Crewe - 0 Manchester Utd - 3: Pizza was off the menu at Gresty Road last night so Manchester United tucked into the Crewe defence instead as they breezed through their League Cup encounter.
Providing he avoided being attacked by more flying food, Alex Ferguson will have enjoyed a post-match glass of red wine in the company of Dario Gradi, the only manager in England to have been in a job longer than the Scot, and reflect on yet another job well done.
Alan Smith's clinically-taken 10th-minute opener ensured the visitors always had some degree of comfort against a spirited Crewe outfit, who forced returning goalkeeper Tim Howard into a series of decent stops, before they were undone by two goals in as many minutes just before the hour mark.
The home fans were happy to turn out for United's first visit to Gresty Road no matter who lined up in the famous red shirts. As it turned out, the away side were far stronger than anyone expected.
While Ferguson stuck by his pledge not to field any of the 11 players who started Sunday's bruising encounter with Arsenal, he still managed to find nine full internationals and a team whose combined transfer fee was around £35 million, not counting the value of the four players who have come through the ranks.
It has been over a month and six matches since Howard last started, a period of inactivity Ferguson believes the American will benefit from after being afflicted by a serious case of second-seasonitis.
The American certainly seemed confident enough and the visitors were indebted to him in the opening stages as Crewe enthusiastically pushed forward. In England Under-21 international Dean Ashton, Crewe have a player of true talent and it was one of the striker's blockbuster drives Howard beat away for his most impressive stop of the opening period.
Howard also rushed to block at Ashton's feet and then saved impressively from Steve Jones after Kenny Lunt had rolled an intelligent free-kick into the striker's path.
However, while Crewe played some decent football, it was United who predictably carried the greater threat. David Bellion saw an early effort flick off the post before Smith put the visitors in front.
The former Leeds man has found a goal touch many thought he lacked too and produced another smart finish to slot home Louis Saha's through ball with a first-time shot to the corner.
It took Smith's tally for the season to seven goals, two clear in the United scoring charts so Ferguson can look ahead to the next two Premiership games without suspended Ruud van Nistelrooy without the trepidation he might have felt in previous seasons.
Smith still retains a fierce temper though and the Yorkshireman's wild challenge from behind on Justin Cochrane made referee Matt Messias' notebook before the first half was over.
Just as they had kept Howard busy at the start of the opening period, so Crewe repeated the feat after half-time.
Roy Carroll's impressive form may consign the former Major League Soccer star to the first-team bench for a while yet but his rehabilitation is coming on fine judging by the excellent saves that denied David Vaughan and Jones, who was even outperforming Ashton.
Unfortunately for the hosts, they were unable to heed the age-old lesson of taking your chances when on top and two goals in as many minutes consolidated United's lead.
Bellion, along with Kleberson and Eric Djemba-Djemba, is often cited as one the poorer buys of Ferguson's illustrious Old Trafford reign. But the former Sunderland man's statistics are more impressive than his performances appear to be.
The French forward has already scored four times and last night added two assists of vastly contrasting quality.
First, he brilliantly split the Crewe defence to set up Liam Miller for his first senior goal since his summer move from Celtic, then his complete failure to control Saha's low cross saw the ball divert straight into the path of Stephen Foster, who was unable to prevent himself turning the ball into his own net.
The game petered out after that as United eased off, content to hold the Crewe attack at bay, although Ferguson was able to hand debuts to Spanish teenager Gerrard Pique and Sylvan Ebanks-Blake.
CREWE: Williams, Otsemobor, Billy Jones (Walker 85), Foster, Tonkin, Lunt, Sorvel (Rivers 63), Cochrane, Vaughan, Ashton, Steve Jones (White 68). Subs not used: Ince, Mark Roberts.
MAN UTD: Howard, Richardson, Brown, O'Shea (Gerard Pique 67), Djemba-Djemba, Miller, Fletcher (Eagles 78), Kleberson, Bellion (Ebanks-Blake 85), Smith, Saha. Subs not used: Spector, Ricardo. Booked: Smith. Goals: Smith 10, Miller 57, Foster 59 og.
Referee: M Messias (S Yorkshire)
