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United do enough to stay out in front
By Henry Winter at Old Trafford | |
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Man Utd (1) 2 Feyenoord (0) 1 NEVER mind the quality, feel the quantity of points. Manchester United's least impressive performance in Europe this season still brought them the three points they sought at Old Trafford last night. Enjoying the majority of chances, United still finished in slightly nervous mood following the concession of a late goal. Fortunately for the Premiership champions, who began with eight Englishmen, they were already two goals to the good. Easily the better side before the break, United had only Paul Scholes's neat goal to show for such supremacy. Denis Irwin's penalty, which had been won by Teddy Sheringham, seemed to have settled the match as a contest, but Henk Vos's late breakaway strike set up a worrying finale. Such nerves would have been avoided if United had taken their many goal-scoring opportunities. While Scholes's finish was an exquisite one and Irwin's penalty unerring, too often United failed to exploit their often exciting approach play. They will reflect simply on a job completed, particularly as Juventus won the other Group B match of the night, 1-0 in Kosice. Missing Henning Berg and Ronny Johnsen, United simply turned to the Neville brothers to assist their defensive re-jig. Facing only a lone striker, David Connolly, Gary Neville experienced few moments of concern in a first half controlled by United. Sitting back and soaking up, Feyenoord seemed intent merely on damage limitation. Their captain, Jean-Paul van Gastel, showed some neat touches but his occasional sense of adventure was not shared by his comrades until the second half. Invited to attack, United reacted cautiously at first, perhaps aware of the traps that can be laid in this elevated brand of football. Slowly but surely, their use of possession becoming more brisk and accurate, Ferguson's men began to find gaps in Feyenoord's blanket defence. Like a heavyweight warming to the task, United began hitting Feyenoord with some swift combinations, which gradually grew in power and intensity. After 15 minutes Sheringham released Irwin down the right and the Irishman's curling cross was struck by Ryan Giggs straight at Jurek Dudek. United, having learned the chess nature of European football, were making their moves. Chances proliferated. Cole, gifted the ball by the nervous Dudek, should have done better than head it straight back. Cole then shot wide but, encouragingly for United, their expensive forward was proving a handful for the Dutch defence, constantly dragging markers wide and creating space. Philip Neville, almost an auxiliary left midfielder at times, lifted in a 27th-minute cross which Giggs directed too close to Dudek. Cole proved similarly wasteful with the rebound. But the champions of England were getting closer. David Beckham, often pushing in from his right-wing station, upset the Dutch with a challenge on Giovanni van Bronckhorst, which left the midfielder limping and eventually substituted. Patricio Graff sought retribution and it was while he was niggling away at Beckham that United exploited his lapse of concentration on the right. Irwin lifted the ball in to Cole, who did well to re-direct play to Scholes. This most promising of England internationals judged the ball's speed and passage superbly. Scholes chested the ball down and, from 15 yards, lofted it over Dudek into the net. Euphoria, and a touch of relief, gripped Old Trafford. United began playing the ball around, encouraging Feyenoord to come on to them. But the visitors' lack of enterprise in the first period was so transparent that Gary Pallister was soon dribbling forward like some British Baresi. The force was with the men in red. Beckham shot over, Giggs saw a right-foot effort saved. Cole, released into open space following a glorious one-two with Giggs, rounded Dudek but hit a post. Such was their supremacy that United should have gone in further ahead but Sheringham missed embarrassingly following a Pallister surge. After the break Feyenoord at last began to match their supporters for enthusiasm. Igor Korneev, who had replaced van Bronckhorst, sent Graff away and Peter Schmeichel needed to be at his alert, athletic best to block the shot. United, briefly unnerved, went looking for the security of a second goal which they were to need. Moments after striking the base of an upright, Sheringham was sprinting into the box, chasing Giggs's perfectly weighted pass. His first touch nudged the ball, so committing Graff who slid in to bring United's No 10 down. Irwin, a picture of calm, strode up and stroked the ball right-footed past Dudek. The mission appeared accomplished, the celebrations were being planned, but there was a sting in the tail as United began to get caught out of position. With eight minutes remaining, Paul Bosvelt flicked the ball through for Vos, the substitute. He ran on, outstripping United's central defence, before sliding the ball past Schmeichel. _________________________________________________________________ Man Utd (1) 2 Feyenoord (0) 1 Irwin 72 pen, Scholes 32; Vos 83. Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole (Solskjaer 81), Sheringham, Giggs, P. Neville, Scholes. