FT: Man Utd 3 Birmingham 0 Ruud van Nistelrooy was on the spot again to end Birmingham's unbeaten record in a 3-0 win and dispel any remaining doubts that he has lost his nerve for taking penalties. He had missed three in a row before scoring a spot-kick in the midweek defeat by Stuttgart, and he took the responsibility again to end Birmingham s defiance and make it eight Premiership goals for the season. After that, with Blues' keeper Maik Taylor having been sent off for felling Paul Scholes and conceding the penalty, there was only going to be one winner. Scholes provided the killer blow to crown an impressive personal performance before Ryan Giggs wrapped things up. The blustery wind did not help attempts to play pretty football, but even so there was not even a suggestion of an effort on goal by either side until in the 15th minute Darren Fletcher had a go from a difficult angle but Taylor had no trouble picking up the shot. Scholes managed to direct a header on target from Gary Neville's cross but it lacked power, then the England midfielder turned onto van Nistelrooy's pass and struck a low drive but straight at Taylor. Van Nistelrooy had caused Birmingham a couple of scares before he had a half-chance, latching on to Roy Keane's pass and shooting across goal. At the other end, Christophe Dugarry had the Blues' first attempt with a 25-yard volley but he sliced it wide. The match swung in United's favour after 34 minutes. Scholes sped through on to van Nistelrooy's pass, Taylor was a vital second too late to the ball and brought the United player down. Referee Mike Dean had little choice but to award the penalty and to send Taylor off too. Substitute keeper Ian Bennett came on and his first task was to pick van Nistelrooy's clinical spot-kick out of the back of the net. Little more than a minute after the break, Birmingham came within a whisker of an equaliser. Forssell had done superbly to keep possession near the penalty box, then his pass ricocheted into the path of Jamie Clapham. He advanced on goal but Tim Howard stood up well to block his shot. >From then on, it was all United as they began to set up camp in Birmingham's half and probe constantly for openings. Van Nistelrooy drove straight at Bennett when the ball dropped to the Dutchman 15 yards but they continued to scent a clinching second goal and Scholes finally provided it in the 57th minute. Phil Neville picked him out in space in the middle of the pitch, and he took two strides forward before burying a low shot to the keeper's right. United emphasised their dominance with Giggs firing home a third after substitute Diego Forlan had found him with a yard of space in the penalty box. Forlan should have made it four after being put through but his control let him down and Bennett was able to keep the tally slightly respectable. Referee: M Dean Attendance: 67633
Man Utd: Tim Howard, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Mikael Silvestre, Quinton Fortune, Darren Fletcher, Phil Neville (Nicky Butt, 71), Roy Keane (Diego Forlan, 66), Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Ruud van Nistelrooy Subs: Cristiano Ronaldo, Nicky Butt, Roy Carroll, Diego Forlan, John O'Shea Birmingham: Maik Taylor, Damien Johnson, Matthew Upson, Kenny Cunningham, Jamie Clapham, David Dunn, Aliou Cisse, Stephen Clemence (Olivier Tebily, 79), Stan Lazaridis (Ian Bennett, 35), Christophe Dugarry (Darren Carter, 66), Mikael Forssell Subs: Ian Bennett, Stern John, Darren Carter, Clinton Morrison, Olivier Tebily Action: 34 min - Sent off, Maik Taylor (Birmingham), Professional Foul 35 min - Booking, Aliou Cisse (Birmingham), Dissent 35 min - Substitution, Bennett on for Lazaridis, (Birmingham) 36 min - Penalty Goal, Ruud van Nistelrooy, (Man Utd) 57 min - Goal, Paul Scholes, (Man Utd) 66 min - Substitution, Forlan on for Keane, (Man Utd) 66 min - Substitution, Carter on for Dugarry, (Birmingham) 71 min - Substitution, Butt on for P Neville, (Man Utd) 79 min - Substitution, Tebily on for Clemence, (Birmingham) 82 min - Goal, Ryan Giggs, (Man Utd) [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------ 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/tsUolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> *************************************** Reply to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe to the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe from the list: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
