Coleman left seething over missed
Fulham penalty
tribalfooball.com - February 24, 2007
Fulham boss Chris Coleman was seething at the end of their 2-1
defeat against Manchester United, convinced his team were robbed of
a penalty in the final minutes.
Outplayed for long periods, United grabbed a 2-1 win after
Cristiano Ronaldo ran half the length of the field before lashing
home an 87th-minute winner.
The victory takes Sir Alex Ferguson's side nine points clear of
Chelsea at the Premiership summit and, given the nature of the win,
it could prove to be a pivotal success in this season's title
race.
Yet Fulham were denied an opportunity to level in stoppage time
when Edwin van der Sar appeared to send Heidar Helguson sprawling.
And Coleman was left seething at the final whistle.
"The referee has no excuses, he was in the perfect position," fumed
Coleman.
"There is only one way to put it and that is that he lost his
nerve.
"Can anybody disagree with me if I say that if that happened at the
other end of the pitch, and it's 1-1, the referee is going to give
a penalty?
"It's frustrating to say the least but what is the point talking
about it. I will get another fine but nothing will happen to the
referee."
Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he didn't expect
the three points at Fulham.
"I have to admit, I could not see it coming," said the Scot.
"Sometimes there are games where you get a feeling you would like
to come back another day. I felt like that after about two minutes.
I could sense it was going to be really hard for us.
"We didn't keep possession very well. Our running was poor and the
speed of our game was poor.
"But we were dug out of a hole by two outstanding goals and two or
three fantastic saves by Edwin van der Sar."
