UNITED BACK AGAIN

 

 

Last time around, we were looking to get out act together in the Premiership when we ran into Everton and we wound up drawing 1-1 with them at Goodison Park. We did a better job against them when they came to Old Trafford though, the Toffees put up a fight but we still won 1-0. Before that though, we had a good record against David Moyes's crew. In 07/08 we beat them 1-0 at Goodison Park before seeing them off 2-1 at Old Trafford on our way to another title for us. The Blues still aren't a team to be underestimated though - they've certainly probed consistant enough to appear in first the old UEFA Cup and now the Europa League on a regular basis.

This time around though, the Toffees have been whacked by injuries and have spent the early part of the season in the bottom half of the table. United meanwhile had players coming off an international break needing to reboot a title challenge. A Premiership match at Old Trafford in these circumstances looked to be relatively straightforward. United went 4-4-2. Rafael right back, Vidic and Brown in central defence. Valencia right mid, Carrick and Fletcher centre mid, Giggsy left mid and captain, Rooney and Owen up front. Certainly not a match we could take for granted given that we still had some injuries but we definately needed three points.

Well it certainly wasn't long before United were banging on Everton's door. Still, their defence held firm for a while due to our limited shooting but the tone of the game was certainly Red even though Everton occasionally broke free with rumours about that United are sniffing around Jack Rodwell, a teenage attack-minded defender who seems to have his uses. Not that it mattered in the 35th minute when Valencia set up Fletcher outside the box and the Scotsman scorched the ball into the top corner. The half time whistle blew and the first half performance was exactly what Fergie would have been looking for. Still, Everton were very capable of reloading in the second half.

Sure enough, the visitors did have more of a go in the early stages of the second half and even hit the net but the ref considered that effort to be offside. In the meantime a wayward 67th minute Rooney attempt was picked up by Giggsy who crossed it back in to find Carrick who got United's second goal. In the 74th minute Scolesey set up Valencia to make it 3-0. It wasn't quite all plain sailing with the stamina of a certain former England assasin called into question late on but it was three points on the board for us and given some of our reslts before the international break that's nothing to complain about. Onwards to the Champions League.

Elsewhere, Arsenal faced Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Arsenal were definately the better side in the first half but despite hammering the Sunderland goal, couldn't hit the net, the Sunderland goalie deserving the credit for the half time scoreline. Sunderland then mugged their big name visitors in the second half when Darren Bent hit what turned out to be the winner, Arsene Wenger watching as his team were completely shut dow. That allowed United to rise to 2nd in the Premiership, still five points behind Chelsea(who beat Wolves 4-0 at Stamford Bridge) while three points ahead of Spurs(who managed to beat Wigan 9-1 at White Hart Lane!) and a detour through the Champions League preliminaries.

North of the border, Aberdeen faced Motherwell at Fir Park in the SPL. The home side opened the scoring through Lucas Jutkiewicz but the first half was generally pretty even with the Dons having chances throughout the opening period. After half time the Dons stepped up a gear and McDonal managed to grab an equaliser. He then got red carded soon afterwards though but still, the Dons ended the match as the better team, though they couldn't find a winner. After the match, McGhee snarked at the red card, the result of a second yellow due to McDonald's goal celebrations. In theory not a bad result, hopefully it won't be too long till the Dons next win.

Elsewhere, Dundee United amazingly beat Celtic 2-1 at Tannadice Park with all the goals coming late on after Celtic ran the first half. Celts fans would probably say that "we was robbed" but at least the winner didn't involve a handball! St Mirren drew 1-1 with Hibs at St Mirren Park. Hibs opened the scoring but the home side equalised just before half time. Neither side looked like grabbing a winner in a low key second half. That allows Aberdeen to remain 6th in the SPL, seven points behind Dundee United and a Europa League spot while just two points ahead of St Mirren and the bottom half of the table. The Dons seem to be ticking over.

Back south of the border and down a couple of levels, Brentford faced BSP side Gateshead at Griffin Park in an FA Cup 1st round replay. Brentford proved their superiority from the start with Ben Strevens and Charlie McDonald hitting the net before half time. In the second half Gateshead pulled one back through Graeme Armstrong only for McDonald to get his second. Myles Weston added another two goals to finish the visitors off though Armstrong grabbed a second goal as consolation. Very straightforward game for the Bees, delivering a reality check to Gateshead while taking themselves one step closer toa big time draw in the third round.

Next up however is the 2nd round. Exeter are still in the picture and face an all-L1 tie with MK Dons at the stadium:mk. City's form hasn't been bad but Incey's side are still a lot higher in the table than them so I still wouldn't bet on a Grecian win. Brentford also have to deal with an all-L1 tie. They face Walsall at Griffin Park. The Bees are actually below the Grecians in the L1 table at the moment but Walsall are only midtable themselves. The match certainly won't be easy for the Bees but given that they're at home, it's not exactly misson impossible either. If only one of Brentford of Exeter make in into the next round, it'll probably be Brentford.

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