FULHAM'S TURN TO FALL

 

 

Last time around, Roy Hodgson was Fulham manager and our record against his side was a bit hit and miss. First up, we got whacked 3-0 at Craven Cottage only for us then to win 3-0 at Old Trafford with a great second half display but unfortunately there weren't enough displays like that for us to win the Premiership. The last time we did the Premiership doouble over Fulham was back in the 07/08 season. Lawrie Sanchez opened the season as Fulham manager and we beat them 2-0 at Old Trafford with Cristiano Ronaldo getting both of the goals. Ray Lewington took over briefly before Hodgson took the reins but we still beat them 3-0 at Craven Cottage.

This time around, former United assasin Mark Hughes has decided to try his hand at being Fulham manager though our early season encounter with his guys brought us a 2-2 draw at Craven Cottage. Since then, well we've surged to the top of the league while Sparky's crew have been cruising through midtable. For a resurgent United, this Premiership match at Old Trafford looked to be a relatively straightforward way of getting three points. The Reds went 4-3-2-1 for this one due to injury and suspension. Kuszczak in goal, O'Shea right back, Vidic and Smalling central defence, Scholes, Gibson and Anderson midfield, Valencia right flank, Nani left flank, Berbatov up front.

United were in no mood to hang around, cruising through the early stages before opening the scoring when Nani slid a 12th minute ball to Anderson, who passed it to Berbatov and the Bulgarian assasin took care of business. After that well, already it looked as though there would only be one winner of this match and sure enough United got a second when Nani fired a 32nd minute shot that was cleared off the line only for Valencia to head in from point blank range for his first Premiership goal of the season. Basically, Fulham were being outclassed, and the three points looked like they were already in the bank, the question was, could we get a third in the 2nd half.

Fulham managed to keep some fire in their performance though but the fact is that United were certainly on cruise mode. In the meantime Eidur Gudjonsson tried his hand from long range for Fulham but the Reds managed to survive that assault. The joke late on in the game from Match of the Day was that Fergie was becoming more interested in the Grand National than the match but no, subs were brought on, players were rested for the upcoming Champions League game and points were secured. Sparky knew that his old gaffer had shown him how it was done and that we'd surely come one step closer to reclaiming the Premiership title.

Elsewhere, Arsenal faced Blackpool at Bloomfield Road. Abou Diaby opened the scoring for Arsenal with Emmanual Eboue making it two shortly after, the Gunners finally stepping it up in the first half after dropping points all over the place recently. Gary Taylor-Fletcher pulled one back for Blackpool early in the second half but while the home side fancied their chances of an equaliser it was Arsenal who finished the game off with Robin Van Persie getting their third. That means that United remain top of the Premiership, seven points ahead of nearest challengers Arsenal though the Gunners still have a game in hand - not that it'll count for much with that margin.

North of the border, Aberdeen continued their SPL campaign. Their first order of business involved a 3-2 defeat to St Mirren at St Mirren Park with the home side opening the scoring anmd the Dons equalising just after half time before falling apart. Then came a 1-0 defeat to Hibs at Pittodrie with the visitors getting what turned out to be an early winner and in which the Dons had the majority of opportunities but weren't able to do anything with them. That leaves the Dons 10th in the SPL, thirteen points behind Motherwell and the top half of the table, and though they have a game in hand there is no way they can cross the divide before the split now. They're still fifteen points ahead of Hamilton and relegation though.

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