SIR Alex Ferguson hailed the impact of new signing Michael Owen after he came off the bench to grab the winner for Manchester United in Kuala Lumpur.
Owen struck three minutes from time after Federico Macheda had seen his shot saved.
"It was a typical Michael Owen goal," said Ferguson.
"He was the first man to react, which is just what you would expect."
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Ferguson revealed he was always likely to leave Owen on the bench to start with but was not in the least bit surprised his new striker found the net immediately.
"I am sure he was looking forward to it," said Ferguson.
"When you consider the type of player Michael is, he was always going to be looking to score that type of goal.
"There was nothing unusual in it and he will be delighted to have got off the mark."
Ferguson confirmed Owen is likely to start Monday's re-arranged game against the same opposition along with Federico Macheda as he tries to ensure all his forwards are fit for the start of the new season.
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However, Owen could not have had a better start to his United career after his shock signing for the Red Devils.
And if Ferguson was happy with that, the same could also be said of Wayne Rooney, who scored United's opener in a 3-2 win.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez now departed for pastures new, all eyes will be on Rooney.
"You are seeing maturity from him now, which is what you expect from all young players," said Ferguson.
"I don't believe he needs to look at anything but himself because we know there is a lot of improvement to come from him yet.
"Wayne is not the finished article by any means."
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Not only did Rooney make a goalscoring contribution to the win, he set up United's second for Nani with a precise defence-splitting pass.
It seemed to have set the Red Devils on the road to an easy victory only for Mohammed Amri Yahyah to pull the Malaysian outfit level with goals either side of the interval.
The second was a personal disaster for Ben Foster, who mis-controlled Darron Gibson's back pass after replacing Edwin van der Sar at the break to provide Yahyah with a tap-in.
For a player looking to put some pressure on Van der Sar this term in order to prove worthy of being United's new number one when the veteran Dutchman hangs up his gloves in the summer, it was not the ideal start to the season.
However, Ferguson did not appear too distressed and insisted he has plenty of faith in the former Stoke man.
"Ben has had ligament damage in his finger and that was his first game for a few months," said the United boss.
"It was a big day for him coming back after such a long time and I am not too concerned.
"I have said I think he will be England's number one keeper and I still believe that."
"It was a typical Michael Owen goal," said Ferguson.
"He was the first man to react, which is just what you would expect."
mfl
Ferguson revealed he was always likely to leave Owen on the bench to start with but was not in the least bit surprised his new striker found the net immediately.
"I am sure he was looking forward to it," said Ferguson.
"When you consider the type of player Michael is, he was always going to be looking to score that type of goal.
"There was nothing unusual in it and he will be delighted to have got off the mark."
Ferguson confirmed Owen is likely to start Monday's re-arranged game against the same opposition along with Federico Macheda as he tries to ensure all his forwards are fit for the start of the new season.
mfl
However, Owen could not have had a better start to his United career after his shock signing for the Red Devils.
And if Ferguson was happy with that, the same could also be said of Wayne Rooney, who scored United's opener in a 3-2 win.
With Cristiano Ronaldo and Carlos Tevez now departed for pastures new, all eyes will be on Rooney.
"You are seeing maturity from him now, which is what you expect from all young players," said Ferguson.
"I don't believe he needs to look at anything but himself because we know there is a lot of improvement to come from him yet.
"Wayne is not the finished article by any means."
mfl
Not only did Rooney make a goalscoring contribution to the win, he set up United's second for Nani with a precise defence-splitting pass.
It seemed to have set the Red Devils on the road to an easy victory only for Mohammed Amri Yahyah to pull the Malaysian outfit level with goals either side of the interval.
The second was a personal disaster for Ben Foster, who mis-controlled Darron Gibson's back pass after replacing Edwin van der Sar at the break to provide Yahyah with a tap-in.
For a player looking to put some pressure on Van der Sar this term in order to prove worthy of being United's new number one when the veteran Dutchman hangs up his gloves in the summer, it was not the ideal start to the season.
However, Ferguson did not appear too distressed and insisted he has plenty of faith in the former Stoke man.
"Ben has had ligament damage in his finger and that was his first game for a few months," said the United boss.
"It was a big day for him coming back after such a long time and I am not too concerned.
"I have said I think he will be England's number one keeper and I still believe that."
Copyright (c) Press Association
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