Manchester United 4 Everton 4: United Hit by Back Trouble... Visiting the Neighbours Could be so Tricky Now

Animaniacfootball.blogspot.com - This was no way to prepare for a visit to the neighbours. Not when the game has now become the most significant Manchester derby in history; when Manchester United have somehow allowed what could have been their crowning moment to become what Sir Alex Ferguson now considers the 'decider'.

‘I can’t believe it,’ said an exasperated United manager afterwards.

If they perform like this Manchester City will certainly punish them, the quality of United’s defending costing them the advantage in this most intriguing of title races as well as victory against an Everton side inspired by the marvellous Marouane Fellaini.

Gary Neville called it ‘madness’ afterwards, and it was a fine way to describe an encounter United led 3-1 and then 4-2 until the 82nd minute.

When United scored their fourth, created by Danny Welbeck and converted by Wayne Rooney,  Ferguson shook a clenched fist towards the Stretford End.

By the time Steven Pienaar had completed what had seemed an unlikely comeback, United’s manager must have wanted to thump a few people instead. In particular certain members of his back four.

Rafael Da Silva was dreadful; Jonny Evans not much better despite his recent rise in standards. United also lacked their usual finesse and fluency in midfield, as they did at Wigan. On this occasion, however, Paul Scholes was also poor, with Fellaini dominant.

Going forward United were  terrific and the manner in which Rooney and Welbeck combined will give them confidence.

Neville likened them to ‘Yorke and Cole at their best’, a fair comparison and one that points to what they can offer England this summer.

But surgery is required at United after this, with Ferguson sure to consider Chris Smalling and Phil Jones in a reshuffled back four. Smalling for Rafael would certainly make sense. In 20 seasons of the Premier League United have never conceded more goals at Old  Trafford. This was also the seventh time this season they have  conceded three or more.

Clearly, the absence of Nemanja Vidic and their early-season difficulties with goalkeepers have taken their toll. But Ferguson will be in no mood to point to such excuses when the players who remain standing should have been good enough to cope with Everton.

As it was, they paid for a lacklustre opening half-an-hour with the first of two goals for Nikica Jelavic in the 33rd minute. It was a super looping header from Jelavic, just as it was a fine cross from Tony Hibbert, but it also owed much to Rafael’s failure to mark Everton’s Croatian striker in the first place.

United levelled within eight minutes, Rooney joining George Best and Dennis Viollet as the fourth highest scorer in United’s history. It was his 179th in 362 appearances, as he surged ahead of a hesitant Phil Neville to meet Nani’s cross with a glancing header.

It was also Rooney’s 32nd goal of the season, with the goal he scored in the second half taking him beyond Best and Viollet and one shy of Robin van Persie’s tally of 27 in the league for this campaign.

 

Before then Welbeck had secured the lead for United, scoring a quite brilliant goal in the 57th minute.

First came the feint to wrong-foot John Heitinga, then the curling  finish that flew beyond a diving Tim Howard.

Welbeck turned creator three minutes later with a first-time pass that invited Nani — selected ahead of Ashley Young — to lift the ball over the advancing Howard and double United’s advantage.

But within six minutes that advantage had been halved,  Fellaini meeting another excellent cross from Hibbert with a stunning volley. United’s response was impressive, with Welbeck spinning away from Heitinga before  delivering a perfect ball for Rooney.

The finish was clinical, the  advantage back to two goals.

Had Patrice Evra not been denied by the thickness of the post, United would have had a fifth

 

 

But no sooner had United’s  captain missed than Jelavic was pouncing on a mistake by Evans and Rio Ferdinand. Both men had jumped for the same ball with  Fellaini, leaving a gaping hole in the United defence that Jelavic was only too happy to occupy. He scored with ease.

Playing so effectively in that space between midfield and Jelavic,  Felliani created Everton’s fourth.

He received a pass from Neville and then turned Evans to feed the ball into the path of the advancing Pienaar. Rafael should have been tracking the South African winger, but missed the run thanks to another lapse in concentration.

Ferguson responded by sending on Jones for Scholes, unleashing Javier Hernandez from the bench four minutes later.

 

 

It did not give the Mexican much time and in the end it was  Ferdinand who went closest to  winning this contest, forcing a good save from Howard with a powerful strike.

As angry as Ferguson will be, this was typical of the teams he produces. They are thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies, players who never seem to want to make life easy for themselves.

But still they will wonder how they have contrived to leave themselves in this situation.

 

 

 (source : www.dailymail.co.uk)

Hull 12 Wigan 56: Warriors Keep the Pressure on Giants with Big Win

Animaniacfootball.blogspot.com - Pat Richards produced an outstanding performance as Wigan kept the pressure on Stobart Super League leaders Huddersfield with a big victory over Hull that will prove a timely reminder for their rivals.

Winger Richards scored a hat-trick and finished with a 26-point individual haul in a crushing triumph which saw the Warriors outscore their hosts 10 tries to two at the KC Stadium.

In a battle between two in the leading sides in the standings, Wigan reinforced their second position and looked every bit Grand Final contenders while Hull fell out the top four for the first time since last month after successive league defeats.

Three tries inside the opening 15 minutes gave the Warriors the platform to go on and record an emphatic victory.

