Malaysia XI 0 Man Utd 2:Michael Owen was on the mark again as Manchester United wrapped up the Malaysian leg of their Far East tour with another comfortable win. The former England striker got United's second, just two minutes after Federico Macheda's 11th-minute opener, which proved to be the end of the scoring for United, despite their domination.
Despite the supposedly friendly nature of the contest, Wayne Rooney had plenty of fire in him as he reacted badly to a penalty area challenge when really he would have been better advised to let the matter rest.
Given the humid conditions, it was hardly a surprise Alex Ferguson fielded an entirely different starting line-up to the one he named for the first game between the teams on Saturday.
On that occasion, Owen grabbed the late winner to save his side’s blushes in a less-than-convincing 3-2 win.
This time around, the former Liverpool striker scored the second, showing his usual predatory instincts after the home defence had made a woeful attempt at clearing a Zoran Tosic cross.
While no-one could doubt the enthusiasm of the home supporters, around 30,000 turned out at just 48 hours notice for a game hastily arranged after the Jakarta terrorist attack last Friday ruled out a planned visit to Indonesia, the opposition was not of high quality.
Better will be expected of FC Seoul on Friday, by which time United’s fitness levels will have improved as a result of the training they have done in such intense heat.
Owen is certainly enjoying himself, and came close to grabbing his second when he met a low Tosic cross with a near-post flick that cannoned off the inside of a post.
Another forward with a desire to impress is Macheda, who made such a huge impression when he was introduced to senior ranks last term.
Now handed the coveted fourth striking berth following the exits of Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez, the 17-year-old needs to prove he has the consistency to be an effective Premier League operator at such a young age.
There was plenty to be admired about the calm way he finished off a Ryan Giggs cross to open United’s account just two minutes before Owen found the net.
Republic of Ireland midfielder Darron Gibson was one of those to impress, showing why Ferguson has handed him a new contract.
Wes Brown was the only man to complete a full 90 minutes, although the England star will probably be happy with that given the injury torment he went through last term, when a foot problem effectively wrecked his season.
There was still no goal for Dimitar Berbatov though as the Bulgarian nodded a free header straight at Mohammed Farizal Marlias. And Anderson, who has never scored for United, missed another decent chance near the end.
