Roon with a view.. Wayne Rooney
gets into space to lift home his opener at Old
Trafford
WAYNE ROONEY left it late to keep Manchester United top of
the table.
The England star netted on 77 minutes to finally kill off Reading,
who will feel gutted they did not take a point.
Cristiano Ronaldo made sure of the win a minute from time.
But the Royals were left to rue a host of missed chances as they
slumped to their third straight home defeat.
United boss Alex Ferguson admitted he was relieved to have won the
game.
He said: By the end we were quite happy to get through it.
Considering the number of opportunities we had, maybe our
decision-making in the final third of the field wasnt at its
best.
We kept making chances, but you do start to worry when the game
goes on and you havent scored.
Credit to Reading, they keep going at you all the time and I think
thats an important result for us.
Reading boss Steve Coppell conceded United's class finally told in
the end.
He said: For 70 minutes we gave as good as we got.
If we had nicked three points it would have been history here,
that is how big the opposition are. A point here would have been
terrific for us.
But you look at their incisive individuals - and by that I mean
Ronaldo and Rooney.
By and large we handled the other nine well but over the course of
90 minutes their appetite will create openings and opportunities.
In the end it was one too many.
Ronaldo was up to his old tricks from the off as he worked space on
the edge of the box before pulling his shot, while another run from
halfway ended with a strike just over the bar.
Leroy Lita forced Edwin van Der Sar to rush off his line to block,
with Nemanja Vidic diving in to divert Dave Kitson's
follow-up.
Carlos Tevez was next to try his luck but Marcus Hahnemann turned
his effort behind.
Reading responded and after Van der Sar's weak punch on Stephen
Hunts deflected free-kick, Kalifa Cisses low shot was deflected
wide for a corner.
Hahnemann then produced an astonishing diving save from an Owen
Hargreaves free-kick which looked destined for the corner until the
American hurled himself across goal and tipped it wide.
Van der Sar had the backtracking Rio Ferdinand to thank for
clearing Kitson's first-time 40-yard effort after the keeper had
scuffed a clearance.
Ryan Giggs replaced Park Ji Sung at half-time and virtually his
first act was to swing in a dangerous corner which had Reading at
sixes and sevens.
Hahnemanns punch hit Kitsons back and the ball was on its way in
when Cisse made an acrobatic interception to hook it clear from
under his own bar.
Ronaldo ballooned a shot over the bar and Hahnemann was at full
stretch to deny Rooney.
Hunt then threw himself in the path of a Giggs shot from the edge
of the area, while at the other end Van Der Sar got up to keep out
Kitson's attempted lob.
United finally made the breakthrough 13 minutes from time when
Rooney directed Tevez's lofted centre beyond Hahnemann.
Carrick headed wide as chances continued to arrive.
Hahnemann saved from Ronaldo before Royals winger James Harper
broke from midfield only to drag his shot wide of the far
post.
Reading continued to pile forward but Ronaldo skipped clear and
coolly slotted past Hahnemann to wrap up the win.
Reading: Hahnemann, Murty, Ingimarsson, Cisse,
Shorey, Doyle, Hunt, Harper, Convey (Matejovsky 80), Lita (Long
83), Kitson. Subs not used: Federici, Rosenior, De
la Cruz. Booked: Convey.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic,
Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Hargreaves (Nani 70), Park (Giggs 46),
Rooney, Tevez (Fletcher 81). Subs not used:
Kuszczak, OShea. Booked: Ferdinand.
Goals: Rooney 77, Ronaldo 90.
Att: 24,135
Ref: Steve Bennett (Kent).
All ads up.. Emmanuel Adebayor is
congraluated at Craven Cottage
ARSENAL kept the pressure on Man Utd thanks to Emmanuel
Adebayor's double.
The Togo hitman struck twice before Tomas Rosicky's goal as the
Gunners eased past struggling Fulham.
The victory kept Arsene Wenger's side joint top but the Cottagers
are in deep trouble in the dropzone after this latest
setback.
Wenger could afford to joke afterwards when discussing Adebayor's
availability during the African Nations Cup.
He said: I must confess I wasnt devastated when Togo didnt
qualify.
In the past, he has sometimes ended up going out to the flanks
because he so wants to be involved in play.
"But that drags him away from where he can be lethal. We have been
telling him that for a while and he was more focused on being
central today which is good.
He has an unbelievable jump, he times his jumps very well and hes
terrific in those situations.
The home side started brightly and after Seol Ki-Hyeon stumbled,
Danny Murphy blasted a loose ball wide from 20 yards.
Arsenal were struggling to get a firm hold of the game, although
Cesc Fabregas dragged his shot wide from the edge of the
area.
The blustery conditions also did little to help the Gunners
passing game but they were ahead on 19 minutes.
Gael Clichy broke down the left before sending over a high cross
into the Fulham box.
Adebayor got up in between two markers to nod the ball into the
bottom right corner for his 14th goal of the season.
Another Clichy delivery picked out Eduardo but the Croat could not
guide his glancing header on target.
Fulham were left shell-shocked after going behind but it got even
worse in the 38th minute.
Mathieu Flamini sent Alexander Hleb racing down the right and the
Belarus star's weighted cross was again headed home by the lurking
Adebayor.
Fulham created their best chance three minutes before the break
when Steven Davis got down the left flank and cut the ball back to
the edge of the box.
Murphy latched on to it but his side-foot effort flew just over the
bar.
Fulham introduced Jimmy Bullard at the break as he steps up his
return from a serious knee injury.
But it was Arsenal who had the first chance after the interval when
Eduardo headed wide at the far post.
And Rosicky was then unfortunate to see a first-time effort come
off the outside of the near post.
Fulham had the ball in the net thanks to Clint Dempsey but it was
ruled out with three players in an offside position.
Rosicky then wrapped up Arsenal's latest triumph by firing home a
third goal in the latter stages.
Eduardo pulled the ball back across the six-yard box where Rosicky
flew in to volley home.
Fulham boss Roy Hogdson, who faces an uphill battle to keep them in
the Premier League, said: We have to get to winning matches
because the later we leave it, the harder it will become.
I think we can do it. I dont think the players have given up and
if we bring in some new faces, that will improve the spirit even
more.
As far as Im concerned, its a work in progress and were up for
that work. We know where we have to improve.
Fulham: Niemi, Volz, Hughes, Stefanovic,
Bocanegra, Ki-Hyeon (Healy 61), Smertin (Kuqi 78.), Davis (Bullard
46), Murphy, Davies, Dempsey. Subs not used:
Warner, Baird.
Arsenal: Almunia, Sagna, Senderos, Gallas, Clichy,
Hleb, Flamini, Fabregas, Rosicky, Adebayor, Eduardo. Subs
not used: Lehmann, Diaby, Silva, Bendtner, Justin Hoyte.
Booked: Clichy. Goals: Adebayor 19, 38, Rosicky
81.
Att: 25,297
Ref: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire).
