veron tripped Frandsen.

Magic Moment

JAASKELAINEN'S save from Veron was special but his "double" a minute later was breathtaking - a superb left-hander to keep out Scholes' close range shot then up like a shot with his right to instinctively block Cole's follow-up.

KICK BY KICK

4 mins: Veron signals his intent with a fierce shot that is deflected for a corner.

12 mins: Yorke gets past Charlton but Whitlow is on hand to cut out the danger.

13 mins: Whitlow makes his presence felt again with a tackle on Cole that lets the England striker know who is boss.

GOAL!

25 mins: Anything Beckham can do ... Veron smashes a spectacular 30-yard free kick out of Jaaskelainen's reach.

28 mins: Cole gets the benefit of a lucky ricochet off N'Gotty but Jaaskelainen is down to smother his shot.

29 mins: Nolan works himself into a shooting position but his aim is wayward.

GOAL!

35 mins: Anything Veron can do ... Nolan strikes a sensational volley beyond Barthez, pouncing as Ricketts tees up N'Gotty's cross with a delicate header.

41 mins: Jaaskelainen, showing no signs of his wrist injury, gets down to his right to keep out Veron's powerful shot; Solskjaer slams in the rebound but the offside flag is up.

42 mins: Jaaskelainen raises the stakes with a world class double save - first from Scholes, which was breathtaking, then from Cole, which was miraculous.

Half-time: United 1 Wanderers 1.

50 mins: Wanderers are furious as referee Barber waves away penalty appeals when Veron trips Frandsen.

51 mins: Bergsson shows his class as he shepherd's Cole out of harm's way.

52 mins: Solskjaer agonises as his stabbed shot drifts narrowly wide after some neat interplay.

53 mins: Frandsen, Nolan and Hansen combine superby but Ricketts - with the goal in sight - is suddenly outnumbered and the chance is lost.

55 mins: Veron, the man most likely to hurt Wanderers, is just inches wide with another blockbuster.

57 mins: Bergsson, so effective at the back, ghosts in on Charlton's free kick but just can't turn his header towards the goal.

62 mins: Johnson fends off Sylvestre and gets in a terrific cross which is a fraction too strong for Ricketts.

64 mins: Gardner squanders a glorious chance, collecting Johnson's neat lay-off and bamboozling Brown only to hit his shot wide.

80 mins: There is danger as Solskjaer gets a head to Giggs'cross but the ball flies across the face of goal.

GOAL!

84 mins: Wanderers are in dreamland! Brown tries to deal with Jaaskelainen's huge clearance but Ricketts charges the ball down, races into the box and hits a beauty past Barthez.

89 mins: Charlton does just enough to prevent Solskjaer turning in Giggs' cross.

90 mins: Solskjaer is just inches away from getting the vital touch to Butt's cross.

Full-time: United 1, Wanderers 2.