Official Match report frm
ManUtd.com
Report: United 1 Tottenham 0
The Reds returned to the top of the table with victory over
Tottenham on Saturday, thanks to a first-half header from the
in-form Ryan Giggs, which ensures United have made their best ever
start to a Premiership campaign.
The Welshman struck after just 12 minutes, and the solitary goal
proved enough to secure a fourth successive win. But it wasn't the
most convincing display. Spurs wasted several chances, while United
were hanging on by the end. However, having stumbled in September
last season, Sir Alex will be pleased his players stuck to task and
retrieved what is so vital at this stage of the season: victory by
any means necessary.
United were out of the blocks quickest. Cristiano Ronaldo, in his
first foray down the right wing after five minutes, carved open the
best early opportunity. Booed by the Spurs fans, the Portuguese
winger responded with some quick-footed trickery to glide past
Benoit Assou-Ekotto before testing Paul Robinson with a curling low
shot.
Old Trafford was bathed in bright Autumn sunshine, and it was
clearly causing the Tottenham goalkeeper problems. When Louis Saha
was floored by Edgar Davids 35 yards from goal, Ronaldo struck a
dipping, swerving shot from the subsequent free kick, which
Robinson could only palm up in the air. Ryan Giggs, who had earlier
collected the award for Augusts Player of the Month, was quickest
to react and nodded the ball off the underside of the crossbar to
make it 1-0 after 12 minutes. The ideal start.
United faced a nervous period without the Welshman, who was forced
off for a full five minutes to receive treatment for a bloodied
nose midway through the half. Sir Alex was seen gesturing on the
sideline that he felt it was as the result of an elbow from Davids,
who had challenged Giggs in midfield. In unstoppable form, though,
the 32-year-old was soon back on the pitch running at Tottenhams
defence.
Michael Carrick received a regular bout of boos from the travelling
Spurs supporters following his £14million summer move from White
Hart Lane, but he endeared himself to the home fans by showing
signs of creativity in the playmaker role much the same position
as Juan Sebastian Veron undertook at Old Trafford with his varied
and incisive array of passes.
Despite United's good start, it was Spurs who ended the half
strongest. They could have equalised but for a fantastic double
save from Edwin van der Sar just before the break. Penned into
their own half, the Reds failed on several occasions to clear the
danger. And when Davids flicked a pass over the back four, van der
Sar first had to smother a shot from defender Michael Dawson before
rushing out to block a second effort from Ledley King.
Uniteds Dutch goalkeeper was forced into another impressive save
seven minutes after the break, when Pascal Chimbonda overlapped
down the right flank and saw his cross deflected following
Ronaldos sliding challenge. Van der Sar had to palm the ball over
the bar for a corner, from which Dawson powered his header wide.
Gradually Tottenham had loosened Uniteds grip on the game. And
Spurs boss Martin Jol wasnt settling for a draw. His intentions
were clear when he made a double attacking substitution on 57
minutes, replacing Davids and the ineffectual Robbie Keane with,
Reto Ziegler and Jermain Defoe.
United, meanwhile, had hit a lull in their performance, and needed
something to lift the side out of it. Ronaldo almost found it after
65 minutes when he burst onto Sahas deflected cross from the right
and forced Robinson to tip his powerful shot over.
But it was Tottenham's substitute who nearly changed the game.
Defoe was proving to be a real handful. His run down the right wing
earned Kieran Richardson a yellow card after the United midfielder
tried, but failed, to slide in and steal the ball. Then the
diminutive forward rose highest in the box, but the ball ended up
going over off his shoulder. Still Uniteds lead remained intact,
but it made for nervous viewing, particularly as last September was
the time Sir Alexs side stumbled, with draws against Manchester
City and Liverpool and a defeat to Blackburn spoiling the good
start to the 2005/06 campaign.
Mido was the next to threaten Uniteds slender advantage, and he
should have done better with a clear scoring opportunity. He
climbed above Wes Brown to meet Assou-Ekottos cross, but made
minimal contact with the header and didn't test van der Sar.
At the other end, United wasted chances of their own. Ronaldo went
on a 50-yard run, but his final ball was neither a squared pass to
Saha in space nor a shot on goal. Saha, too, passed up great
chances to kill the game off. He was played in superbly by Reds
substitute Darren Fletcher, but blazed his shot over the bar, then
missed a one-on-one with Robinson.
Tottenham threatened again late on, but the Reds held out. Another
three points is exactly what was required to put United back on top
of the Premiership, but the performance will certainly need to
improve against Celtic in midweek and Arsenal next Sunday.
Team Line-ups
United: Van der Sar, Neville (c), Brown, Ferdinand, Evra, Ronaldo
(Silvestre, 90), OShea, Carrick (Fletcher, 80), Richardson (Park,
71), Giggs, Saha.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Solskjaer.
Goalscorer: Giggs (12)
Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, King (c) (Murphy, 82),
Assou-Ekotto, Ghaly, Jenas, Davids (Ziegler, 57), Zokora, Keane
(Defoe, 57), Mido.
Subs not used: Cerny (GK), Huddlestone.
Attendance: 75,453 (Premiership record)
