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Australian legends beat Man United in charity match

A team of Australian legends defeated a Manchester United XI 3-0 in a charity match in Perth on Saturday.

Paul Scholes led out a United team in front of 12,000 fans, but second-half goals from Nick Carle, Bobby Despotovski and Con Boutsianis provided a comfortable win for the hosts.

Dwight Yorke, Denis Irwin and Ronny Johnsen were also among the United legends to suit up for the game, with the side managed by former United and England captain Bryan Robson, who came on in the late stages.

The Australian side average age of 35 was nine years younger than United's, and it showed as United both lost Scholes and Quinton Fortune to injuries.

Carle opened the scoring with a curling shot into the top corner from the edge of the area, and Despotovski doubled the lead from close range. Boutsianis put in a deflected shot from six yards to end the day.

"The Aussies were, without doubt, the stronger team.," Irwin told MUTV. "They were stronger than us, fresher than us, younger than us. It didn't help that Quinton and Scholesy got injured in the first half but they were better than us.

"The crowd have come out, they've enjoyed the night and we're disappointed we got beat 3-0 but it's all for a good cause. It's always for a good cause and the lads always love turning out. It's been a good night. It was humid out there but I enjoyed playing."