Published: 11 August 2013
by CATHERINE ETOE

Wigan 0-2 Manchester United (Van Persie, 7, 59) 
 

FA Community Shield 
Wembley

Former Arsenal favourite Robin van Persie gave Manchester United  manager David Moyes a dream start with his new club when he scored two  goals to seal a 16th Community Shield victory for the Red Devils. 

Van Persie’s precise header after just seven minutes set United on their way to victory against FA Cup holders Wigan and his rather luckier deflected second half shot settled the tie for the champions.

“One game, one trophy and I‘m really glad,” the Dutchman told the Wembley crowd at the final whistle, adding to a loud cheer that the club were chasing five this term and would go all out for each one. 

Wigan might hope to have something to say about that when they begin their defence of the FA Cup they won in May, but they will have to put this curtain raising trophy encounter down to experience. 

“We always knew it was going to be a tough afternoon playing against the champions of England,“ said new manager Owen Coyle afterwards. “We’ll take lessons from today and move forward.” 

Coyle had been upbeat ahead of this, the 91st Community Shield, and so were the Wigan faithful. Why not? They may have suffered relegation from the top flight at the end of last season, but on their previous visit to Wembley, they had silenced United’s noisy neighbours. 

Little wonder then that they were up on their feet and singing when the Wembley DJs played I’m A Believer before kick off, just they had when Wigan beat moneybags Manchester City to win the FA Cup. 

It was an against the odds result that afternoon and Coyle, tasked with the job of taking Wigan straight back into the Premier League, hoped they could do the double on their return to a venue that offered fans what he called a “feel good factor”. 

Sadly for the Wigan faithful, the only supporters feeling good on this sunny Sunday at Wembley were those wearing the red of United. The man that brought them joy was the player who used to light up the faces of red shirted fans in north London – Van Persie. 

His first goal was a fine header into the bottom corner of Scott Carson’s net from a Patrice Evra cross and he celebrated with a swing 
of the arm and punch of the air like a man eager to start the season in the same freescoring form as he had left the last. 

“It was a great header,” said Moyes afterwards. “Sixteen yards on the angle into the side netting. It was brilliantly guided. I’ve been 
really impressed with Robin.” 

A rout looked on the cards, but as the first half plodded on it became clear that it wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. Instead, Wigan fought back but with no end product and we sat back and admired the vision of veteran Ryan Giggs in his 21st Wembley appearance and the trickery of United’s new boy wonder Wilf Zaha. 

Leon Barnett came close for Wigan but Danny Welbeck was the only player to truly look like getting on the scoresheet alongside RVP and his turn and shot would have gone in had Carson not dived athletically to get a glove on it. 

The keeper was left floundering by United’s second goal though, Van Persie’s shot on the edge of the area deflecting in off James Perch’s foot on 59 minutes. 

A flurry of substitutions in the second period did little to add to the flow of the game, but Moyes was satisfied with his first  competitive match as Sir Alex Ferguson’s successor – even if he credited the win to his fellow Scot. 

“I class that as another piece of silverware for Sir Alex really,” he said. “I see today’s as really his. I was in charge today. But the ones going forward will be down to me.”