CARDIFF, 23 May 2004 — Manchester United fought off a brave but ultimately toothless challenge from the lions of Millwall to win the FA Cup final 3-0 and lift the trophy for a record 11th time yesterday.
A first-half header from Portuguese teenager Cristiano Ronaldo and two goals after the break from Dutchman Ruud Van Nistelrooy — the first a penalty — gave United a deserved win over a Millwall side attempting to become the first team from outside the top division to win the cup for 24 years.
But they were outclassed in their first FA Cup final appearance as United, oozing class and pedigree despite not having to play their best, dominated a largely disappointing one-sided match to win the cup for the first time since 1999.
Manchester United’s Alex Ferguson, the first man to lead a team in five FA Cup final victories, said afterward: “We’re delighted, as you should be, to win the FA Cup.”
Millwall’s consolation from an afternoon when the first division side were never able to bridge the gulf in class, is a place in next season’s UEFA Cup as United, who came third in the Premier League, are in the Champions League qualifying round.
Millwall were almost continually forced to defend and there was no way back for them after Ronaldo, the outstanding player on the field, headed United ahead after 44 minutes to become the fourth youngest scorer in FA Cup final history.
The match effectively ended as a contest after 65 minutes when Ryan Giggs was sent tumbling by Millwall’s David Livermore with referee Jeff Winter, officiating for the last time before retiring, immediately pointing to the penalty spot.
Van Nistelrooy, who apart from a fourth minute header had been largely anonymous, lashed the ball into the roof of Andy Marshall’s net as he took the first cup final penalty since Eric Cantona scored two for United against Chelsea 10 years ago.
Larsson Gets Double to Leave Celtic With Cup Win
In Glasgow, Sweden striker Henrik Larsson enjoyed a glorious end to his Celtic career when he scored twice to help secure a 3-1 Scottish Cup final victory over Dunfermline Athletic to wrap up the domestic double yesterday.
The prolific Larsson assumed center stage to spoil spirited Dunfermline’s hopes of a first cup success since 1968 after they took the lead through Andrius Skerla’s 40th minute header. The Swede raced away to coolly slot home the equalizer after 58 minutes before brilliantly turning Dunfermline’s Aaron Labone to drill a 71st minute shot into the corner of the net.
Bulgarian midfielder Stilian Petrov wrapped up the win after 84 minutes when he drove the ball home as the underdogs wilted.
Bayern Finish Runners-Up in Hitzfeld Farewell
In Berlin, Bayern Munich secured a Champions League spot with a 2-0 victory over SC Freiburg yesterday in their final Bundesliga game of the season and their last under coach Ottmar Hitzfeld. The outgoing champions finish runners-up to Werder Bremen and will enter the group phase of European club soccer’s premier event.
Bayern end the season without a title and Hitzfeld has been told to leave to make room for Felix Magath, who will join from VfB Stuttgart. Werder, who sealed their fourth crown with two games to spare, signed off with a 3-1 defeat at Hansa Rostock.
Bayer Leverkusen snatched third place and a ticket to the qualifying round of the Champions League with a 2-0 win over VfB Stuttgart, who will have to be content with fourth place and a UEFA Cup spot.
Modest VfL Bochum will also play in Europe after crowning a surprise late run with a 3-1 win over Hanover 96 which gave them fifth place in the final standings.
Borussia Dortmund ended a disappointing season with a 1-1 draw at Kaiserslautern and finish sixth, narrowly missing out on a UEFA Cup spot. TSV 1860 Munich and Eintracht Frankfurt were relegated after defeats that left them second and third from bottom respectively.
TSV 1860 lost 3-1 at Borussia Moenchengladbach while Eintracht lost 2-1 at Hamburg SV.
