Ferguson keeps faith with Foster

Published: 25 Sep 2009 - 12:38:00

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MANCHESTER (AFP) - Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has decided against dropping Ben Foster following an erratic display by the England goalkeeper in last weekend's derby win over Manchester City. With United's first-choice keeper, Edwin van der Sar, still sidelined with broken fingers, Ferguson gave Foster a vote of confidence by confirming he would start the Premier League match at Stoke on Saturday. Tomasz Kuszczak had made a strong case for promotion above Foster in the United pecking order with a confident display and a clean sheet in the League Cup win over Wolves on Wednesday. But Ferguson continues to regard Foster as a better long-term prospect and does not want to risk further undermining the Englishman's confidence after he gifted City their first goal in United's 4-3 win at Old Trafford. "It was a good opportunity for Tomasz to play on Wednesday but Ben will play tomorrow," Ferguson said Friday. "Ben has not had a lot of game experience but he will be OK." Stoke provide a tough test for any goalkeeper with their effectiveness at set-plays and the long-throws of Rory Delap requiring good command of the penalty area. Ferguson expects van der Sar to take another three weeks to complete his recovery from breaking two fingers in a pre-season game against Bayern Munich in July.