Manchester United Battle For Vodacom Challenge Crown

Manchester United's visit to the southern tip of Africa saw an excellent encounter between the European Champions and the South African giants in a jam packed Newlands stadium in Cape Town.

Enthusiastic fans packed the stadium hoping to catch a glimpse of some of their heroes, while many United supporters thought they might see Manchester murder Kaizer Chiefs, they were disappointed. The home team came to the fore with a great display of energy and ability, impressing many including Sir Alex.

Brilliant goalkeeping kept the likes of Carlos Tevez and Paul Scholes out with a chance to get on the score sheet. While Chiefs persisted in getting a golden opportunity, Sipihwe Thabalala was brought down by the United skipper, which gave Chiefs a penalty. No problems for the youngster who netted the ball for a 1-0 lead.

United upped the tempo and started playing with a little more eagerness which allowed Tevez to cross the ball the area, and Eagles head home an equalizer. Both team continued to push on, but the hotly contested match ended in a draw.

Many say United were jet legged after a long flight from London to Cape Town. If that was the case we really are looking forward to Tuesday's game against the other Soweto giants, Pirates.

Manchester United will face Orlando Pirates at the Absa Stadium in Durban, another cracking encounter which will see thousands of fans flock to the stadium hoping for a high scoring game similar to the one we witnessed in the last Challenge, one where United beat Pirates 4-0.

In a press statement Sir Alex mentioned that a number of changes will be made to the team allowing all in squad to get a chance, the likes of Ferdinand, Silvestre and Carrick are said to be in the starting eleven as they missed out on the first game due to injury.

Ferguson will also have to keep an eye on his forwards, Rooney whose temper was rising after a harsh decision from the referee and Carlos Tevez who made a number of ruthless tackles in the opening game.

South Africa is nevertheless thrilled to have one of the best teams in the world visiting our shores. Many cannot wait for the next two game before United leave for Nigeria where they will play Portsmouth in what seems to be the curtain raiser for the Charity Shield.

Lets hope United have an excellent pre-season before the season starts and before they can once again dominate English and European football.