FA CUP INTERNET REPORTS 
FA CUP INTERNET REPORTS
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Saturday, January 25 1997
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MANCHESTER UNITED 1-1 WIMBLEDON
Scholes (89) Gayle (90)
[Mail on Sunday] att: 53,342
By Malcolm Folley
The extraordinary spirit of the team they call the Crazy Gang silenced
a United crowd prematurely celebrating victory.
United, the aristocrats of the English game, a team with ambitions of
becoming the champions of Europe, had finally broken the resistance of
Wimbledon with an 89th-minute diving header from Paul Scholes.
It was the kind of devastating blow that would have accounted for any
other English team you might care to name.
But not Wimbledon.
The game was into stoppage time when United substitute Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer fouled Kenny Cunningham by the right touchline. Left-back
Alan Kimble, returning from a two-match ban, came across to take the
kick.
With beautiful precision, he found Robbie Earle climbing skywards at
the far post. Earle's header was delivered with unstoppable force
beneath Peter Schmeichel's crossbar.
The stadium fell silent, aside from the 3,000-odd travelling Dons
fans.
It was little more than the perennial battlers deserved and when the
final whistle blew, the only voices that could be heard were those
from the visitors' quarter.
Captain Vinnie Jones led his team across the field to return their
applause. And so United must return to London to defend the trophy
that they won in the capital eight months ago.
It had been a strangely inept performance in their own fortress.
Manager Alex Ferguson has been pouring praise on the achievements of
Joe Kinnear as Wimbledon boss and yesterday he paid Wimbledon a
massive compliment by reshaping his side from the start with Roy Keane
withdrawn into a central role in a back five.
Ferguson also chose to play Brian McClair in midfield, leaving Andy
Cole and Solskjaer, who had been troubled by a cold, on the bench.
Ferguson was intending to win a tactical battle of attrition, refusing
to give space to Wimbledon strikers Marcus Gayle and Efan Ekoku.
As a consequence, a large percentage of the first half was played in
the United half with the champions seeking to strike on the break.
They felt they had accomplished that in the 39th minute when Karel
Poborsky made a run beyond the Wimbledon defence only to be met by a
scything challenge from Wimbledon goalkeeper Neil Sullivan.
The crowd bayed for a penalty and Sullivan waited to see whether the
card referee Graham Poll was pulling from his pocket would be yellow
or red. Fortunately for the Wimbledon goalkeeper it was yellow and
Poll ruled that the foul had taken place fractionally the wrong side
of the line for a penalty. Ryan Giggs was left to take a direct
free-kick.
Sullivan won a reprieve with a fine save from Giggs' strike and when
the corner was only partially cleared, the goalkeeper saved yet again
from a volley by Giggs.
Eric Cantona was cautioned after the interval for falling theatrically
after he had been run off the ball in the Wimbledon area, but the Dons
were untroubled at this stage.
Ferguson responded to the frustration by making a double substitution
with 13 minutes remaining, inviting Solskjaer and Cole to attempt to
win the game. He also removed Keane from the defence to run the
midfield.
It seemed that his boldness, however late, was about to be rewarded.
With time running out, Cantona conjured the cross that Scholes met
with a diving header from close range.
The relief in the stadium might have been heard in the capital but
those celebrations were to prove premature. The Crazy Gang had a
curtain call of their own. For those 3,000 sat in a small enclave of
Old Trafford, it was a moment to relish.
Late pearl by Earle is Dons' lifeline
Manchester United 1 (0)
Wimbledon 1 (0)
WIMBLEDON will not be League champions, but not
even the most reckless Red would bet against them
winning the FA Cup after this latest example of their
famous indefatigable spirit, Robbie Earle equalising in the
second minute of stoppage time to earn a deserved
replay at Selhurst Park on February 4.
United, depleted by injuries, thought they had done
enough to secure their place in the fifth round, and
continued progress towards a fourth successive final,
when Paul Scholes nodded in Eric Cantona's left-wing
cross in the 89th minute. For these Dons, however, no
cause is too desperate, and that renowned expertise at
dead-ball situations was again their salvation when Earle
buried Alan Kimble's free-kick with a firm header.
In no way were Wimbledon flattered. Resolute and
impressively organised in defence, they attacked with
pace and purpose on the break, and had the more
influential midfield in Oyvind Leonhardsen, Earle and the
disciplined, dogged Vinnie Jones.
Their only regret after a job well done was that they had
sufficient scoring opportunities to have won at the first
attempt. Certainly when they see United's changes for the
replay, they will feel they missed their best chance.
Without Gary Pallister, David May, Ronnie Johnsen,
David Beckham and Nicky Butt, the United team was full
of surprises which was probably Alex Ferguson's
intention. Unwilling to entrust the onerous task of
combating Wimbledon's aerial power to Gary Neville
and Chris Casper, who are comparative novices in such
things, Ferguson stationed Roy Keane between them in a
fluid 5-2-3 formation remarkable also in that it lacked a
conventional centre-forward. Andy Cole and Ole Gunnar
Solskjaer were both left on the bench until the 77th
minute, United preferring the pace of Ryan Giggs and
Karel Poborsky either side of Cantona.
