Article by Mark Graham, Stats Nerd

Match Review
F.A. Cup 4th Round: Manchester United 3 v 1 Portsmouth, Old Trafford, 17.15pm K.O. Saturday 27th January 2007.
Goals: Manchester United: Rooney (77), (83) Portsmouth: Kanu (87)
Attendance: 71,137

A Wayne Rooney late brace gave United a free ticket into the 5th Round of the FA Cup after an organised if not a little fortunate Portsmouth said goodbye for another season. SAF decided to rest Rooney, Ronaldo & EVDS and with Saha nursing a knee injury OGS & Larsson would be partners in attack. United created many chances throughout the game and had two legitimate goals disallowed before Rooney coming off the bench late to salvage the tie which should have been won earlier.

As the game started Portsmouth had a rear surge (if not the only) into the United’s penalty area with O’ Niell and for most Reds it was a hairy moment as Tomasz Kuszczak dashed from his goal at the feet of O ‘Neill only for the Portsmouth player to make a meal out of the challenge & hope for a penalty, which he was denied.

Ironically Portuguese international Mendes would again be in the headlines with a dubious goal at Old Trafford after Vidic thumped a headed effort into the net, the ball bounced clearly over the line as replays showed only for Mendes to scoop the ball away from danger & the referee & linesman both fail to spot the goal & waved play on.
United started then to turn the screw as possession came easy & Pompey keeper David James was tested on a number of occasions each pushing the England keeper to the limit, Debutant Lauren deflected a Giggs cross goal bound & Michael Carrick headed from some excellent Ryan Giggs corner, only for James to save & keep Portsmouth in the tie and the score 0-0 at half time.

At the start of the second period Richard Primus headed an effort over the bar and that was almost Portsmouth only effort for the entire second half, then the second instalment controversy as another goal another cock-up saw Henrik Larsson's master volley matched only by the assisting Seba Veron like scooped pass from Gary Neville disallowed for offside even though the replays showed a legitimate goal.
After Rooney was introduced on the hour United found the net as a brilliant pass set Ryan Giggs on a run into the box & the 682 games young veteran squared the ball for Rooney to open the scoring, Rooney’s next had Genius at work written all over it, after collecting a Neville ball outside the box The White Pele looked up, dropped his shoulder & chipped a stranded David James who stood planted on the spot beaten by a goal of God like Wonderment.
United fans were given a late scare as man of the moment Mendez had his shot ricocheted off former Arsenal man Kanu which sent Kuszczak the wrong way and gave the Old Trafford crowd a nervy few minutes, in almost the last kick of the match, Ji Sung Park could have made it three as as a excellent tackle saw him bear down on goal only for a poor poor finish as he tried to thread his shot through the eye of a needle at David James near post, only for the woodwork to rattle and ball to go harmlessly wide.

United Starting Line-up
Rant Ratings in parenthesis
Kuszczak (5); Neville (7), Vidic (8), Ferdinand (9), Evra;  Park  (6), Carrick (7), Scholes (7), Giggs (4); Solskjaer (5), Larsson (6).
Subs Used: Rooney (9) for Solskjaer, Fletcher (6) for Giggs (85 mins).
Subs not used: van der Sar, O'Shea, Silvestre.

United's Man of the Match
Apart from Rooney with two goals and a Cantona esq chip, Ferdinand for probably the 1st time this year out played his defensive partner as Rio was totally dominant with no lapses, just pure class defending.

Rants Reaction
Ole & Larsson seem to be too similar in styles and movement did seem stagnant in attack, with most of the ball going to an off form Ryan Giggs the Welsh Winger seemed to loose the attacking flare as he lost his touch for build up & our attacking play, hence Ole & Larsson's low marks, however on the plus side Giggs did provide an assist for Rooney's equaliser.

Was Rant's Prediction Right?
We said 3-0, United Rant 6 v 29 Wrong Predictions.

Milestones
Wayne Rooney's 3rd & 4th FA Cup goals of his United career & 46th & 47th goals overall.
Ryan Giggs is now tied with Bill Foulkes on 682 Competitive matches for Manchester United.

Miscellaneous Info
United’s next match is on Wednesday 31st January 2007 at Home to Watford in the Premiership, 20.00pm K.O.