The first half had ended in stalemate, with neither side dominating too much of possession or chance, however the pace in the second half dramatically increased. Sir Alex Ferguson, beginning his 26th season as United manager had given his young players a mission, and they didn't disappoint.
The three youngsters in the back four were immense. They may not have been troubled too much, but against Tottenham, they needed to keep the likes of Rafael Van der Vaart, Gareth Bale, Arron Lennon and Jermaine Defoe quiet, and they seemed to do it with ease. Chris Smalling played on the right, while 19 year-old Phil Jones and 23 year-old Jonny Evans filled in the middle for Ferdinand and Vidic.
Smalling has already proved himself to United, with a solid season last year after joining from Fulham, but the Old Trafford crowd had seen little from their £16.5 million signing Jones, while Evans' form has been on and off.
Powerful, steady and authoritative are words which could describe their performance, with no mishaps at the back to speak of at all. All three are also very comfortable on the ball, and can pass it around between them, creating time for a clearance, or drive the ball out themselves, with a strong surge up field. It's thrilling to think that these three are the Manchester United back line of the future.
Behind them was a 20 year-old Spaniard. David de Gea - ever heard of him? His appearances in the press being labelled unbelievably as a flop will for now have been forgotten, with a much improved performance in front of his supportive fans. A piece of trickery under pressure from an incoming Van der Vaart may have given some a mini heart-attack, but when kicked to the ground, the whistle was blown and all was safe.
He had a more troublesome second half, as the Spurs players fired more frequently at the goal, hoping for a spill or blunder. A typically heavy-duty blast from Tom Huddlestone late was dropped, but recouped quickly by de Gea, who snatched it away from Defoe just in time for a nasty kick from the England striker, but nothing too serious. It's promising.
The midfield was as it was in the Community Shield. The player in that attacking six are in the early stages of creating a very encouraging bond, in which the awareness is immense, allowing the passing to be quick and probing, to allow the team to be one step ahead of the opponent.
United's starting eleven, the team of youth, filled to the rim with fiery and enthusiastic quality, had an average age of 23, and for all the money the club have and may yet spend this summer, it was a pair of free local lads who broke the deadlock.
Tom Cleverley, who had a relatively quiet first half whipped in a marvellous, pin point cross which was met by Danny Welbeck, who glanced a precise header into the far corner, past the veteran Brad Friedel. The American goalkeeper had frustrated United before, but there was nothing he could do about this wonderfully simple but crucially effective goal which began the onslaught.
The goal came on the hour mark, and for the final thirty minutes, United completely dominated. Welbeck had scored one, and created the next, with a cute back heel in the box to set up Anderson for an easy side foot which bulged the net delightfully.
Rooney, the ever present and very much needed talent of the United attack grabbed a well deserved goal, thanks to a cross from the old man in the team, Ryan Giggs. He came on in a triple substitution, which saw the return of Javier Hernandez from concussion, and Ji Sung Park, only for a cameo - but with Giggs, every performance counts.
A trademark cross hung in the air for Rooney and his brand new hair to knock in with a perfect header, topping off the win with a mix of the accomplished old with the blossoming new.