Wimbledon took time to sort it all out, and Keane might
have scored early when he volleyed over after neat play
between Cantona and Giggs. Not that it was ever
one-way traffic. Marcus Gayle, supplied by Earle,
wasted an even better chance than Keane's when, with
time and space available to make sure, he shot hurriedly
wide.
Wimbledon threatened again, providing a warning of their
set-piece potency when Neil Ardley's corner found its
way to Efan Ekoku near the penalty spot, from where his
low drive brought a smart save from Peter Schmeichel.
Ebb and flow, it was anybody's game. Neil Sullivan
prevented United from going ahead when he flew high to
his right to keep out a wicked, curling free-kick from
Giggs, then caught the Welshman's follow up.
The goalkeeper may have felt he owed his teammates the
double save, having conceded the free-kick which gave
Giggs his shooting opportunity. Brian McClair's through
pass in the inside-right channel had opened up the route
to goal, and when Sullivan sprinted from his area to meet
the danger, his mere presence seemed to unbalance
Poborsky on the edge of the 18-yard line.
The yellow card may have been harsh, Poborsky going
to ground rather too enthusiastically for non-partisan
tastes. He is not the only United player who appears to
owe as much to Brian Phelps as Brian Kidd. Cantona's
attempt to con a penalty out of Graham Poll brought
nothing more deserving than a booking.
Wimbledon were twice within inches of breaking the
stalemate in the second half. First, Ekoku beat United's
offside line to deliver a right-wing cross and Earle was
tantalisingly close to making contact with a diving header,
then Gayle's low centre from the left ran just beyond the
onrushing Ekoku.
United strove to raise their game, but Keane shot wide
after exchanging passes with Cantona and Sullivan denied
Poborsky, falling to his left to push away a 15-yard shot.
Anxious to win it at the first attempt, Ferguson made a
double substitution, sending on Cole and Solskjaer and
pushing Keane forward, to bolster his midfield. Eureka!
United thought they were home and dry when Cantona's
cross was planted past Sullivan by Scholes's stooping
header at the far post. Wimbledon, endlessly competitive,
had other ideas, and it was Earle who had the last word.
And so to Selhurst, scene of that goal from Beckham on
the season's opening day.
Goalscorers: Manchester United: Scholes 89.
Wimbledon: Earle 90.
Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin,
Clegg, Poborsky (Solskjaer 77min), Casper, Cantona,
McClair (Cole 77min), Keane, Scholes, Giggs.
Wimbledon: Sullivan, Cunningham, Kimble, Jones,
Blackwell, Perry, Leonhardsen, Earle, Ekoku
(Holdsworth 75min), Ardley (Jupp 88min), Gayle.
Booked: Keane (23min), Sullivan (38min), Cantona
(61min).
Weather: bright. Ground: good.
Referee: G Poll (Tring)
"Live" On The Spot Report
from Linda Harvey:
Man U Mailing List
Despite not getting through to the next round of the FA Cup first time, it has
been an enjoyable weekend. Walking down Trafford Rd towards OT on Saturday,
there was a spring in my step and I soaked in the warm sunshine. Stopping only
to rubber neck at a car on fire (not an unusual occurrence in Ordsall these
days!) I arrived at the bottom of Sir Matt Busby Way at the same time as the
Wimbledon fans - all 7 coachloads of them. Being the brave person that I am, I
took my life in my hands and walked amongst them as I approached the stadium.
Well, actually it wasn't very brave of me - it's a long time since I saw such a
harmless looking bunch! The worst part of the experience was surviving the
ear-bashing from all the cockney accents! (Apologies to any cockney Reds
reading this). I had a little smile as I made my way round the long queues at
the programme sellers - wouldn't it be nice if someone would help the visitors
by telling them you can actually get programmes inside the stadium? Without
queuing!!
Arrived nice and early in the corner of North Lower, just by the corner flag,
next to East Lower - yes, they've let me out of the second tier again - and
complained about the sun being in my eyes for the next hour or so! Still, it was
good to see the suits in the executive boxes above K Stand still had the sun in
their eyes long after the rest of the stadium had gone into the shade (hee hee).
Looking over the East Stand was a strange experience. Because of the lateness
of the Wimbledon/Crewe replay, the usual residents had been shipped out even
though Wimbledon only took 3000 tickets (and didn't sell all of those!). The
stand was full of kids, suits with mobile phones, 'nice families' etc etc.
Looking over at L Stand, where the visitors were sitting I noticed that the bit
of the visitors' enclosure that is in South stand contained more stewards than
Wimbledon fans! Pathetic or what? Crewe would have brought 8,000. Having said
all that, the visitors were doing more chanting than the home crowd.
