> To be fair, Rangers could have fought back to a > draw or even a win if not for some wayward shooting > and Howard's rescue and P Neville's clearance.
Yep, I have to agree with BW's assessment of the game. United looked okay for most of the game, very good for brief spells, but it wasn't as if we were ever sure of the three points. We came to do a job, set ourselves up with a fairly defensive formation and tactics, and it worked thanks to some good defensive play by United and some erratic finishing from Rangers. No question, though, that we did deserve all three points. We were perhaps fortunate also that the Rangers side doesn't have a backbone of Scottish-born players who may well have fed off the ancient Anglo-Scottish rivalries to put as much fire into their bellies as the Rangers fans showed on the terraces. We were also helped by Alex McLeish's tactics, who should have had a stronger midfield and who should have played the left-sided Lovenkrands on the left. When he did, late on, it made a difference for them. Alex Junior will be tactically more savvy for the return game at OT. Rangers can still cause us problems in that game, and that's one reason to be p1ssed off with the referee's failure to give that last- minute penalty. A 0-2 scoreline would have made it pretty certain that we would come through any head-to-head comparison with Rangers should the teams finish level on points at the end. As it stands now, a 1-2 win for Rangers at OT would give them the advantage. Ok, it looks unlikely after yesterday but it's a possibility. As for the referee, he had a generally good game but, in addition to the penalty, didn't do us any favours. He's another one that tends to be influenced by crowd noise: big noise, blow yer whistle; silence, don't bother. There was one moment towards the end when he actually blew for a foul committed against Ruud ... the Dutchman looked absolutely amazed that he'd got something from this referee. Who needs Ronaldo when you've got the twinkle-toed Phizza Nev? Along with Quinton, he has to be the most improved player of the season, in fact of the past two seasons. It's just as well that we are getting the best out of them now as Fergie doesn't yet seem to trust any of the actual new guys he bought (apart, of course, from the superb Tim Howard), at least not in the big games. But they're still young so his caution is understandable. In the first half, I thought we defended too deeply, which allowed Rangers to close us down in our own half. As usual, this resulted in more pointless hoofing of the ball upfield to Ruud who didn't have the ball control or body strength to do anything with it, assuming the ball actually found him. In the second half, Fergie re-jigged the midfield and decided to give Rangers a taste of their own medicine by closing them down in their own half. This led to the excellent 10 minute spell after half time when we should have increased the lead. Keano was competent and under control, as he has been all season. The back four looked comfortable though we have a problem defending set pieces, especially against headers, and this is surprising when you consider the height of Rio, Mikky and JohnO. The latter was again a bit edgy, as characterised by the early yellow card and inability later to take a throw-in. But he showed some improvement on earlier PL performances. Giggsy was a mixture of brilliance and ineptitude. He had some good runs that sent the Rangers defence into a panic, but then spoiled his overall performance with some poor passing and yielding up possession cheaply. I also wish he'd stop waving his arms around and appealing to the referee every time he carelessly loses the ball. That apart, he did as well as could be expected from the role he was given. Any lip readers in the TV audience would also have noticed his "firm" response to Keano after the Irishman had given him a blowtorching for some perceived offence. No doubt he'll now be up on a disrepute charge before UEFA and banned for the next 5 years. ;-) It was a good performance and a great result though there's still a lot to do in the group to finish top of it which, I think, will be vital if we want to avoid meeting the big guns in the next round. Quite apart from Rangers at OT, we also have a potential banana skin against Stuttgart; frustrating United at OT is what German opposition does best, and Stuttgart are definite contenders for top spot at the moment. I think the most comforting thing about United's performances so far this season in all competitions, is that we are generally getting the results we need without ever playing to our full potential. Given that our best football is usually played in the second half of the season, this is cause for plenty of optimism. Fulham next. More of the same, please, Fergie. Terry ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Rent DVDs from home. Over 14,500 titles. 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