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, McClair, Cruyff, Poborsky, Thornley, Curtis. Feyenoord: Dudek, Graff, Van Gastel, Picun, Van Wonderen, Sanchez (Boateng 76), Van Bronckhorst (Korneev 38), Bosvelt, Schuiteman, Van Gobbel, Connolly (Vos 72). Subs Not Used: Petry, Claeys, Zwijnenberg. Booked: Sanchez. Att: 53,188 Ref: S Muhmenthaler (Switzerland). P W D L F A Pts Manchester Utd 3 3 0 0 8 3 9 Juventus 3 2 0 1 8 4 6 Feyenoord 3 1 0 2 4 7 3 FC Kosice 3 0 0 3 0 6 0 FIXTURES: Nov 5: Feyenoord v Manchester Utd, Juventus v FC Kosice. Nov 26: Feyenoord v Juventus. Nov 27: Manchester Utd v FC Kosice. Dec 10: FC Kosice v Feyenoord, Juventus v Manchester Utd. _________________________________________________________________ Scholes and Irwin steer United to victory MANCHESTER, England, Oct 22 (Reuters) - Manchester United made it three wins out of three in group B of the European Champions' League on Wednesday but gave themselves a few anxious minutes at the end before wrapping up a well deserved 2-1 victory over Feyenoord at Old Trafford. A superbly executed 32nd-minute strike from Paul Scholes and a penalty cracked home by Denis Irwin 18 minutes from time ensured the points for a United side vastly superior to their Dutch opponents who were outplayed for long periods. But despite creating a dozen clear-cut scoring chances and dominating the game for all but the opening 20 minutes, United allowed Feyenoord a glimmer of hope when substitute Henk Vos scored a breakaway goal eight minutes from time. ``I am very pleased with their peformance but we should have buried them,'' United manager Alex Ferguson said afterwards. ``We created so many chances and we should have scored more goals but instead put ourselves through a very nervy few minutes at the end. We certainly could have made it easier for ourselves but overall I'm very pleased.'' And he should be. United lead their group with a maximum haul of nine points, three clear of Juventus, and only Real Madrid and Bayern Munich also have 100 percent records. Feyenoord Arie Haan, under pressure because of the poor start to the domestic season, said: ``I think the result is a fair one. Manchester United played very well tonight and our goal came too late to really make much difference to the result.'' United had never lost to Dutch opposition at home in Europe and never looked like losing that record after taking control of the match midway through the first half. With David Beckham, Ryan Giggs and Nicky Butt having more influence in midfield as the match progressed, United suddenly began creating an endless stream of scoring chances and on another night could easily have had 10. Feyenoord's Polish goalkeeper Jurek Dudek made several outstanding saves, including two close-range headers from Giggs and a point-blank block from Butt. The post saved him after 40 minutes when Andy Coles's acutely angled shot rebounded to safety while Beckham, Teddy Sheringham and Giggs all fired wide or high when it looked easier to score. The decisive breakthrough came when an Irwin cross from the right was headed down by Cole to Scholes. He showed some outstanding control and balance before changing feet to loft the ball over Dudek for his fourth goal of the season. United went 2-0 up when Argentine defender Patricio Graff sent Sheringham sprawling and Irwin, who this week was re-appointed United's penalty taker after Sheringham missed his last two spot kicks, gave Dudek no chance for the second goal. While Ferguson was left to work out United's very good chances of reaching the quarter-finals next March, Haan seemed prepared to accept Feyenoord's almost inevitable elimination at the end of the Champions' League stage. ``You can't qualify unless you win matches,'' he said. ``And this is a very young team playing in a very tough group.'' REUTERS _________________________________________________________________ FERGUSON WORRIED BY LATE LAPSE Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson admitted he was getting worried towards the end of his side's latest Champions' League victory over Feyenoord which maintained their 100% record. A first-half goal by Paul Scholes and Denis Irwin's 72nd-minute penalty appeared to have secured United's win, but United were guilty of missing numerous chances to finish off the Dutchmen and they almost paid the price. Feyenoord substitute Henk Vos pulled a goal back seven minutes from time and Ferguson admitted: "There are times at this level of football when you have to sweat a bit - and tonight was one of those times." "We tend to do that occasionally when we should really be killing teams off and we had some really good chances to do that tonight. "But some of our football was very good. At times it was exciting and played at a great tempo. "All in all I'm pleased with the result and the performance." _________________________________________________________________ Wily Scholes has a touch too much for the Dutch Glenn Moore Manchester United ...2 Feyenoord ...1 Manchester United rarely touched the heights they had reached against Juventus but they were still too good for Feyenoord at Old Trafford last night. Victory ensured they stayed ahead of Juventus at the top of Champions' League Group B with maximum points from their three matches. All the usual ingredients were there: the spiky competitiveness, the quick passing, the wastefulness in front of goal. There was also a new one with Gary Pallister stepping forward with aplomb making a powerful case for another chance to be England's libero, if his back can stand the strain. Ryan Giggs, as usual in European games, was effervescent and Paul Scholes was at his puckish jack-in-a-penalty-box best. It was his