Neville a devil on United return

Gary Neville played his first match for seven months for Manchester United reserves last night, but his performance suggested he is a long way from a first team return.

Sidelined since he hurt ankle ligaments in March, the 32-year-old put in a distinctly rusty performance in a Manchester Senior Cup clash against Stockport and was lucky to stay on.

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He picked up a yellow card on 19 minutes for a clumsy lunge at Danny Ellis, then was slow to react eight minutes later when Ellis nipped in front to get a decisive touch which deflected off Neville into the net.

Playing centre back, Neville was fortunate to escape a first half dismissal after another late challenge on Anthony Pilkington.

Neville showed no sign of a recurrence of his injury but went off on 57 minutes with United 2-1 up before they completed a 6-1 win.