FT: Man Utd 1 Fulham 3 Steed Malbranque starred in Fulham's amazing 3-1 victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford.
The Frenchman ran the champions ragged as Chris Coleman's buoyant Londoners stormed to their first win over United for 39 years. Lee Clark set Fulham on their way with his third-minute strike and United were hugely fortunate to go in level at the break after Diego Forlan's injury-time strike. But the brilliant Malbranque ran the show in the second half, firing Fulham's second in the 66th minute and providing the through-ball for Junichi Inamoto to wrap up a wonderful victory 11 minutes from time. Malbranque set up the opener with three minutes on the clock when he caught Mikael Silvestre and John O'Shea sleeping down the right and crossed to give unmarked captain Clark the simplest of chances. They came agonisingly close in the 18th minute when Mark Pembridge hammered a rising 20-yard effort which clattered the crossbar before bouncing down onto the goal-line and away to safety. Ruud Van Nistelrooy was being shackled while Ryan Giggs swapped flanks with the unimpressive Cristiano Ronaldo. Forlan grabbed an undeserved equaliser deep into first half stoppage time when he raced onto a Giggs through-ball and shot home to Edwin Van Der Sar's right. United began the second period with much more purpose but their defensive frailties were soon to resurface. Though O'Shea's brilliant challenge denied Louis Saha a clear run on goal in the 63rd minute, three minutes later Fulham were back in front. Rio Ferdinand failed to clear Luis Boa Morte's left-wing cross and Quinton Fortune deflected the ball into the path of Malbranque, who drove home low past Tim Howard. Fulham sealed victory on 79 minutes, Malbranque knocked an inch-perfect through-ball which Inamoto swept majestically over Howard. Referee: M Riley Attendance: 67727 Man Utd: Tim Howard, Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand, Mikael Silvestre (Quinton Fortune, 45), John O'Shea, Cristiano Ronaldo (Paul Scholes, 69), Eric Djemba-Djemba (David Bellion, 80), Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Diego Forlan, Ruud van Nistelrooy Subs: David Bellion, Roy Carroll, Paul Scholes, Darren Fletcher, Quinton Fortune Fulham: Edwin Van der Sar, Moritz Volz, Alain Goma, Zat Knight, Jerome Bonnissel (Martin Djetou, 74), Steed Malbranque, Mark Pembridge (Junichi Inamoto, 32), Lee Clark, Sylvain Legwinski, Luis Boa Morte (Barry Hayles, 86), Louis Saha Subs: Mark Crossley, Andrew Melville, Junichi Inamoto, Barry Hayles, Martin Djetou Action: 3 min - Goal, Lee Clark, (Fulham) 17 min - Booking, Diego Forlan (Man Utd), Unsporting behaviour 32 min - Substitution, Inamoto on for Pembridge, (Fulham) 42 min - Booking, Eric Djemba-Djemba (Man Utd), Unsporting behaviour 43 min - Booking, Junichi Inamoto (Fulham), Unsporting behaviour 45 min - Goal, Diego Forlan, (Man Utd) 45 min - Substitution, Fortune on for Silvestre, (Man Utd) 50 min - Booking, Quinton Fortune (Man Utd), Entering the field of play without permission 58 min - Booking, Ryan Giggs (Man Utd), Unsporting behaviour 66 min - Goal, Steed Malbranque, (Fulham) 69 min - Substitution, Scholes on for Ronaldo, (Man Utd) 74 min - Substitution, Djetou on for Bonnissel, (Fulham) 79 min - Goal, Junichi Inamoto, (Fulham) 80 min - Substitution, Bellion on for Djemba-Djemba, (Man Utd) 81 min - Booking, Zat Knight (Fulham), Time wasting 86 min - Substitution, Hayles on for Boa Morte, (Fulham) ------------------------ 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/