15 minutes before kick-off, the club made another of their announcements - Keith
Fane announced that he was not going to play any records for the final 15
minutes before kick-off, he was going to shut up so that the fans could make
their own atmosphere! He then proceeded to tell us what to do ie chant, sing
etc. Of course, once he did shut up, the silence in the stadium was deafening!
Most of the crowd didn't know what to do and the rest of us had obviously
decided to do what we usually do - the exact opposite of what the club/Keith
Fane tells us to do! When will they learn? An atmosphere can't be
choreographed by telling the fans when they can sing and what they can sing.
The Wimbledon fans did their best, trying to goad us into some reaction with
chants of "You're supposed to be at home", "Do you come from Manchester" etc.
Unfortunately, the regulars in East stand who usually respond to these chants
were either still in the Dog and Partridge or were peevishly muttering about
DJ's not telling them when they could and couldn't sing, so OT was even quieter
than usual when the teams arrived on the pitch.
Unfortunately, the atmosphere didn't improve much for most of the game, at least
not at the East end of the ground. I'm beginning to get paranoid, to punish me
for wanting to move out of the second tier, I think they've brought them all
down to the East stand with me! The whole of East Lower and K stand (apart from
a few individuals) spent the whole game just sitting there like statues in a
graveyard. The only time they roused themselves was for the occasional chant of
"United" (presumably, the officially sanctioned chant!) and after our goal -
seeing as Wimbledon scored only seconds later, this didn't last long! Luckily,
we were sitting in the middle of a little knot of K Stand exiles and we had a
great time! We were chanting and singing all through the game (about 10/12 of
us) and generally taking the piss out of the Wimbledon fans, our own fans and
ourselves. We started off singing all the old ones, including many from the
70's which got us dirty looks from the men in yellow, went on to bait the
Wimbledon fans (not that they could probably hear us over the other side of the
stadium!) with chants of "You've got more players than fans", sang lots of
choruses of "Fergie's red and white army" and various Keane chants, baiting our
own lot with cries of "We only sing when we're winning" etc and taking the piss
out of ourselves with "This little group sitting by the corner flag in the North
East corner chanting on our own's barmy army". One of our number was on his
final warning for swearing, so he was replacing all the swearwords with
alternatives such as "poo" and "naughty man in black" etc, which was good fun.
The game itself was extremely exciting, but frustrating. It could have easily
ended up 5-5 and I suppose the result was a fair one if I was being objective.
We needed Ole and/Cole on much earlier (we kept chanting their names, but Fergie
didn't seem to want to listen to our opinion) as we looked much more dangerous
once they were on the pitch and we actually started to attack. We also should
have had a penalty when Porborsky was brought down just inside the box and ERIC
DID NOT DIVE!!!! Generally, most of the players played well, if not
brilliantly. The exceptions were Keane and Scholes. It's getting a bit
monotonous saying this, but the man of the match, yet again, has to be Roy
Keane. I don't know what to say about him that hasn't been said before, so I
won't even try - the man is amazing and IMHO the most important player in our
squad at the moment. Scholes gets better every time I see him. He had an
excellent game in midfield with Choccy. Giggs and Cantona were inconsistent at
times but still looking much stronger than recently. Poborsky, whilst not
performing quite as well as he did against Coventry, maintained his improvement.
Irwin and Neville were dependable as usual, and Peter made a couple of very
good saves. The new boys, Clegg and Casper, both had very good games making
excellent debuts - it was Clegg who gave us one of the best laughs of the game,
when he dumped Vinnie Jones on his arse! (Vinnie also gave us another laugh
when he tried to show off in front of North Stand, doing what was intended to be
a sharp little back flip, but looked more like a donkey having a seizure!)
Those of you who read my reserve reports will know that Clegg has been mentioned
in dispatches before! Solskjaer and Andy came on too late to have chance to
shine, but Ole was involved in the move leading up to the goal and Andy did some
great running off the ball.
So it all ended in a draw and the prospects of yet another meeting with our
Womble friends. I feel very confident about the replay (especially if we stuff
them on Wednesday). 20,000 dedicated Reds should create a better atmosphere
than at OT (well you have to be dedicated to spend 20 to go to Selhurst Park
and to get up early on Sunday morning to go and get a ticket like I did
yesterday!), our injured players should be back and the team might just get the
general idea by then that if we are to retain the trophy they will have to pull
their fingers out!
The disappointment of a draw was forgotten yesterday as I had the best fun I've
had in ages watching the Toon army and Scousers crying into their scarves!
After spending the whole of the first half of the Chelsea/Liverpool game
muttering about the disgrace of keeping Sparky on the bench, oh the joy of
seeing him come on to destroy Liverpool. And what a petulant bunch of little
boys the Liverpool players are - hee hee hee .............................
Finally, for Muna's information .... I am well organised, my children were born
in July and August! Luckily I have now finished bearing children, otherwise the
onset of summer rugby league might have brought me some problems as Salford come
only slightly below United in my affections!
Linda
E-mail me
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