I was preparing for extra time - Ferguson

The Premiership leaders raced into a 3-0 lead within six minutes of the kick-off and a place in the FA Cup quarter-finals appeared assured. But despite the Champions League experience of players such as Rio Ferdinand, Louis Saha, Gabriel Heinze and John O'Shea in a United team whose starting line up had cost more than 60m to assemble, United were not impervious.

The resilience of the Reading second string - six of whose number had made fewer than five Premiership starts this season - ensured there would be several anxious minutes for the United manager.
First Dave Kitson and then the substitute Leroy Lita pulled back goals. "It was an incredible game and I was thinking to myself I have to prepare for extra-time," said Ferguson.