Northampton 0 Man Utd 3
Northampton Town 0 Manchester United 3, Sixfields Stadium, English FA Cup Fourth Round, January 25, 2004. Manchester United progressed to the next round of the FA Cup at the expense of Third Division outfit Northampton Town. The Premier League club eventually won the encounter 3–0 thanks to goals from Mikael Silvestre and Diego Forlan, plus an own goal by Town midfielder Chris Hargreaves.
Northampton Town had overcome Football League First Division team Rotherham United 2-1 at Millmoor in the previous round of the competition, whereas Manchester United had edged out fellow Premier League club Aston Villa 2-1 at Villa Park to progress further in the tournament. Manchester United were awarded a somewhat controversial penalty by referee Steve Bennett in the third minute of the game after Cristiano Ronaldo had apparently been fouled by former England U20 player Chris Carruthers inside the 18-yard area, but Diego Forlan´s subsequent spot kick was superbly saved by home shot stopper Lee Harper. The FA Barclaycard Premiership giants went into the lead against Northampton anyway as French international defender Mikael Silvestre managed to beat the Sixfields Stadium goalkeeper from just a few yards out after a scramble in the goalmouth three minutes past the half-hour mark. Following the resumption, Manchester United doubled the advantage through an own goal from Chris Hargreaves two minutes into the second half before Forlan redeemed himself by finding the back of the net in the 68th minute of the contest. Northampton Town Team: Lee Harper, Des Lyttle, Chris Carruthers, Paul Reid, Ian Sampson, Chris Willmott, Chris Hargreaves, Greg Lincoln, Martin Reeves, Derek Asamoah, Martin Smith. Substitutes: Luke Chambers, Paul Harsley, Marc Richards, Magno Silva Vieira, Glyn Thompson. Manchester United Team: Roy Carroll, Wesley Brown, John O’Shea, Mikael Silvestre, Nicky Butt, Darren Fletcher, Quinton Fortune, Paul Scholes, Cristiano Ronaldo, David Bellion, Diego Forlan. Substitutes: Phil Bardsley, Danny Pugh, Kieran Richardson, Roy Keane, Timothy Howard.
Manchester United Quickfacts
Manchester United defeated Fourth Division Northampton Town 8-2 at the County Ground in the 5th round of the FA Cup on the 7th of February 1970, with George Best scoring six of the goals.
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