United could easily have lost to an Aston Villa side deploying the 3-5-2 system to great effect. Sara Curcic drilled wide of each post after good work by Dwight Yorke. The deadlock exploded in the 38th minute, when Beckham reacted angrily to Staunton’s challenge from behind, swinging round and throwing a punch. Beckham was lucky that referee Steve Lodge failed to produce the red card the offence merited. It was Villa who were supercharged, pouring forward as Savo Milosevic’s shot on the run just wide and another header from the Serb. Ferguson’s heart must have been in his mouth when Yorke then found the United net 8 minutes later only for the effort to be ruled out by an errant offside flag.