Sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League table and 56 places above Crewe Alexandra in the English football pyramid, Manchester United ought not to have faced any difficulties against the League One Railwaymen.
But after beating Liverpool 2-0 in the Premier League at Old Trafford on October 22, 2006, United, just three days later, almost came unstuck in the third round of the League Cup at Gresty Road, narrowly avoiding one of the biggest upsets in the competition's history. Such was the Reds' level of superiority, former manager Sir Alex Ferguson, just as most Premier League managers have done when facing lower-league opposition, felt he was within his rights to make wholesale changes, calling upon his fringe players to get the job done with minimal fuss.
And after Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who faced competition from the likes of Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha for a starting berth at that time, had fired the Reds into a 26th-minute lead, they were well on their way to getting the job done without too much fuss.
However, following Luke Varney's equaliser with 17 minutes of normal time left on the clock, United, suddenly, were in danger of suffering one of their most embarrassing results of the Ferguson era. While the Reds had beaten Liverpool in the build-up to the trip to Crewe, the home side, four days earlier, had lost at home to Blackpool. United should have been winning at a canter.
But after the game had gone into extra-time and the prospect of a penalty shoot-out was looming, injecting further confidence into Crewe veins, Ferguson and United were saved by 18-year-old senior debutant Kieran Lee. The right-back, who had stepped off the bench to replace David Gray four minutes after Varney's leveller, latched onto Alan Smith's excellent pass, charged up the pitch and slotted a composed effort - one that Solskjaer would have been proud of - beyond goalkeeper Ben Williams in the 119th minute.
It was a moment that every United youngster dreams of, but one that so few have experienced. The feeling of scoring on your senior debut for a club of the Reds' stature must take some beating. But while it was a moment for Lee to cherish, Ferguson was just relieved to have avoided the lottery of spot-kicks.
"Without question, Kieran is a good player," said Ferguson, speaking after the game. "He has good ability, all he needs is time to develop. He showed great awareness to make the run for the goal and it saved me from embarrassment because I never win penalty shoot-outs."
Unfortunately for the academy graduate, however, his heroics that October evening did not prove to be a breakthrough moment in his United career. The now-Bolton Wanderers player, who has since been transformed into a central-midfielder, only went on to make two more appearances in United colours ahead of leaving the club and joining Oldham Athletic in July 2008.
One of those two appearances did see him earn a guard of honour from Chelsea's players at Stamford Bridge in May 2007. With the Premier League title already wrapped up, Ferguson fielded a much-changed team for the trip to the capital, made up of fringe players and youngsters. Lee started at right-back and helped United earn a point. Of the 11 players that started the goalless draw that evening, Lee is the only player who is yet to hang up his boots.
Now at the age of 34, Lee is a key fixture at nearby Bolton. He has made 35 appearances for the club so far this season and is desperately trying to help them escape the clutches of League One via the play-off places. He joined Wanderers in January 2021 on a free transfer, following almost six months without a club.
At the end of the Covid-hit 2019/20 campaign, Lee left Sheffield Wednesday after eight seasons and 217 appearances at Hillsborough. A loyal servant, who was often serenaded by chants of 'His touch is golden', was adored by those of a blue and white persuasion, not least for his effort and commitment.
Playing under five different permanent managers during his time in Wednesday colours, Lee, who used to share the Carrington training pitches with a young Cristiano Ronaldo, was transformed from a right-back to one of the best box-to-box midfielders outside of the Premier League. Often a reliable source of goals, he was often underrated by those who didn't watch him week-in, week-out.
A quiet and private individual, Lee has rarely been one to step forward and do interviews; he only tends to speak with the media when signing a new contract, for example. On the pitch, however, he remains a classy and well-respected operator. He was so crucial during his Wednesday days that former boss Carlos Carvalhal once described him as being the Owls' own Andres Iniesta.
After eight years at Hillsborough, Lee, who made his second and penultimate United appearance in a shock 1-0 defeat by Southend United in the round of the League Cup that followed the win at Crewe, joined Bolton when they were fighting tooth and nail to get out of League Two. That means he has played in all four professional divisions of English football, scored a goal in United colours in the same game as Solskjaer, shared a dressing room with Ronaldo and played in the same defence as the likes of Gabriel Heinze and John O'Shea. Few can say they have done all of that.
Though Lee, who won United's Reserve Player of the year award in 2007, never got the chance to try and equip himself as a Premier League player and rub shoulders with the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo more often, the latter's determination and hunger to succeed left a lasting impression on the Bolton ace.
Speaking in an interview with the Mail back in 2015, Lee said: "When training finished at United, we'd all go inside to have food. After that, the young lads would go back out and do our jobs like collecting the balls. Ronaldo would still be out there on his own doing skills.
"He'd stay out to be the best. And he became the best. Not me, I was waiting to go home! But he left an impression on me, that work ethic. I've never seen anyone like him, before or since."
Though Lee never got close to Ronaldo's level, he has established himself as one of the EFL's most under-appreciated operators over the past decade or so, sowing a seed in the hearts of thousands of fans who have watched him, whether at Oldham, Wednesday or Bolton. But although his crowning moment in United colours may not be remembered so vividly, it was a moment that saved Ferguson, in his own words, from embarrassment.
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