Match Report: Sunderland vs Manchester United 07/01/2014

Black Cats have one paw in the final as they edge the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final clash with Manchester United 2-1 at the Stadium of Light.

Manchester United went into the first leg of this semi-final with one thing on their mind: victory. Having lost two games on the bounce including being knocked out of the FA Cup by Swansea, the red devils were desperate to prove their worth by taking control of this tie in order to make it easier to progress to the final at Wembley after the second leg at Old Trafford in just over two weeks' time.

Sunderland were keen to join a long list of teams that had finally managed to beat the Champions this season for the first time in many years. The Black Cats hadn't won a game against United since 2000 and a win in this home tie would make it six straight wins at The Stadium of Light in cup competitions this season, a welcome change from their Premier League form which has them in the relegation places sat at the bottom of the table.

United had a number of players unavailable from injury and suspension with Fabio suspended and Wayne Rooney, Robin Van Persie, Phil Jones, Nani, Ashley Young, Rio Ferdinand and Marouane Fellaini all sidelined with various problems. Gus Poyet's squad were missing Spaniard Carlos Cuellar and goalkeeper Kieran Westwood through hip and shoulder injuries respectively. However former United defenders Wes Brown, John O'shea and Phil Bardsley all started for the home club.

It was a first half of little opportunity early on as both sides struggled to get a decent foothold in the game, especially in the final third. It took 25 minutes for United to create a proper chance as Giggs ran at the defence and unleashed a powerful shot that struck the bar. It was good work from United's veteran midfielder and this started a good spell for the away side, although Giggs was next at fault as he was found half a yard offside when Januzaj had put the ball in the net from 12 yards.

The game became slightly scrappy as the half drew to a close, although Bardlsey had a decent effort on target beaten away by De Gea and Giggs was given plenty of space to try and hurt Sunderland down the left. The Welsh winger did finally get the ball in the back of the net before half time, although it was at the wrong end of the pitch when his touch off a Wes Brown cross turned the ball into his own net.

The goal came in first half injury time to brighten up what would have been described as a pretty mediocre first half. Larsson's well placed deep free-kick was volleyed back across goal by Brown and Giggs, trying to prevent Bardsley from diverting it in, inadvertently put the ball past De Gea himself. It was just the lift Sunderland needed going into the break and was a nightmare end to the half for David Moyes and his men, who were beginning to look like the stronger side.

United started the second half brightly, constantly pouring forward with Carrick pulling the strings from midfield. It wasn't long before Sunderland's defence wavered and Vidic headed in for the equaliser. Cleverley's corner in from the left allowed the United Captain to tower over former reds O'shea and Brown and head past Mannone.

Around the hour mark both sides made substitutions to try and find a way to get ahead in the tie. Poyet took Giaccherini off and brought Johnson on whilst Moyes was forced to replace Evans with Smalling. It was Sunderland who began to look likeliest to get a goal as Larsson hit a fine strike that forced a fabulous save from De Gea. Shortly after this the home side were awarded a penalty as substitute Johnson was felled in the box from a Cleverley challenge. It was a soft penalty but there did look to be minor contact as Cleverley went for the ball from an awkard angle. Referee Andre Marriner initially waved away the claims until his assistant advised him that contact was made and after this he gave the penalty. On-loan striker Borini stepped up to take it and calmy slotted it into the roof of the net to give the home team the advantage.

United tried to get back on terms in the final minutes with Januzaj causing problems throughout, but without their front men Rooney and Van Persie they struggled for some quality in front of goal. The first leg ended with Sunderland having a one-goal advantage to take to Old Trafford in a couple of weeks. David Moyes will be hoping his side's awful home form will finally start to improve by the time the second leg comes around so that they can secure a place in the final at Wembley. It would certainly ensure that there are some positives to take from this difficult transitional season without Sir Alex Ferguson.