FA Cup 2006-2007: Reading Vs Manchester United , Feb 27, 2007

Brave Royals undone early on Manchester United struck three times in the opening six minutes to seal a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals with a 3-2 win at Reading. Enjoy the highlights below :). 'It was incredible - I was preparing for extra time' Ferguson admits his side were fortunate but accuses Coppell's team of cynically targeting Louis Saha. Sir Alex Ferguson admitted that Manchester United almost blew their treble chance during a pulsating 90 minutes at Reading last night. The Premiership leaders raced into a 3-0 lead within six minutes of the kick-off and a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals appeared assured. But despite the Champions League experience of players such as Rio Ferdinand, Louis Saha, Gabriel Heinze and John O'Shea in a United team whose starting line up had cost more than £60m to assemble, United were not impervious. The resilience of the Reading second string - six of whose number had made fewer than five Premiership starts this season - ensured there would be several anxious minutes for the United manager. First Dave Kitson and then the substitute Leroy Lita pulled back goals. "It was an incredible game and I was thinking to myself I have to prepare for extra-time," said Ferguson. "I told Paul Scholes to get ready because I thought we'd lost momentum. We rode our luck. "Without question with us scoring the goals so quickly it gave us the impression this was easy. But football's not like that and in a cup tie anything can happen, of course. They got their goal when we defended badly from a corner kick; it just gave them a glimmer and the belief they could still be in the game. "In a cup tie it's never plain sailing. You have to go through a lot of different situations. But I think from a spectator's point of view it was a fantastic game." Even Steve Coppell managed to enjoy a match in which he had spent the opening period slumped in his seat. Each goal conceded appeared like a body blow to the Reading manager as he sought refuge behind his hands. But the manner of his side's valiant if vain comeback had the former United winger gushing about his team's capacities. "It's not often I say that there is honour in defeat but I can give that compliment tonight," he said. "They are warriors, they do not lay down and die, they keep coming back again and again and that is one of their best qualities. Sources: guardian.co.uk, teamtalk.com/