SECOND HALF GOALS from Ander Herrera and Angel Di Maria were enough to see Manchester United overcome Yeovil Town at Huish Park today in the FA Cup.
A swerving volley from Herrera on the 64th minute broke the deadlock before Di Maria streaked away on the counter attack to seal it with a delightful chip as the clock ticked into injury time.
Louis van Gaal made his intentions clear by selecting a strong XI featuring the likes of Wayne Rooney, Herrera, Radamel Falcao and David de Gea but that star-studded XI had minimal impact on an opening half in which United struggled to forge clear-cut openings.
The game was brought to a halt for a lengthy spell in the 20th minute following a clash of heads between Paddy McNair and Kieffer Moore, although both players were able to continue.
There were few promising first-half moments as slack passing undermined United’s efforts.
Van Gaal’s obvious displeasure was best summed up by his decision to make two half-time changes, introducing Juan Mata and Jonny Evans as he switched to a 4-4-2 diamond.
But United should have been behind in the 55th minute when Moore hit a shot straight at De Gea from six yards after Evans had inadvertently flicked a cross into his path.
Yeovil were rueing that miss when Herrera broke the deadlock in spectacular fashion after 64 minutes.
Darren Fletcher’s attempted pass deflected 25 yards from goal and, having turned 180 degrees, the Spaniard unleashed a spectacular first-time volley that left Steer with no chance.
Yeovil came back into the game impressively after Rooney had curled a free-kick over, with Di Maria – also returning from injury off the bench – required to head Joe Edwards’ goal-bound header off the line.
But, after Rooney had uncharacteristically fluffed his lines from 12 yards, the Argentine winger’s most telling contribution came at the other end as he raced clear on the end of Rooney’s throughball and superbly chipped Steer to finish the job.
