Man U Let Arsenal Steal a Point in Injury Time
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by Jgiuffra
Manc Yank issue 3:
If you asked any United fan before the match at the Emirates on Saturday if they would take a draw in North London, most would have answered yes. The way draw came about, however, left the United faithful thinking they should have come away with all 3 points.
To say this was a cagily played match would do a disservice to the top 2 clubs in the Premiership; the match was played with intensity and passion and at times was completely wide open. The only unfortunate part about it—other than Manchester dropping the 2 points—was that the goals for both sides all came about due to poor defending rather than class finishing.
The first half was very tight. Both teams had their chances. Arsenal had a penalty shout early on when Nemanja Vidic seemed to pull Arsenal’s Aleksandr Hleb down in the area. The replay showed that Vidic did have hold of the Arsenal man’s shire. Howard Webb was not going to let this match be decided by a penalty. Arsenal’s best chance came when Fabregas played in a free kick on 36 minutes. It was met by the head of William Gallas but was saved by the legs of an unknowing Edwin Van der Sar.
United’s goal came in 1 st half injury time. It was strong play from United’s right back that made the move possible. He burst pass Hleb and fed the ball to Ronaldo on the edge of the 18 yard box. Ronaldo played it in to Rooney who scuffed his shot. Fortunately for United and unfortunately for the Arsenal skipper, the squibbed shot took a deflection off the arm of Willam Gallas, past the helpless Almunia. This bit of deserved fortune put United one goal to the good going in to the break.
After the restart things couldn’t have been worse for the Red Devils. They broke the unwritten rule and allowed Arsenal back into the match less than 3 minutes after the restart with some slack defending. Van der Sar saved an effort from Emmanuel Adebyor only for Sagna to centre the ball for an unmarked Fabregas after Evra failed to put the ball out of play. The Catalan genius coolly slotted the ball past the Dutchman with a measured side footer.
The game then turned into a very open, end to end match. Both sides had their chances but the scored remained tied until the 82 nd minute. Luis Saha—finally back from injury—played the ball to Evra rampaging down the left side. Almunia ventured way too far out of the goal mouth to try to stop the Frenchman, to no avail. Evra slotted the ball to awaiting Ronaldo who dispatched into the back of the net. With 8 minutes left on the clock United were in the driving seat. Suddenly, the United defence looked vulnerable again. Evra nearly scored an own goal with just a couple of minutes left on the clock. He scuffed a clearance with no one around him that ended up bouncing harmlessly off Van der Sar’s crossbar. Arsenal were pressing when Ronaldo had a chance to hoof the ball down the field to finish off the game, but he scuffed his clearance right back into the danger area. The ball was bouncing around the six yard box until it fell to the Arsenal’s captain who sent the ball toward the goal. It appeared that the Dutch number one kept he ball out but, alas, no. The ball clearly cleared the line and United’s win was lost to the wind.
I am nitpicking when I mention the players who were involved in the goals in a negative way. It was a very good match. It highlighted the amazing amount of skilled players both teams have in their squads. Both managers made all three substitutions and they had a direct impact on the game. I think a draw was fair even though it still feels a bit like a loss.
NOTES: United can qualify for the Champions League knockout round if the get a point at Old Trafford against Dynamo Kiev this week…I’d prefer a win.
Gary Neville played 66 minutes last Thursday for United Reserves against Stockport County. He came through with no injuries to report. He could be back in the first team in less than a month.
