| . | . | . |
Fulham 1 - 1 Manchester United
Saturday 24th February 2006
Craven Cottage, London
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a dramatic - and scarcely deserved - late winner as Manchester United moved nine points clear at the top of the Premiership.
The goal was Ronaldo's 16th of the Premiership season and extremely harsh on Fulham, who played most of the better football only to succumb to the Portuguese winger's individual moment of brilliance.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson jumped up and down at the final whistle - a clear illustration of how much the victory meant to him.
The visiting team had started poorly, while Fulham, deploying a diamond formation in midfield, set about their task with enthusiasm. The United defence made an uncertain start to the game and it was more uncharacteristic hesitation that led to Fulham's opener.
Vidic should have hooked clear a ball over the top as Davies chased him down. Van der Sar charged out of goal but, close to colliding with Vidic, made minimal contact. McBride seized on the chance, his low shot hitting the post and rolling into the net, despite Rio Ferdinand's last-ditch attempt to clear the ball.
Shortly afterwards more ragged play led to Van der Sar almost falling over as he tried to control a backpass, the Dutch keeper just clearing the ball as Radzinski closed in.
Ronaldo missed by inches with a strike across goal as the visiting team finally showed some cohesion. And it was a precise move that led to Giggs' brilliant volleyed equaliser, the skipper striking the ball back across goal and into the bottom corner.
Despite restoring parity, United might have gone into the break a man down but Rio Ferdinand escaped with a yellow card after putting his hands around Radzinski's neck.
Fulham continued to push forward in the second half and Van der Sar came to United's rescue after 49 minutes with a brilliant one-handed save after Davies showed great skill with a volleyed strike on the turn.
United's keeper came to his team's rescue, denying McBride, before Ronaldo struck with his late winner, which clipped Phillipe Christanval on its way to goal.
Fulham appealed for a penalty seconds after Ronaldo scored, when Van der Sar tangled with Heidar Helguson, but the referee waved play on.
Fulham: Lastuvka, Volz, Bocanegra, Christanval, Rosenior, Radzinski (John 72), Brown, Diop (Dempsey 71), Smertin, Davies, McBride (Helguson 79).
Subs Not Used: Warner, Routledge.
Booked: Brown, Radzinski, Diop.
Goals: McBride 17.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Brown, Ferdinand, Vidic (O'Shea 59), Evra (Silvestre 67), Ronaldo, Scholes, Carrick (Saha 66), Giggs, Rooney, Larsson.
Subs Not Used: Kuszczak, Park.
Booked: Ferdinand, Scholes.
Goals: Giggs 29, Ronaldo 88.
Att: 24,459
. | . |
|
Warning: include() [function.include]: URL file-access is disabled in the server configuration in /usr/www/users/isport/michaelcarrick/reports/06Fulhamaway.php on line 134
Warning: include(http://www.michaelcarrick.net/carrickfooter.php) [function.include]: failed to open stream: no suitable wrapper could be found in /usr/www/users/isport/michaelcarrick/reports/06Fulhamaway.php on line 134
Warning: include() [function.include]: Failed opening 'http://www.michaelcarrick.net/carrickfooter.php' for inclusion (include_path='.:/usr/local/lib/php') in /usr/www/users/isport/michaelcarrick/reports/06Fulhamaway.php on line 134
|
