Ferguson: Town deserved replay

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson berated his players’ drab second-half performance in their 1-0 FA Cup win over Crawley Town.

Stand-in captain Wes Brown scored the game’s only goal midway through the opening half, but Ferguson said he believed United’s non-League opponents in the fifth round proper deserved a replay at Broadfield Stadium.

“They (Crawley) deserved a draw given their second-half performance,” Ferguson said.

“There is no doubt a few players did not do themselves justice. I had no complaints in the first half, I thought we did okay – but we weren’t at the races in the second. We were second to every ball.”

“It was disappointing. We had some players who maybe don’t understand what FA Cup football is like. For them, that is the biggest lesson.”

The Towners had the chance to equalise late when substitute Richard Brodie’s looping header hit the crossbar and rebounded to safety, and Ferguson admitted his side were lucky not to add another fixture to their upcoming schedule.

“In the first half we could’ve been three or four up, but it wasn’t to be and while it’s only 1-0 in a cup tie, it only takes a second to lose a goal – and we nearly did,” Ferguson said.

“Sometimes you get the breaks in the cup and you struggle through one round. We’ve done that in the past and it was another example today.”

Crawley manager Steve Evans said he will be haunted by Brodie’s late miss, which some of his squad members believed had been destined to beat United goalkeeper Anders Lindegaard in flight.

“It looked like a big chance. Some of the boys said they thought it was in and I think a few of the United players felt the same way,” Evans said.

“We go home disappointed tonight. We really thought we could win.”