FA Cup - Shrewsbury Town 0-3 Manchester United: Player Ratings
Manchester United swept aside Shrewsbury Town 3-0 in the FA Cup to keep Louis Van Gaal’s hopes of laying hands on a silverware with United alive. Chris Smalling opened the scoring for visitors in the 37th minute, Juan Mata then extended United’s lead with a well placed free-kick over the wall at the tail end of the first half.
Jesse Lingard then scored in the 61st minute for United to seal the victory and an entry into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup where they will face West Ham United at Old Trafford next month.
Here’s how each player fared in the match,
Shrewsbury Town
Jayson Leutwiler – (6/10)
The Shrewsbury shot-stopper made a good early save to deny Martial from close range, however, he was unlucky when Smalling’s shot rebounded his defender and went into the goal. He was helpless as Mata and Lingard scored two more goals later in the match.
Junior Brown – (7/10)
The fullback was one of the few better performers from the Shrewsbury side on the night. While he did good to track down Lingard on some occasions, he showed his attacking prowess too.
Jermaine Grandison – (6/10)
Grandison started the match well and made some important interceptions in the former stages of the match. However, he faded as the match went on and was not able to save his team from a 3-0 defeat.
Zak Whitbread – (6/10)
The central defender was guilty of the foul on Martial which led to Mata scoring the resulting free kick late into the first half. He also failed to keep the United attackers in check for the majority of the match.
Nathaniel Knight-Percival – (5.5/10)
The 28-year-old’s contribution was minimal as he was sometimes left helpless by Martial’s pace and creativity. He was substituted for Larnell Cole at half-time.
Jack Grimmer – (6.5/10)
Grimmer was another decent performer on the night for the hosts after Brown. While he had a below par first half, he raised his game in the second half and showed more courage going forward. He sent in a couple of beautiful crosses but his attackers failed to convert them.
Shaun Whalley – (5/10)
Whalley was given the duty to provide the extra stability to an already bulging 5-man defence. However, he failed miserably in controlling Mata from dictating the play as United went on to win the match.
Ian Black – (5/10)
Black was ineffective in the midfield for a large part of the match. He was not able to prevent Schneiderlin from bossing the midfield.
Abumere Ogogo – (6/10)
Ogogo made some vital tackles and interceptions during the initial stages of the match. He failed to maintain that level later on and was guilty of missing two back-to-back chances late in the match.
Jean-Louis Akpa-Akprove – (5/10)
The French striker had a disappointing outing. He failed to assert his authority and was later taken off for Jordan Clark in the 81st minute
Andy Mangan – (5/10)
Mangan seemed lost and was left isolated up front along with Akprove due to the lack of deliveries.
Substitutes:
Lamell Cole – (6/10)
He was brought on for Knight-Percival at half-time to enhance the team’s attack as Shrewsbury switched from five at the back to four. However, he did not see much of the ball.
Jordan Clark – N/A
He was brought on for Akprove in the 81st minute of the match.