Granada Television once again assigned Scarlett and Martin Tyler as commentators for the match. The broadcaster also announced that part of the advertising revenue would be donated to charity, in keeping with the spirit of the Charity Cup.
It was said that many Manchester businesses were interested in advertising before and after the match, including several major companies. They clearly believed that advertising during a charity sporting event was itself a way of supporting charity.
Charity had been one of the world's most enduring causes for decades and would remain so for decades to come.
After all, what was the point of having more money than one could spend without using some of it to do something meaningful?
Before the match, the Red Rebels Foundation announced that it would establish two community centres for elderly residents, one in Newton Heath and the other in Droylsden. This was undoubtedly significant for both communities on the outskirts of Manchester.
There were no major changes to New Manchester United's starting lineup.
Drogba remained the centre-forward, with Malouda and Hleb on the wings. The three central midfielders were Senna, Juninho Pernambucano, and Essien. The young Ghanaian's excellent performances in the preseason friendlies had pushed Alou Diarra behind him in the competition for a starting place.
Although Diarra's defensive ability and height were highly valued, Essien was better at making lateral interceptions. With Juninho and Senna both inclined toward playmaking, supporting attacks, and making forward runs, Essien's stamina and ability to cover across the pitch offered better protection for the defence and allowed him to cover for his teammates.
Abidal had firmly established himself as the starting left-back. Even Evra's considerable improvement had not been enough to displace him.
Terry and Curtis were the starting centre-backs, while Kolo Touré's impressive performances in three preseason friendlies had earned him the right-back position ahead of Bosingwa.
The defensive line of Abidal, Terry, Curtis, and Touré had not conceded a single goal in those three friendlies.
The partnership between Terry and Curtis was particularly reassuring. The only concern was Curtis's tendency to commit fouls.
That was also why Keane had previously offered him advice.
Curtis was only 16 and was still physically weaker than many of his opponents, so he often had to compensate by committing fouls.
The New Manchester United coaching staff were currently helping him improve his defensive technique. This included making him study footage of famous centre-backs such as Cannavaro and Nesta, in the hope that he could refine his positioning, anticipation, and tackling.
Physical strength would eventually decline with age, but technique and awareness could remain.
Ethan understood very well that one reason English centre-backs were sometimes unreliable was their excessive dependence on physical confrontation.
Players such as Cannavaro and Nesta were different. They relied more on technique and anticipation. Even when they committed fouls, they often did so intelligently.
For that reason, the coaching staff were working hard to improve the defensive technique of Curtis, Terry, and the others, helping them address their weaknesses.
In theory, Curtis and Terry complemented one another perfectly and formed an ideal centre-back partnership.
...
Droylsden also fielded their strongest available lineup.
It included Sulley Muntari, who was on loan from New Manchester United, along with Richie Wellens and Roy Williams, both of whom had transferred from New Manchester United. All three had once played for the Red Rebels and were now regular starters for Droylsden.
After earning promotion to the Football Conference, Droylsden had also increased their activity in the transfer market.
David Pace's ambition was clear. He wanted to lead Droylsden into the professional leagues that season.
The team had performed well in their preseason friendlies.
Sulley Muntari had shown considerable ability in both attack and defence from midfield, and it was obvious that Droylsden's play revolved around him.
However, that did not mean Muntari was ready to play for New Manchester United.
From the opening minute, New Manchester United launched wave after wave of attacks against Droylsden.
The central midfield combination of Juninho and Senna offered both creativity and defensive support. With the tireless Essien behind them, the two Brazilians could commit themselves to attacking with greater confidence.
It was worth noting that no visiting team had ever gained a clear advantage over New Manchester United at the City Ground.
Droylsden soon found themselves forced onto the defensive, which their manager had anticipated.
However, he also understood that simply dropping the defensive line deeper would only allow New Manchester United to build more momentum.
Against a team so skilled at exploiting momentum, the only option was to compete with them directly.
But New Manchester United did not rely solely on physical force.
Whenever Droylsden defended stubbornly and New Manchester United found their attacks blocked, Juninho immediately slowed the tempo.
By moving smoothly between fast and patient possession, New Manchester United maintained control of the match.
Their slower tempo applied only when building attacks.
The moment they lost the ball, they immediately pressed to win it back, either attempting to intercept the next pass, disrupt Droylsden's counterattack, or at least give the defensive line time to recover its shape.
If Droylsden made even one careless mistake and New Manchester United seized the opportunity, the consequences could be devastating.
In the 23rd minute, Senna intercepted Stephen Smith's pass near the halfway line and played the ball back to Juninho.
The moment New Manchester United regained possession, Malouda pushed forward from the left wing and attacked the space behind Droylsden's defence.
As soon as Juninho brought the ball under control, he sent a diagonal pass into the space behind the back line.
