Saturday 05/11/2011
Premier League
Manchester United marked 25 years service from Sir Alex Ferguson with all 3 points at Old Trafford.
The day was, for once, not just about the game as the astonishing achievements of Sir Alex were the flavour of the day. Before the match Fergie was given a guard of honour by both sides, in his 25 years at the club he has enjoyed unprecedented success both domestically and in Europe. The big surprise came as the North Stand was renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, a fitting tribute to the greatest manager the game has ever seen.
There was still a game of football to be played as United lined up against a Sunderland side that included former reds Wes Brown and Kieran Richardson. Anders Lindegaard was preferred in goal ahead of David De Gea, with Wayne Rooney again deployed in central midfield as he was in the 2-0 victory over Otelul Galati. After only moments of play the game came to a stand still as Sunderland forward Connor Wickham had to be stretchered off following a bad fall. Sunderland were forced into an early change with Ji Dong-Won coming on to replace him after only four minutes.
The black cats were defending in numbers and for long periods of the half had all 11 men behind the ball. United were struggling to break them down or find any rhythm at all. Chances were very few and far between, Sunderland's organised defence keeping United at bay. This tactic saw the visitors reduced to trying to hit United on the break through Nicklas Bendtner. It took until first half stoppage time for United to make the breakthrough, when Ex-red Wes Brown headed into his own net following a Nani corner. United had the lead going into the break to the relief of the 76,000 inside Old Trafford. Their team had not played well, with perhaps the occasion hampering the performance.
In the second half United were more sprightly and were playing with increased urgency. However the game continued without incident until the 64th minute when Kieran Richardson managed to clear Chicharito's header off the line following another superb cross from Nani.
There was a moment of contention late on when Sunderland thought they had won a penalty. Assistant referee Jake Collin flagged for a penalty, it looked at first that it had been awarded. However the referee overturned the decision instead awarding United a free kick in their own box. Replays showed Lee Mason had made the correct call, it had in fact been Ji- Dong Won that had handled in the area. Sixteen minutes from time Keiren Westwood kept the score to just 1 - 0 when he completed a phenomenal double save first stopping a Wayne Rooney shot before tipping over Patrice Evra's effort.
United held on for all three points in what was a game that took second stage to celebration of Sir Alex Ferguson's success at the club. The Old Trafford side have now kept four clean sheets in a row in all competitions, winning all four games. This will be a welcome return to form for the Manager and fans alike following the 1-6 loss to Manchester City.
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