Sir Alex Ferguson claimed Ben Foster will be rewarded with the England goalkeeper’s jersey if he waits patiently for his chance at Manchester United.
The 24-year-old produced a match-winning display in the visitors 1-0 win against Orlando Pirates in Durban on Tuesday.
United, who fielded several youngsters against the South African team, emerged victorious thanks to Lee Martin’s first-half goal, but it required two good second-half saves by Foster, from Lebogang Mothibantwa and Joseph Makhanya, to secure United’s victory.
PHOTO: EPA
The once-capped England keeper has recently returned from a cruciate knee ligament injury that restricted him to just one senior appearance for United last season and boss Ferguson admits that Foster has all the attributes to become his country’s first-choice for years to come.
“I can see Ben being England’s goalkeeper for the next few years and his return to fitness is good news for England,” Ferguson said.
“With David James, a really experienced keeper, back in the England squad, it shows that a young keeper like Ben has got a real chance,” he said. “But Edwin van der Sar has been one of the best goalkeepers of all time and he will start the season in goal for us at United.”
“Edwin is approaching 38, but he could easily go on until he is 40. Ben is young and has at least 15 years ahead of him, so there is no need for him to panic because his time will come,” Ferguson said.
The speed of Foster’s return from injury surprised Ferguson, whose side drew 1-1 with Kaizer City Chiefs in their opening match at the weekend. He admitted that he was caught out by the youngster’s rapid comeback from the second cruciate injury of his career.
Ferguson said: “We didn’t expect Ben back so quickly and that is why I did not name him in my European squad for the Champions League.”
“When we saw the way he performed in his one game for us at Derby, it was something of a regret, but we were fortunate in that we had Edwin and Tomasz Kuszczak, so we weren’t too bad in that department. Ben has real ability, though, and he will certainly be challenging for a first-team place this season,” he said.
Ferguson’s latest crop of youngsters grabbed their chance to shine against an unconvincing Pirates outfit and Martin, Fraizer Campbell and Chris Eagles all gave glimpses of their potential.
Eagles almost teed up Carlos Tevez for an opener on seven minutes with a neat pass that saw the Argentinian test keeper Senzo Meyiwa.
And Martin also forced Meyiwa into action with a low shot after being released following a one-two between Tevez and Michael Carrick.
Martin gave United the lead on 23 minutes, though, after Wes Brown and Campbell had combined to tee up the midfielder.
Brown’s flick-on to Campbell was headed into Martin’s path in the penalty area and the youngster beat Meyiwa with a low strike into the far corner.
Campbell, who netted 15 goals in a loan spell with Premier League new-boys Hull City last term, could have doubled United’s lead on 42 minutes with a right-foot strike that glanced wide from 10m.
United were comfortably dealing with the Pirates until the 65th minute, when Foster produced a fingertip save to push Mothibantwa’s long-range effort over the crossbar.
The South Africans were suddenly causing United problems at the back, prompting Ferguson to call Rooney and Scholes off the bench on 69 minutes in an effort to turn the tide back in United’s favor.
And the switch almost paid immediate dividends when Scholes forced keeper Senzo into another save with a long-range effort from Rooney’s lay-off.
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