Malouda accelerated, beat the offside trap, and carried the ball into the penalty area before driving a low shot into the far corner.
1-0!
After scoring, Malouda embraced Hleb, who had been racing into the penalty area to support him, before running toward Juninho, who had provided the pass.
The delivery had been perfect.
Its weight matched Malouda's run so precisely that he could shoot immediately after controlling the ball without needing to adjust.
After the opening goal, the entire City Ground erupted in applause.
Both Droylsden and New Manchester United supporters were clearly delighted by the quality of the move.
When the match restarted, Droylsden showed no intention of sitting back despite falling behind.
Instead, they fought even harder and played more openly than before.
It was only a friendly, after all, and an excellent opportunity to test their attack and defence against stronger opposition from a brother club.
...
"Your team keeps improving. Every time I see them, they look stronger!" David Pace said emotionally.
Indeed, even a few days could make a team look completely different.
He had invested heavily in Droylsden that season, and the squad's overall strength had improved significantly.
Yet compared with New Manchester United, he still felt that Droylsden were progressing too slowly.
The previous season's New Manchester United side had been strong, but it still had several obvious weaknesses.
Their attacking transitions had sometimes been slow, while Bosingwa was dangerous going forward at right-back but vulnerable defensively.
This season, those weaknesses appeared to have disappeared.
Drogba was like a beast, repeatedly charging at Droylsden's defence.
With his strength and pace, who could stop him once he built up momentum?
Kolo Touré was also a formidable player. David had heard that he was already an Ivory Coast international.
Touré guarded the right flank. Although his attacking ability was not especially strong, Mourinho used him intelligently.
He was encouraged to move forward in support rather than join every attack directly, while always remaining aware of his position so opponents could not exploit the space behind him.
Combined with the increasingly mature partnership between Terry and Curtis, New Manchester United's defence looked almost impenetrable.
Of course, that was only their performance against Droylsden.
"Naturally. How else could we aim for promotion to League One this season?" Mark said with a chuckle.
Hearing this, David Pace felt somewhat emotional.
There had once been a time when he had helped New Manchester United.
Over the previous two years, however, the situation had reversed.
New Manchester United had earned promotion season after season. The previous year, Droylsden had also benefited from their support, receiving players on free transfers and taking Sulley Muntari on loan.
Those former New Manchester United players had performed exceptionally well and helped Droylsden win the title and earn promotion to the Football Conference.
Yet when David remembered that several of his starters were players who could not earn a place in New Manchester United's first team, or even their reserves, he could not help being astonished by the Red Rebels' strength.
"David, you've done very well this year," Ethan said earnestly. "But whether or not you reach the professional leagues this season, you need to prepare your squad properly next summer.
"The professional divisions and the Football Conference are completely different environments. I don't want to see you reach League Two only to return to the Conference with your tail between your legs."
Ethan spoke from experience.
New Manchester United had also been very strong under Mourinho the previous season, yet they had endured a terrible start and had almost been dragged into a relegation battle.
Had Mourinho not adjusted so quickly, their season might have collapsed.
However, New Manchester United had stronger players, and their manager was the man who would later become known throughout world football as the Special One.
Droylsden did not possess those advantages.
If they truly earned promotion into the professional leagues, their first objective should be survival.
Ethan was not looking down on David Pace. He was simply being realistic.
New Manchester United's development could not be copied.
There was only one Mourinho, just as there was only one Ethan who knew what the future might hold.
"I understand that," David replied. "That's why I've told the manager that our goal this year is to challenge for promotion.
"Naturally, it would be wonderful if we went up, but I won't force it.
"I plan to bring in one or two more strong players during the winter transfer window to address the weaknesses in the squad.
"And if we do earn promotion, our objective in League Two next season will be survival."
Ethan smiled and patted David on the shoulder.
"That's the right attitude, David. The fact that you're thinking this way shows that you understand how football works.
"When the time comes, whatever type of players you need, I'll ask the scouting department to help you.
"But you also need to improve your own scouting network and youth academy as soon as possible. Those are the foundations of any football club."
"Do you think I don't want to?" David said with a wry smile. "The problem is finding the right people.
"I watch your academy produce someone like Curtis, who has already been selected for the national team, and I'm incredibly envious.
"But I've searched everywhere and still can't find a youth-development expert as good as Jim Cassell. I don't even know where to begin building a scouting network."
Ethan laughed, then suddenly thought of a rather cunning idea.
"How about this? Focus specifically on clubs with excellent youth academies.
"Don't worry about anything else. Just identify young players who have ability but currently have no chance of breaking into their first teams, then convince them to join Droylsden and play regular football."
As New Manchester United's partner club, Droylsden's development would also benefit the Red Rebels.
The arrangement could help both sides.
"Can we really do that?" David asked.
He was an honest man by nature.
"Of course!" Ethan replied with complete confidence.
(To be continued.)