Scholes goal enough for United

Published: 15 Sep 2009 - 21:16:00

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Paul Scholes nodded home a 77th-minute winner for Manchester United as they claimed a 1-0 victory in their opening Champions League qualifying match. In a game of few chances, United were marginally the better side against an enthusiastic Besiktas outfit in Istanbul. But with the hosts lacking a cutting edge, they were always vulnerable and Scholes made them pay as he latched onto the rebound after Hakan Arikan had denied Nani. United could have had a second at the death but substitute Michael Owen toe-poked a close-range chance just wide. The visitors did not have it all their own way, though, as Ben Foster survived one major scare. He set himself to save Serdar Ozkan's shot, only for the ball to flick off Jonny Evans and cannon skywards. The United keeper could only turn and hope, knowing he was powerless to do anything about it. Thankfully, the ball dropped just the wrong side of the crossbar.