THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WEMBLEY, England — Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson will continue searching for a new striker after his team’s failure to score against Portsmouth on Sunday meant it had to rely on a penalty shootout to win the Community Shield for a second straight season.
With Cristiano Ronaldo injured and Wayne Rooney missing because of a virus, European champion United hit the bar, had several chances saved and was denied what looked a penalty as Portsmouth forced a 0-0 draw in the traditional season opener between the English champions and FA Cup holders.
Carlos Tevez, Ryan Giggs and substitute Michael Carrick finally scored in the shootout to give United a 3-1 win over a Portsmouth team that missed two kicks and had another saved by Edwin Van Der Sar.
It was a deserved win for the English and European champions, who outclassed their opponents. Although Ferguson declared himself happy with the performance, he acknowledged that he was aiming to beef up his attack, possibly before United’s Premier League opener against Newcastle next Sunday.
United has had an offer for Dimitar Berbatov rejected by Tottenham and been linked with moves for Blackburn’s Roque Santa Cruz and FC Barcelona’s Thierry Henry — although Ferguson would not reveal the identity of his targets.
"There’s a name every day," Ferguson said. "You’ll get that in this business with modern journalism. But it’s possible. We’re trying. We’ve one or two options we’re looking at and hopefully we can get something done before the start of the season."
Ferguson, though, said Rooney could be fit to play against Newcastle and would be happy to take on the Magpies with an unchanged squad.
"We had dominated possession and had good chances in the match," Ferguson said. "But if you’re making chances, as many as we made today, you shouldn’t worry about it."
Much of United’s attacking threat Sunday came from Tevez and Nani, who was filling in on the left wing for fellow Portugal forward Ronaldo — who is out until October following ankle surgery.
United had already forged two chances when Tevez then headed wide from Darren Fletcher’s right-wing cross in the 17th minute. Goalkeeper David James then saved a shot from Ryan Giggs at his near post before Fletcher narrowly failed to convert the clearest chance of the game.
Nani stole possession from dithering right back Glen Johnson and sent in a low cross from the left, only for Fletcher to slide in marginally too soon and find the ball trapped under his body rather than shooting off his foot into an open goal.
The Portsmouth defence cleared the danger but was under pressure again moments later when Nani collected an overhead flick from Giggs on the left wing.
Without breaking stride, Nani controlled the ball with his head, flicked it over Campbell’s head and tried to lob James, only for Sylvain Distin to head over his own bar for a corner kick.
As befitting a side that played last season’s FA Cup semifinal and final at Wembley, Portsmouth did not seem overawed by the occasion, but managed only an off-target shot by Jermain Defoe in the first half — despite the presence of record signing Peter Crouch in attack.
"It is a new partnership," Portsmouth assistant manager Joe Jordan said. "But I think it’s the team that has to play in a manner that can get success from them. The team has got to realize what quality ball we’ve got to give them."
The second half followed a similar pattern and United went even closer to scoring just three minutes after the interval.
Fletcher collected a punch by James on the edge of the area and curled a shot with the outside of his left foot that the goalkeeper tipped onto the bar before catching a header on the rebound from Tevez.
James again saved Pompey when he dived full stretch to his left to push a shot by Tevez past the post, by which time Portsmouth had offered only half chances by Crouch and Defoe, and an easily saved half volley by Distin.
Referee Peter Walton turned down United’s appeals for a penalty in the 74th when Hermann Hreidarsson held onto Carlos Tevez’s leg as the striker chased the ball, and Portsmouth held on to force the shootout even after substitute Frazier Campbell and Tevez went close in the closing moments.
Lassana Diarra missed Pompey’s first penalty kick, Defoe scored, Edwin Van Der Sar — who stopped three kicks in this match last season against Chelsea — saved from Arnold Mvuemba and Glen Johnson lofted his team’s fourth chance high into the crowd.
United captain Gary Neville played 67 minutes of the match after missing almost all of last season to a series of injuries.
He led his teammates up the Wembley stairs to hoist the shield and mark United’s record 13th win in the 100-year-old competition — a tournament so venerable that the proceeds from it were once dedicated to survivors and bereaved families of Titanic disaster.