Ferguson hails new boy Powell

Sir Alex Ferguson is excited about new signing Nick Powell after he marked his Manchester United debut with a goal in their 4-0 win over Wigan.

Coming on in the second half, the 18-year-old wasted no time in endearing himself to the Old Trafford supporters by firing a low drive from the edge of the box to cap off the emphatic victory.

Ferguson has hailed the instant impact, and said there is a lot more in store for Powell.

“He’s going to be a really good player, the boy,” Sir Alex told MUTV. “He’s got two good feet and he can strike a ball.”

Powell confessed to being nervous ahead of his debut, but showed calmness and composure to sell the Wigan defence a dummy before burying his effort.

“I was a bit scared when I first stepped out. It was a great feeling to score,” Powell said.

United looked to have made the perfect start to match as referee Michael Oliver awarded a penalty for a foul by Al-Habsi on Danny Welbeck in the sixth minute.

However, Javier Hernandez’s spot-kick was saved by the Oman international and it would take another 45 minutes of football before United finally opened the scoring, with Sir Alex blaming a slow start on the penalty miss.

“It wasn’t a great penalty,” Ferguson told reporters. “It can affect you a little bit in the sense you think you’re having a good start but have to start again.

“We had a lot of strikes on goal in the first half without scoring. Danny Welbeck, in particular, had five strikes on goal.”

Ferguson’s Wigan counterpart Roberto Martinez, however, was furious with the decision to award a penalty, adamant that Al-Habsi had made no contact with Welbeck.

“He (Welbeck) dived, he dived for the penalty, you’ll see it on the replay,” Martinez said.

“The penalty was as bad a decision as you’re going to see. It is a shocking decision, in many ways you find yourself fighting against a mountain.

“I’ve come to United three times now, we’ve had three players sent off, we just never seem to be measured in the same manner.

“(Welbeck’s) last challenge was over the top of the ball, it was reckless, it’s dangerous, it’s a red card.”