City furious over ref joking with Man Utd boss Ferguson

zocoss SG

Alex Ferguson

Sir Alex Ferguson jumps for joy after Owen's late winner for United.

Fergie says the ex-Newcastle hitman has been impressing behind the scenes. And the United boss is certain Owen can put his horror spell at St James' behind him.

He said: "To be fair we noticed in the last two weeks he's adjusted to training and has been sharper. "He's been really good in terms of the intensity of the training and he has got better and better. Even when he came on against Besiktas, he showed that sharpness.

"We were saying that we were going to have to get him on and get him game time because he's been doing very well."

Fellow striker Dimitar Berbatov had a bagful of efforts saved by Shay Given. And Ferguson couldn't believe the Bulgarian striker didn't get his name on the scoresheet.

He added: "It was a fantastic performance from Dimitar. "He was the unluckiest player on the pitch and could have had five goals."

zocoss SG

'A highlight of my career' says Manchester United hero Michael Owen after last-gasp derby victory

Owen

Impact sub: Owen's late contribution was greeted with elation inside Old Trafford

Michael Owen admits his injury-time winner at Old Trafford against Manchester City will go down as one of his career highlights.

Owen struck in the sixth minute of added time yesterday to settle one of the most dramatic Manchester derbies.

United triumphed 4-3 in the Barclays Premier League match after a quite extraordinary contest which they led on three occasions, only for defensive blunders by Ben Foster and Rio Ferdinand to leave them relying on Owen's second goal for his new club.

'It is probably one of the moments I will reflect on as a highlight of my career,' said England's fourth highest goalscorer.

To score a goal as dramatic as that in a derby was amazing. 'You had to see it to believe it. It must have been one of the best televised games of all time.'

That is not to say Owen is getting carried away. The victory might have brought United three precious points and ended City's 100% record, but the former Liverpool star is already looking ahead to Wednesday's Carling Cup encounter with Wolves.

'We don't want our heads in the clouds,' he said. 'We are at Manchester United. We are expected to win games. We have another game on Wednesday, so we need our feet to be firmly back on the ground.'

Owen left the best until last for United, sending Gary Neville into ecstasy and leaving Ferguson in buoyant mood.

Ferguson

Gaffer's delight: Ferguson happy to get one over 'noisy neighbours'

'Sometimes you have a noisy neighbour. You cannot do anything about that. They will always be noisy,' said the United boss.

'You just have to get on with your life, put your television on and turn it up a bit louder.

dukedracula SG

seriously, this is only one goal in the final seconds....every dog has its day....we've seen so many of subs saving the day but in the end, they remain subs for obvious reasons....owen has had many opportunities prior and those days have since passed...i reckon he's a humble dude by many accounts but he's not the machine he once was....

zocoss SG

Indeed it is one goal in the final seconds... Then again, how many players get this one goal in the final seconds kind of thing? Lets not forget, this was not just your weekly ordinary match... Even if it was, it will still meant something the way it ended... But this was a special game, a Manchester derby, one that was bill up so much over the week that it has never been this big between these 2 clubs for decades...

With City's new found wealth and the purchased they have made and the little thing about Tevez crossing over... It made this match all the more bigger than any before... City are well on their way to the top 4, no doubt about this... Its just a matter of time only... 2 to 3 yrs will be all that is needed or perhaps shorter...

There will probably be a number of extra time goals being scored here and there over the season... Some will be forgotten and some have already been forgotton... But it will be hard to beat this one and it will stay in the memories of many fans as well as non fans of either clubs... Owen's winner will probably eclipse many of the extra time goals scored so far and it will be right up there along with Beckham's free-kick winner against Greece in the last minutes of that match to take England to the World Cup... Already they have said this will be up there along with his amazing goal against Argentina as a teenager... So indeed, it will be one of the most memorable goal of the season or even a few seasons after this when it may still be brought up whenever the derby comes around... To add special to it, that was Owen's first goal for United at OT, and it couldn't have come at a better time or match or moment... These are like what fairy tales are made of...

sg_forum SG

You can rarely see a game of football that lasted until 97th minutes...

dukedracula SG

i've seen the replays, this goal is not up there nor is it near anywhere, you are a hardcore manu dude and we all know that and naturally you will hype this till no end....it was a largely fortituous goal that fell to him unmarked, even fergie on a crouch can score into an almost empty net....a better goal would be the bellemy one when he brought half field after rio's stupidity and scored in tight angle.....or if you want, droba's 3rd goal against spurs was class...owen..nah....

iceFatboy SG

well, we are not debating the quality of the goals but the importance of it.

Given it was a derby and there were so much hype over it, Owen deservedly felt it was a special one given he scored the winning one, even when the time seems to have gone a bit "longer". (However that's not the fault of United but the officials.)

while U choose to highlight Rio's stupidity or all United, it is just normal for MU fans to spotlight the winning goal, right?

iceFatboy SG

I beg to differ with you on the "largely fortituous goal" bit, cause it would just negate a great pass from Giggs and a clinical finish from owen. As for almost empty net, I would say the first city goal would have been more fitting, wouldn't u agree??

dukedracula SG

looks like the manu crazies are out in force..lol...relax .....i'm not comparing which is a better goal, just wether if that goal was 'up there', clearly it isn't........and crowning owen just because of that is a bit of a stretch.....

iceFatboy SG

well, I am not framing it is a better goal but just its importance.

Oh well..

limpper SG

Manchester City want the book thrown at fourth official Alan Wiley as the fallout from Sunday's 4-3 derby defeat rumbles on.

The Sun says City are furious with Wiley for shooing away boss Mark Hughes when he questioned where all the added time had come from. Then Wiley stood laughing with United boss Alex Ferguson after Michael Owen's 96th-minute winner.

Hughes said: "The board had gone up for four minutes of additional time at the same time as Craig Bellamy made it 3-3.

"The additional time after the four minutes didn't sit comfortably with me. We feel aggrieved. Everyone in the stadium knew the time allotted. I would like an explanation why more was added on but I rather doubt I will get it.

"The fourth official said time was added because of our goal celebration but that lasted only 45 seconds."

City are just as angry over Wiley's rude treatment of Hughes only to cosy up and share a joke with Ferguson.

That just added to the hurt and sense of injustice for City who equalised three times before eventually going down 4-3.