P: Newcastle 2 - 2 United
PREVIEW
Bringing in the new year at a hotel suite in Newcastle might not have been ideal but United will hope to keep the party going by taking three points off the Toon.
The festive period has seen United stretch their lead over Chelsea to six points and claim a handsome goal difference advantage. They will hope to add to the goal tally against a Newcastle side trounced by Everton in their last game.
Paul Scholes and Nemanja Vidic are due back following suspension and Gary Neville is ready to play according to Sir Alex. United will hope that Wayne Rooney finds his shooting boots but will again look to Cristiano Ronaldo, scorer of six goals in three games during the last two weeks.
“It is a joy to be in the same dressing room as Cristiano,” Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed. “His finishing is excellent and he produces crosses which strikers only have to move to get on the end of.
“The thing is, he is always practising. He always stays after training for half an hour, or sometimes, an hour just practising. Sometimes I wonder if he is doing too much. I certainly cannot do that at my age.”
Newcastle, plagued by injuries, will rely heavily on Kieron Dyer and the delightfully named Obafemi Martins to keep them in contention. But momentum is with Sir Alex now and the opportunity to gain a nine point advantage over Chelsea, who play tomorrow, should prove an important incentive to Sir Alex’s men.
1/10/06 : United 2 - 0 Newcastle
PREMIERSHIP RESULTS:
Liverpool 3 - 0 Bolton; Fulham 0 - 0 Watford; Manchester C. 2 - 1 Everton; Middlesbrough 3 - 1 Sheffield United; Portsmouth 1 - 1 Tottenham; Reading 6 - 0 West Ham; Wigan Athletic 0 - 3 Blackburn;
MATCH REPORT…
Newcastle 1 - United
Milner (33); Edgar (73) / Scholes (35, 46)
BBC Sport : A second-half strike from Newcastle’s David Edgar denied leaders Manchester United victory in a thrilling match.
The Magpies took a surprise lead when James Milner fired in a stunning shot high into Edwin van der Sar’s goal.
The visitors bounced back when Scholes rifled in a brilliant 20-yard shot before he scored a sublime second from a similar distance.
But 19-year-old defender Edgar grabbed a point for Newcastle with a 25-yard drive that deflected in off Scholes.
The action started almost from the word go when Louis Saha came close to giving the visitors the lead, but fired just wide of Shay Given’s goal.
Ronaldo, who tormented the inexperienced Newcastle defence all match, gave Saha the chance to make amends for his earlier miss, but this time the Frenchman was thwarted by an impressive save from Given.
The striker then had a header blocked on the line from Giggs’ cross, before his miserable day was complete when he came off with an injury.
Nevertheless, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men still looked formidable opposition and when Newcastle took the lead it not only stunned the leaders but also the crowd at St James’.
Milner, one of Newcastle’s players of the campaign so far, was quick on to Dyer’s pass and after cutting in from the left flank smashed in a superb 25-yard shot high into the roof of Van der Sar’s goal.
If one thing let Newcastle down earlier in the season it was their defence, and with three first-choice defenders out injured the home side were always going to find it difficult to keep this fantastic Manchester United side at bay.
And true to form, the visitors bounced back courtesy of a bit of magic from Scholes.
The little maestro tricked past two Newcastle challenges on the edge of the area to fire in low.
It was what Ferguson’s team deserved and straight after the break Scholes scored his second with another wondrous effort.
The midfielder was fed a square ball and took little time to fire a low drive through the legs of defender Steven Taylor and past a helpless Given.
It looked all over for Glenn Roeder’s men until Edgar decided to make a rare foray into the opposition’s half.
The Canadian, who was making his first start for the club, replacing the injured Nicky Butt, ventured down the left and hit an opportunist strike that took a slight deflection off Scholes and past the hand of Van der Sar.
United feverishly looked for a late winner, but their best opportunity, a Ronaldo header, was cleared off the line by an alert Nolberto Solano.
TEAM
United: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Evra Ronaldo, Fletcher (Carrick 77), Scholes, Giggs, Rooney, Saha (Park 36)
Subs: Heaton, O’Shea, Heinze
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “”We missed a stack of chances but we have to admire Newcastle’s character, they deserved their point.We should have won the match but we did not play as well as we have been because they did not allow us to play. I have nothing but praise for them. It is a real challenge now for the championship but we are a serious contender and points will be dropped by both teams.”
Glenn Roeder : “It was terrific and we will enjoy the result. When you play Manchester United you have to keep trying to take the game to them. The lads came in and did a great job and it just shows how much courage and team spirit there is in the squad. David Edgar is not renowned for his 25 yarders and he must have been saving it for a special occasion.”
