United shaken up by Antlers Thursday July 28, 2005
United squad
Manchester United survived a mini-earthquake but their perfect pre-season record could not withstand the challenge of J-League leaders Kashima Antlers in Tokyo.
Less than a fortnight before a crucial Champions League qualifying round first leg tie, United failed to overcome the toughest challenge of their build-up so far.
Two first-half efforts from impressive Kashima striker Masashi Motoyama proved enough for the hosts, who were initially pegged back by Ryan Giggs' close range effort.
Louis Saha, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung all failed to convert decent chances after the break, although, having taken the opportunity to name a number of fringe players in his starting line-up, Sir Alex Ferguson is probably not that worried.
In the planning for an arduous 10-day Far East trip, United's players will have been told all about the heat and humidity they could expect, and also the enthusiastic and claustrophobic support they were likely to receive.
Dealing with earthquakes would have been slightly lower on the list, yet that is what they experienced midway through the first-half.
The vast majority probably didn't even notice, as play continued unabated, although there was an audible reaction from the sizeable crowd at a tremor whose epicentre was over 100 miles away from the Japanese capital and measured 2.0 on the Richter Scale.
While the size of it hardly warranted a mention in this part of the world, the fact it hit during a United game was a talking point, although it was one of many from an end-to-end contest played at Premiership pace.
After keeping four successive clean sheets in their pre-season programme so far, United, whose side contained only three members of the line-up which started Tuesday's win over Beijing Hyundai, conceded within five minutes.
Desperate to impress following the arrival of classy Dutchman Edwin van der Sar, Tim Howard was left with no chance when a crossfield pass dropped perfectly for Motoyama, who unleashed a superb angled volley which flashed over the American's head and into the far corner.
The visitors' response was immediate, Cristiano Ronaldo drilling a low cross into Giggs' path, allowing the Welshman to drive home from close range.
Just as he did during his 45-minute appearance in Beijing, Ronaldo brought the crowd to its feet with some dazzling trickery, which should really have been rewarded with a second goal for the visitors.
It is an inescapable fact the absence of David Beckham from the Red Devils squad these days affects the club's popularity as a whole, as another below-capacity crowd bears testament to. But in Ronaldo, United do possess a player who has the on-field charisma to eventually rival the England captain's enormous following.
Unfortunately, the Portuguese youngster's best efforts did not allow the visitors to go in front, so when Mitsuo Ogasawara flicked a superb reverse pass to Motoyama, the striker's powerful volley gave Kashima the advantage for a second time.
