Despite playing the majority of the match with a man-advantage, Manchester United slumped to a very disappointing 2-1 defeat at the hands of the Kansas City Wizards.
United drew a record crowd of 52,424 at the newly-renovated Arrowhead Stadium, but that could not prevent them from losing their first match on the Tour 2010.
Dimitar Berbatov scored the lone goal of the match for United, but it was sandwiched between two Wizards goals - Davy Arnaud's neat finish and Kei Kamara's controversial goal.
Shocked
The Wizards took a shock lead early in the first-half when Arnaud broke free in behind the United defense, and calmly slotted the ball underneath an onrushing Ben Amos.
The Wizards could have very easily added to their lead, but they were unable to get on the end of the dangerous crosses or loose balls in the United area.
Five minutes before the break, United were awarded a penalty and finally on level terms.
However, they were somewhat fortunate, because Jimmy Conrad was adjudged to have brought down Berbatov from behind when it seemed that the defender nipped the ball out from the path of the Bulgarian center forward.
To make matters even worse for Conrad, he was given his marching orders by the referee and the Wizards were forced to play the rest of the match with just 10 men.
However, the level scoreline was very short-lived, because Kamara's controversial header restored the Wizards' lead just seconds later, but as the television replays showed, the ball did not fully cross the line.
Punished
As they have done all tour long, United lacked the consistent quality that has been needed to see off lesser-skilled teams.
Against two of Major League Soccer's worst teams, United have performed well below their glittering best, which can only concern Sir Alex Ferguson.
Many have said that both the Philadelphia Union and Wizards produced their best performances of the season against United, but that is still no excuse to why they have not come out on top in both of the matches.
Granted the weather has not been ideal for the players, but again, that cannot be used an excuse because they are a top-class club with some of the best players in the world.
It has not been just one area of concern, which is the most worrying part, because its been the defense, midfield and attack that have been missing.
The defense has been suspect, the midfield has been ragged and the attack has been very impotent and Sir Alex can only hope that the players get their act together before the start of the season.
Debate
The ongoing debate for goalline technology has rear it's ugly head yet again. Kamara powered a header that thumped against the underside of Amos' crossbar, and even though replays showed the entire ball did not cross the line, he was awarded a goal. The goal ended up being the difference between the two teams as the match ended 2-1 in the Wizards' favor.
Luckily, it was just a pre-season match during United's Tour 2010 and did not count for anything other than pride.
After all of the incidents at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, the officials of at the world's governing body need to take an honest look at some of the options to reduce the error of human element in the sport.
Matchball
There was not a single United player that put in a solid performance, but Amos did well in Tour 2010 debut with a couple of decent saves.
The young goalkeeper made a very smart one-handed midway through the second-half to spare United from an even more embarrassing defeat.
The loss was Manchester United's first and only blemish on the Tour 2010, and the players will need to regroup and turn it around before their final stop in Houston in three days time.
Ratings
B. Amos - 6; Rafael - 5, C. Smalling - 5, J. Evans - 6, R. De Laet - 4 (Fabio - 5); Nani - 5 (G. Obertan - 6), P. Scholes - 6, D. Gibson - 5 (T. Cleverley - 5), R. Giggs - 6; D. Berbatov - 6 (D. Welbeck - 5), M. B. Diouf - 5 (Macheda - 6)
Goals
D. Berbatov
Bookings
R. Giggs, D. Gibson
Contributed by David Hammons / United View From Abroad
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