In truth, Blues did have a real good go, and with lots of new faces, and plenty of absentees, Steve Bruce can be pleased with his side's showing.
Bruce made two changes to the team that beat Southampton in midweek - both of which were enforced. Matthew Upson suffered a hamstring strain so Martin Taylor returned to partner Kenny Cunningham at the heart of the defence, whilst Stephen Clemence was with his wife as she went into labour, so Mehdi Nafti made his debut alongside Damien Johnson in the middle of the park.
Blues started nervously, perhaps wary of a United onslaught after their magnificent result at Highbury during the week. United though never really got their game going either, and so Blues managed to get a grip in the game and ease themselves into it.
There weren't too many chances in the first half, with both defences doing well - including Martin Taylor who once again proved himself a very capable deputy for Upson or Cunningham. Wayne Rooney hit the post with a clever header that Maik Taylor just about got fingertips too, before the woodwork was rattled more emphatically at the other end by Walter Pandiani. There wasn't a lot on for the Uruguayan striker as the ball dropped from a great height towards him 15 yards from goal. He struck a superb volley though, that slammed off the underside of the bar, bounced down and away from goal.
Ryan Giggs fired wide when well placed as the half wore on, but Blues had got themselves well into the game and approached half-time very much in the game as much as their opponents. Jermaine Pennant was always a threat again, whilst Nafti in midfield was clearly relishing the big stage for his debut. The Tunisian midfielder was very much part of the 'keep it simple' school - he never hit any stunning 50 yard passes, but he did constantly find a blue shirt, which is never a bad thing. He wasn't afraid to mix it with the likes of Roy Keane and Gabriel Heinze - two genuinely tough customers - which was another pleasing sign.
The second half started in much the same vain as the first had ended really, with both teams playing pretty well. Julian Gray was wasteful from a very similar position to where Giggs had been in the first half, when he neither shot nor crossed, but more scuffed the ball when well placed. Gray performed as he has done for the past 2 months - he does ok, but has absolutely no confidence whatsoever in himself to deliver an end product - be it a finish or a good cross. Blues fans are getting increasingly frustrated with him, and I think it's because everyone can see that he's a talented player, but he needs to start believing in himself. A goal or a couple of assists could change his season around.
After 55 minutes United took the lead. Blues had done so well in marshalling the threat of Rooney, Giggs, Louis Saha and Cristiano Ronaldo, that you could almost see the collective sigh of relief when it was 'only Roy Keane' who picked the ball up from a Ronaldo pass. Keane though turned back the clock somewhat and drove at Blues, who all backed off him, clearly more worried about the younger, quicker more attack-minded United players. Keane just kept going, and planted a good low drive into the far corner.
United still didn't really pick up their play, and Blues continued to pose a threat, without creating any real clearcut chances. Pandiani continued to work tirelessly as something of a lone striker, as Robbie Blake dropped deep behind him and struggled to make an impact. After clearly being knackered after 55 minutes on wednesday night too, Bruce will have been impressed that Pennant put in a good 90 minute shift and was still going late on. Clinton Morrison came on for Blake and flashed a header just over the bar from a Pennant cross as Blues pushed for an equaliser.
United wrapped up the points with 5 minutes to go after a bad mistake by Cunningham. The Blues skipper sold Maik Taylor very short with a backpass. Taylor's pretty useless at kicking when he's got no one anywhere near him, so he was always going to struggle with this one. In fairness, he did the best he could, but was stretching to beat two United players to the ball. His weak connection took the ball straight to Rooney who lobbed the ball straight back over Taylor's head first time.
It was probably harsh on Blues to go down 2-0, but even then they kept going, with Pandiani firing just wide with an acrobatic volley after a Morrison flick-on. In the end though, Blues couldn't make a breakthrough, and so suffered a defeat that really highlighted just how important the win over Southampton was.