UNITED CLEAR AGAIN

 

(Image taken from Manutd.com)

 

Well you know the season's reached it's halfway point when you start playing teams for a second time in the Premiership and it doesn't seem like that long ago that we we beat Wigan 3-1 at the JJB stadium. Since then the shock package of last season have definately been drawn into the relegation fight and Fergie decided to switch his team around yet again. Wes Brown at right back, Vidic and Silvestre in central defence, Fletcher at right mid, Park at left mid and Rooney and Solksjaer upfront.

Despite another seemingly weak starting XI for the Xmas period, United were soon battering the Wigan goal with pretty much everyone firing pot shots at the visiting goalie. Of course the opposition goalie happened to save the lot of them. The main plus point though was that Wigan weren't able to do much, but 0-0 at half time for the third game running was always going to make United fans nervous. We'd learned over the past two games that anything could happen.

In this case, Fergie brought Ronaldo on to replace Fletcher and at that point the visitors should just have waved the white flag, they effectivly did so by leaving on fire Portugal winner unmarked for a 46th minute corner. 1-0 United. He followed that up by rebounding in a 49th minute penalty. Game over already, Solksjaer pretty much ending the game when Rooney set him up in the 59th. Wigan did get some form of consolation, a Leighton Baines penalty in injury time. This match just proved that the West Ham game was already history though.

Elsewhere, there had already been some absolutely brilliant news for United fans. Chelsea faced Reading at Stamford Bridge and boy was I having a laugh with that! Didier Drogba did open the scoring for the Cocky One's crew and the Blues kept that lead till half time...and then fell apart. Big holes turned up in their defence and Leroy Lita took advantage of then to equalise. Yes Drogba gave Chelsea the lead again but that wasn't the end of the story, a Ashley Cole-Michael Essien joint og was! Losing points at home to Reading! Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! That gap at the top of the Premiership is now four points and United are garunteed to start 2007 on top of the table!

There was even more good news north of the border where Aberdeen were playing Kilmarnock at Pittodrie in the SPL. 17 year old striker Christpher Maguire got his first goal for the Dons with Barry Nicholson making it two before Killie had a chance to get out of the blocks. The second half was relativly uneventful untill Steve Lovell made it three for the Dons and Steven Naismith pulled one back for Killie. Too little too late and the Dons are back to winning ways.

It also puts the Dons back up to second in the SPL and back in the Champions League preliminaries. Rangers got beaten 2-1 by Inverness CT in the Caledonian Stadium which leaves them two points behind Jimmy Calderwood's men. On top of the table, Dundee Utd also wound up doing the Reds a favour. They drew 2-2 with Celtic and Celtic Park. That leaves the Dons with only a fifteen point gap to the SPL's top side...but let's face it, a League title for the first time since Fergie was at Pittodrie is going into fantasy territory.

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