07 October 2023 , 17:00
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Scott McTominay had become Manchester United’s forgotten man until deep into injury time against Brentford.
But in the space of three dramatic minutes that rolled back the years at Old Trafford, the Scotland midfielder suddenly rejuvenated a career that was going down the pan. McTominay suddenly produced two moments of quality to drag victory from the jaws of defeat to stun Brentford boss Thomas Frank and his shell-shocked team.
The irony wasn’t lost on Old Trafford either on the day United’s players wore black armbands after the sad passing of Sir Alex Ferguson’s wife Cathy. This was Fergie Time sent from the heavens - and didn’t United and Ten Hag just love it.
United were trailing after a 26th-minute goal from Mathias Jensen that was a comedy of errors from a United defence that just keeps imploding. But United still have spirit if not the menace of old and they hammered on the door to try and get back into the game with plenty of huff and puff even if quality was lacking.
Having had a late goal ruled out by VAR after substitute Anthony Martial was judged offside before Nathan Collins turned the ball into his own net, United were staring at a fifth League defeat of the season. Cue McTominay, coming on in the 87th minute for Sofyan Amrabat, to turn the game on its head and send Old Trafford into raptures.
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In the third minute of injury time, he first beat Thomas Strakosha with a powerful right footed snapshot after a half clearance by Collins. Then, with the six minutes of added time almost up he headed past Strakosha after Maguire, recalled to the team, had headed on a Fernandes free-kick.
The stadium went ballistic, Brentford players sank to their knees and when the final whistle went McTominay was mobbed by grateful team-mates who were heading for more fierce criticism. Is this the start of United’s season or just a papering over the cracks?
Scott McTominay was the hero for Erik ten Hag against BrentfordMaybe the international break has come at the wrong time and Ten Hag might wish he could bottle the positivity and momentum United created in those closing moments, only time will tell. Until McTominay’s timely arrival, the knives were being sharpened again after another below-par performance from United.
United players seem to be queuing up these days to press the self-destruct button. This time it was Casemiro, Lindelof and Onana combining seamlessly to hand the lead to Brentford.
First, the Brazilian midfielder lost the ball to Bryan Mbeumo putting United’s shaky defence in grave danger. Lindelof tried and failed to clear the loose ball which landed for Jensen who found enough pace on his shot to squeeze a low shot past struggling Onana.
The former Inter Milan keeper should have saved Jensen’s weak shot and it was another high profile mistake - one perhaps David De Gea wouldn’t have made despite not being as clever with his feet as the Cameroonian international. He did redeem himself with an excellent save from Neal Maupay late on and had Diogo Dalot for clearing off the line soon after.
A much needed win maybe, but ten Hag still has plenty of problems to solve before United resume at Sheffield United following the internationals. Not least the form of Casemiro and Rashford who have fallen off a cliff. For now, though, the heat is off for the Dutchman.