The following news article was added to www.red11.org/news on Sat Oct 25 @ 17:13:12 GMT
FULHAM STUN UNITED Manchester United stumbled off the Premiership pace as they were spectacularly knocked out of their stride by Fulham at Old Trafford. A third-minute goal from captain Lee Clark and second-half strikes from Steed Malbranque and Junichi Inamoto continued Fulham's remarkable start to the season. Diego Forlan's first goal of the season had given United hope on the stroke of half-time, but Chris Coleman's side deservedly claimed victory. A home win would have elevated Manchester United to the top of the table, but defeat saw them slip to third as Fulham climbed to the vertigo-inducing heights of fifth. KEY MOMENTS 3 mins: Clarke fires Fulham in front from a Malbranque cross 18 mins: Pembridge shot hits the Man Utd crossbar 45 mins: Forlan's fine finish brings United level seconds before half-time 66 mins: Malbranque's opportunist strike puts Fulham back in front 79 mins: Inamoto's stunning finish seals Fulham's win United came into the game on a high following their midweek Champions League win at Rangers. But when Gary Neville wasted an early chance to emulate his brother Phil's midweek goalscoring heroics, Sir Alex Ferguson might have sensed it was not going to be his day. Ferguson, confined to the directors' box following his two-match touchline ban, probably had the best view in the house as Fulham quickly took control. Clark swept them ahead inside three minutes as he clinically finished off Malbranque's cross after Mikael Silvestre had conceded possession cheaply. Chris Coleman's side then set about proving their opener was no fluke. Mark Pembridge smacked a right-foot shot against the crossbar and Luis Saha saw a close-range shot blocked by Tim Howard. United did not get a look-in for the opening 20 minutes and, though they roused slowly after that, it was rough justice on Fulham when the home side levelled on the stroke of half-time. Mark Pembridge holds off Nicky Butt There was no faulting Forlan's finish though, as he took his time after being sent clear and then hit a sweetly-struck shot across Edwin van der Saar and into the bottom corner of the net. Ferguson missed the strike, already on his way down to the dressing room to warm up the hairdryer for his players. Whether any player had the nerve to tell him United were back on level terms is unlikely, but whatever the manager said at half-time clearly had little affect. Forlan should have put them in front but was off target after being forced wide and the visitors refused to buckle. Their resilience underlined a growing belief that they could catch the frustrated home side on the break. And when Rio Ferdinand missed a header in his own penalty area, Malbranque was swift to exact punishment. We had a tough game in midweek and we were tired His opportunist finish gave Howard no chance and sent United on their way to a first Premiership defeat at Old Trafford since Bolton won there more than a year ago. United were reeling, and though they responded with a John O'Shea header that flew wide, it was Fulham who deservedly struck again 11 minutes from time. Junichi Inamoto fittingly sealed a spectacular win with a spectacular finish, firing a left-foot shot from six yards to give Fulham their first Old Trafford win since 1963. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Manchester Utd: Howard, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Silvestre (Fortune 45), O'Shea, Ronaldo (Scholes 69), Djemba-Djemba (Bellion 80), Butt, Giggs, Forlan, van Nistelrooy. Subs Not Used: Carroll, Fletcher. Booked: Forlan, Djemba-Djemba, Fortune, Giggs. Fulham: Van der Sar, Volz, Goma, Knight, Bonnissel (Djetou 74), Malbranque, Pembridge (Inamoto 32), Clark, Legwinski, Boa Morte (Hayles 86), Saha. Subs Not Used: Crossley, Melville. Booked: Inamoto, Knight. Attendance: 67,727 Referee: M Riley (W Yorkshire). news.bbc.co.uk http://www.red11.org/news ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Buy Ink Cartridges or Refill Kits for your HP, Epson, Canon or Lexmark Printer at MyInks.com. Free s/h on orders $50 or more to the US & Canada. http://www.c1tracking.com/l.asp?cid=5511 http://us.click.yahoo.com/mOAaAA/3exGAA/qnsNAA/GtUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> Subscription info WWW http://red11.org/list Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] = subscribe to the list. [EMAIL PROTECTED] = unsubscribe from the list. Post message [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
