Manchester United did just what they had to last night, defeating the semi-professionals of South Melbourne, but they did so with a display in keeping with the sporadically entertaining and uneven efforts of their previous two appearances. After the South African Quinton Fortune sent the barely recognisable European Champions on their way with two first-half goals, United were unable to add another, despite a consistent flow of openings, and it required the woodwork and a double save from Raimond van der Gouw to stop the Australians inflicting some embarrassment late on.
The score-line left United sweating on the outcome of the pulsating Vasco da Gama-Necaxa fixture. But, although they lost, Necaxa have a better goal difference than United and they will meet Real Madrid in the third place play-off. The final is all Brazilian - Vasco versus Corinthians.
United's game was hugely under-whelming by comparison to what came later - impromptu contests on the local beaches have more bite to them than this. Some of them probably have bigger crowds. Although the stadium filled gradually with Vasco fans preparing for their game, their main contribution was a stream of derisive whistling at United.
It reached a crescendo when David Beckham rose off the bench to replace Mark Wilson. Beckham commanded the ball immediately, but not even his urgency could rouse a potentially important third goal from his lacklustre colleagues.
"I was pleased with most of it," Alex Ferguson said after. "Maybe we wavered a little in the second half, we missed a couple of chances, albeit so did South Melbourne. It was a reasonable performance. I'm happy, it's good for the young players, it always tells you something about them. Even if we could have got to the final, I wouldn't have picked my strongest team, I'd have saved some of them for the final. It's common sense."
Maybe, but even though they knew beforehand this would be a United select XI rather than a first team, there was still an undercurrent of hostility from United's fans, who had travelled half-way around the world to support their side. At least they saw an assured 90 minutes from left-back Danny Higginbotham.
As Ferguson said would be the case, Andy Cole was made captain and his first act was to do something which Roy Keane twice failed at - winning the toss. It set the tone and by the 20th minute Fortune had scored twice.
Both were relatively straightforward finishes, though the first in the eighth minute had an impressive build-up. Jonathan Greening, one of the four United "kids" - he is 21 - began the move with a clearance to Cole. His headed flick found Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, whose acceleration took him into the Melbourne area. There he fed Cole, who feinted to shoot but who instead back-heeled the ball to Fortune. By now the target was gaping. Fortune hit it.
Bought from Atletico Madrid for £1.5 million, Fortune scored his first United goal against Bradford City at Christmas and his third arrived twelve minutes after his second. This was a slightly more exacting finish. One-on-one with the Australians' goalkeeper Chris Jones, Fortune chipped the ball over him coolly.
The pattern of comprehensive United domination sprinkled with poor finishing resumed after the half-time interval. Within three minutes of the re-start, Solskjaer had again struck the woodwork, this time his deft touch to Cole's centre clipping Jones's near post. A few minutes later, Solskjaer showed a lot less skill and composure when blasting wide wildly after again being set loose by Cole.
It was not Solskjaer's night. Being a Norwegian he has an affinity with wood, yet he was outdone by Melbourne substitute Vaughan Coveny 10 minutes from the end when Coveny sprinted through, beat Van der Gouw with his shot only to see it cannon off one post and then the other. Sympathy in the ground was with Coveny, even if by then they were relishing the thought of the main course.
Manchester Utd: Van Der Gouw (Rachubka 82), P Neville, Higginbottom, Berg, Wallwork, Cruyff, Wilson (Beckham 76), Greening, Fortune, Solskjaer, Cole. Subs not used: Bosnich, G Neville, Irwin, Silvestre, Stam, Butt, Giggs, Yorke, Keane. Goals: Fortune 8, 20.
South Melbourne: Jones, Iosifidis, De Amicis, Blatsis, Clarkson (Tsekinis 71), Panopoulos, Trimboli, Curcija, Anastasiadis (Coveny 66), Lozanovski, Liparoti (Goutzoulis 31). Subs not used: Udvaracz, Roche, Alagich, Cuzzupe, Magnacca, Psonis, Mustafa, Culibrk. Booked: Trimboli.
Referee: S Braschi (Italy).
