After a day of near-tropical rain, in front of about 4000 Ferencváros and 50 Blades supporter, the game started. United started with Paddy Kenny, Geary, Morgan, Ehiogu, Naysmith, Gillespie, Tonge, Hendrie, Speed, Stead, and Webber. Ferencváros had a new keeper in the team, Jan-Michael Williams, T&T international, who has arrived with the Blades on Sunday. He was stationed in the Belgian sister club. Ashmore and Liban Abdi also started.
In the very first minute the Ferencváros new keeper rushed out of his goal in an extremely nonsensical way, Danny Webber took advantage of it and scored right away.(0-1) Fradi have started very nervously and the Blades were in total control. In the tenth minute a series of blunders by Fradi's central defensive pair cost another goal, Danny Webber scored with ease.(0-2) Slowly Ferencváros came back to the game, which was at this point a fairly good tempo game with a lot of misplaced passes. In the twenty-ninth minute, Ferencváros' Csiszár scored with an unstoppable, powerful header from Igor Szkukalek's free kick. In the rest of the period, Ferencváros had the upper hand, but just ever so slightly.
Fradi had changed their whole XI for the second half, while United brought in Carney, Killgallon, Stephen Quinn, Bennett and Armstrong. Ferencváros started pushing; Matthew Bartholomew and Aaron Downing (both young T&T prospects who came over from Belgium) have used their amazing speed to cause trouble in United's defensive line, but with no end product. In the middle of the second half, the game came to a stop, both teams were happy to slow the game down.
In the eighty-first minute United's third goal came out of nowhere, Stead went down the left wing, he crossed the ball in to Hendrie, who shot immediately, the keeper parried it, but the goal bounced to the feet of Billy Sharp, who slotted it in.(1-3) Ferencváros answered right away, when Lamine's shot changed direction on Morgan, and it went past Bennett.(2-3) In the following ten minutes Ferencváros pushed hard and dominated, but apart from a goal-line clearance after a tumultuous scene following a corner, with no result. A draw might have been a more fair result, but United's more experienced team carried the game home.
Kevin Blackwell said during the post game press conference that the game, he felt, was a stern test this early in pre-season, and felt that the Ferencváros have progressed very well since the March game. He was satisfied with his team, and might I add, rightfully so.
*Blades Mad would like to thank Messageboard user Fradista for the Match Report.