LONDON, Nov 6: England captain David Beckham was on target for Manchester United in their League Cup third round match Tuesday just days after police foiled an alleged plot to kidnap his wife.
Beckham, making a rare start for United in the competition, slotted home an 80th-minute penalty in a 2-0 victory at Old Trafford over first division high-flyers Leicester City.
Wigan Athletic and Preston North End provided the giantkilling acts as English premier league clubs Manchester City and Birmingham City were dumped out.
Second division Wigan defeated Kevin Keegan’s City 1-0 with a first-half strike from Neil Roberts while first division Preston, managed by former Scotland coach Craig Brown, overcame 10-man Birmingham 2-0 at St Andrews.
Alex Ferguson, in a marked change from previous seasons, named a strong Manchester United side to face Leicester, starting with seven of the team that featured in United’s 2-1 premier league win over Southampton at the weekend.
It was not plain sailing for the former English champions though and it needed Beckham ’s penalty, awarded for Andrew Impey’s foul on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and a last-minute header from substitute Kieran Richardson to take them through.
Wigan were good value for their victory over a lacklustre City side at the JJB Stadium although they had only Roberts’s 35th-minute goal to show for their dominance.
City’s miserable night was completed with central defenders Steve Howey and Sylvain Distin both hobbling off injured ahead of their local derby with United on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Ricardo Fuller and U.S. international Eddie Lewis earned Preston victory against a Birmingham side reduced to 10 men on 28 minutes when striker Geoff Horsfield was shown a straight red card for violent conduct.
Lewis set up Jamaican international Fuller for the opener on 59 minutes before sealing a surprise win 10 minutes from time with a fine strike. In the night’s other tie, Rotherham won 3-1 at Wimbledon in front of just 664 fans at Selhurst Park.
Tuesday’s results:
Birmingham City 0 Preston 2
Manchester United 2 Leicester 0
Wigan 1 Manchester City 0
Wimbledon 1 Rotherham 3
—Reuters