Having taken the lead inside two minutes through Richards, the former Man of Steel winner soon doubled the Warriors' advantage, touching down one handed after rounding opposite number Will Sharp on the last tackle.

Hull had gone into the match missing a host of first-team players including their half-back duo of Brett Seymour and Richard Horne.

Forced into making changes to their side once again, Hull looked ill at ease in defence and the manner in which Gareth Hock crashed over the line for Wigan's third try despite having a collection of black and whites shirts around him will have worried home coach Peter Gentle.

Hull's impressive start to the season which had taken them as high as second at Easter has been built on a robust defence but against a fast and direct Wigan outfit the meanest defence in the competition were having real trouble containing their opponents.

Steadying the ship, the re-introduction of prop Sam Moa alongside the old head of Lee Radford, back out of retirement once again to aid Hull's injury cause, the home side finally found their way into the game and began enjoying an equal share of possession.

However, unlike their opponents, Hull could not find a clinical edge within sight of the Wigan line and the Warriors made sure they paid for their profligacy with a further two tries inside the closing minutes of the first half.

First full-back Sam Tomkins touched down after chasing his own kick which was directed to the foot of the posts, then Super League's top try scorer Josh Charnley showed his pace in leaving behind England winger Tom Briscoe as he raced for the try line.

Any hopes Hull had of a turnaround in fortunes and change to the pattern of the match after the interval lasted just two minutes when with their first set of the half Wigan scored again, Richards completing his hat-trick with a trademark catch from a cross-field kick by Brett Finch.

A Michael McIlorum try soon after took Wigan to the 40-point mark but to their credit Hull would not lie down and hit back with two tries of their own from Jamie Ellis and Sharp.

That was as good as it got for Hull, though, and a second try for Charnley followed by late score for Thomas Leuluai and Finch concluded a thoroughly one-sided affair. (source : www.dailymail.co.uk)

'Prepare for Biggest Derby Ever'

Animaniacfootball.blogspot.com - SIR ALEX Ferguson conceded that Manchester United's visit to Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium a week today will be the biggest derby the two clubs have ever known after United failed to beat Everton at Old Trafford yesterday.

Ferguson's team twice threw away a two-goal advantage to draw the game 4-4 after David Moyes' team scored two goals in the last seven minutes through Nikica Jelavic and Steven Pienaar. A 2-0 victory for Manchester City over Wolverhampton Wanderers later in the day means that City are within three points of United and can take over at the top of the Premier League on goal difference if they beat them next week.

Ferguson said that his team had "given them [City] the initiative". With two goals from Wayne Rooney and one each for Danny Welbeck and Nani, United led at 3-1 and 4-2 but made fundamental defensive mistakes to let Everton back into the game.

The United manager said: "It makes the game at the Etihad a really important game. A decider really. We make it hard for ourselves as we normally do but we'll have to go there knowing we are capable of getting a result.

"I think [against Everton] there were defensive lapses, their goals were soft, really soft goals. We have created goals through really good football but I think they got their goals easy."

He added: "We need to get a result at the Etihad, there is no question about that. We need to perform. There is no reason why we can't do that. There has been an expectancy from City that it could be their decider, but it's our decider too.

"There will be a reaction, obviously, there is no question about that. The game on Monday would always be a derby game of the highest proportions and this won't be any different." Asked whether it was the biggest Manchester derby he could remember, Ferguson replied: "Yes, definitely. Game on." Should United win at the Etihad Stadium they would need just one point from their remaining two games against Swansea City and Sunderland to win the title. 

Ferguson bemoaned his team's "terrible" defending against Everton, who had two goals from Jelavic and one each from Pienaar and Marouane Fellaini. He said: "We've thrown it away, it's as simple as that. We just didn't deal with the balls into Fellaini. Lack of concentration. Some of the football in the second half was fantastic, the goals were brilliant, and it was a travesty of a result in some ways to play that type of football and concede four goals."

Moyes said that it had always been his intention to try to win the game after the disappointment of last weekend's FA Cup semi-final defeat to Liverpool. "I think it was a wee bit to say 'Hey, we're not that bad a team'. We've been a very good team since January. From our point of view we reminded people that we're still here."

City's 2-0 win at Wolves - which relegated the home team yesterday - allowed Roberto Mancini to maintain his public pretence last night that only United can win the title - a pretence his defender, Joleon Lescott, revealed last week he does not maintain behind closed doors. "No, it's not in our hands. We are three points less and we play two other difficult games after the derby," Mancini claimed. "Congratulations [to United] for this season, this title. Maybe you can [bet] 100 per cent on United winning it. We don't have any pressure because we don't have any chance of winning [the title]."

This self-serving line is wearing a bit thin, now that City's destiny is in their own hands. United's result had not created pressure, he insisted. "I don't know this. At the moment we don't have any pressure because we don't have any chance of winning." He would re-appraise his position on title prospects after the United game." We can talk about this on Monday night..." That's one thing we most certainly will be doing.

500-1 The pre-match odds given on yesterday's game finishing 4-4

Sunday results: Manchester United 4, Everton 4; Manchester City 2, Wolves 0; Liverpool 0, Wolves 1

(source : www.news-mail.com.au)