Michael Owen Shines as Manchester United Win Second Match Against Malaysia XI

Michael Owen has gotten off to a good start in his Manchester United career, having played a prominent role in the two matches against Malaysia this week. 

The second of these games wasn't even supposed to be played, but due to interference on the part of a terrorist group, Manchester United's planned tour of Indonesia has had to be postponed. 

As a result, Malaysian football fans were treated to a second opportunity to watch their national team play against the EPL champions, although nobody could be pleased about the circumstances by which this opportunity presented itself.

Nonetheless both teams once again provided solid entertainment for the spectators. The Malaysian team in particular did a good job, as they had played a very hard game in the first match and they could have been excused a loss by a greater margin this time.

Instead they played with the same tenacity and courage that they exhibited in the first match.  Unfortunately the chances just weren't there this time, as the Manchester United team lived up to its reputation.  Teamwork and unity were clearly on display in this game and it made a big difference to the result.

Manchester United jumped away quickly with a close-range goal from Federico Macheda approximately ten minutes in.  Not more than three minutes later, Owen kicked in the second goal, taking advantage of a momentary blunder by the defenders.

The Malaysians did not become discouraged, and as the game wore on they seemed to gain in confidence and began to apply more pressure.  In the end Manchester United were a much better team today, thanks mainly to their more united playing style, but also perhaps aided to some extent by the physical toll exacted on their opponents in the first match.

As for the terrorists, their cowardly and shameful acts have achieved nothing more than to reinforce long-standing prejudices and misconceptions about the religion that these misguided fools claim to represent, and to further damage the reputation of Indonesia.

It is very important to point out that the vast majority of Indonesians would not have supported these lunatic actions which have caused so much harm to their country. Each time something like this happens, the ordinary citizens of Indonesia are harmed by it, and it achieves nothing in terms of influencing Western politics.

So, please stop blowing things up.  It is totally pointless.

Fortunately for all concerned, Manchester United have not been scared away from touring Indonesia in the future, although just when that will be remains to be seen. 

Certainly the enthusiasm of the Indonesian people for the game is every bit as strong as that of the Malaysians, as reports have indicated that more than 70,000 tickets were sold for the cancelled match.  We can only hope it will not be too long before they get another chance.