goal, after 32 minutes, which broke Feyenoord's early confidence and should have prompted an early wrapping up of the points. Poor finishing meant United had to wait until 16 minutes from the end when Teddy Sheringham won a penalty which Denis Irwin converted with a comfort his England team-mate could only envy. Even then Feyenoord were allowed to pull a goal back to leave United with a nervy finish. United's ever-changing line-up had featured a couple of surprises. Not only had Henning Berg failed a fitness test but Ronny Johnsen also appeared to have acquired a previously undisclosed injury. With David May already on the sick list United were missing three central defenders. No matter, such are their resources a quick reshuffle and the introduction of Phil Neville ensured the defence would remain all-international. Not that it was overly important, most of the action revolved around United's attack where Andy Cole was preferred to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. Ferguson had asked his side to storm forward for an early goal but Feyenoord refused to play the patsy. They won a dangerous free-kick in the opening minute and possessed enough poise in midfield to prevent United even having a shot for 13 minutes. Since that first effort was a tame free-kick from David Beckham it was another couple of minutes until United truly threatened, Giggs just failing to make decent contact on a wickedly whipped low cross from Irwin. Feyenoord still looked more confident than advance reports had suggested but United were gradually pushing them back. Even so, Jurek Dudek's first save was precipitated by his own error, the Polish goalkeeper miskicking a clearance straight to Cole who attempted to loop a header over him. Dudek saved that well enough and was equally alert when Giggs drifted away at the far post to meet Phil Neville's deep cross with a firm but poorly directed header. If Giggs should have scored then Cole certainly ought to have as Dudek's parry came back to him. The Cole of Newcastle would have scored but no one was surprised when the Cole of Manchester volleyed over. The new model Cole does have other qualities though and they were soon apparent. Dudek, having also saved from Beckham, was just beginning to look as if he was enjoying his examination when Cole intelligently headed Irwin's cross down to Scholes. When it comes to finishing, Scholes is the opposite to Cole, it is a surprise when he misses and, though the angle was tight, he did not disappoint, steering a shot inside the far post with the outside of his foot. Dudek apart Feyenoord appeared to give up at this point. United's slick passing carved chance after chance before the break, but the goalkeeper denied Nicky Butt and Giggs, Beckham and Sheringham missed badly, and Cole, prominent in most of these attacks, hit a post after going around the keeper. The interval gave Feyenoord the chance to settle and they began the second period as they had the first, composed at the back and threatening on the counter. Patricio Graff brought a fine save from Peter Schmeichel who then risked Pablo Sanchez blocking a clearance. United rallied. Scholes surprised everyone by missing a chance from Sheringham's flick but Cole failed to make it a case of "surprise, surprise" as he shot over from Beckham's cross. Irwin brought Dudek back into action but, as a reminder that there was only a goal in it, David Connolly wriggled through and rolled a shot just wide. The game hung, poised between a Dutch draw and English victory. Pallister and Sheringham went close to tilting it Manchester's way before Graff provided the impetus bringing down Sheringham as he ran onto Giggs' pass. As Sheringham, sacked as United's penalty taker, watched, Irwin thrashed the kick into the net. United's fans began to celebrate but their cheers were cut short when Henk Vos, a late substitute, sprinted through the centre of the home defence to pull a goal back with seven minutes left. Amid an increasingly tense atmosphere United hung on but their supporters were happy rather than joyous - at least it was until City's defeat at home to Stoke was announced. Manchester United (4-4-2): Schmeichel; Irwin, G Neville, Pallister, P Neville; Beckham, Butt, Scholes, Giggs; Cole (Solskjaer, 82), Sheringham. Substitutes not used: McClair, Cruyff, Poborsky, Curtis, Thornley, van der Gouw (gk). Feyenoord (5-3-2): Dudek; van Gobbel, van Wonderen, Picun, Schuiteman, Graff; Bosvelt, van Gastel, van Bronckhorst (Korneev, 38); Sanchez, Connolly (Vos, 73). Substitutes not used: Boateng, Claeys, Zijenberg, Petry (gk). Referee: S Muhmenthaler (Switzerland). _________________________________________________________________ United march on unimpeded BY OLIVER HOLT, FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT Manchester United 2 Feyenoord 1 THEY were not as ruthless as they had been against Juventus, not as inspired in their play or as euphoric in their victory, but Manchester United kept their European Cup Champions' League bandwagon rolling against Feyenoord at Old Trafford last night. Of course, it was an anticlimax after the searing emotions of the win over Del Piero, Zidane and company but, as anticlimaxes go, this was about as good as they get. By the end of a match that was brimful of chances and packed with clever counter-attacking play from both sides, United were living on their nerves, courtesy of a late goal from the Dutch substitute, Henk Vos, that reduced their advantage. Even so, their 2-1 victory, their third successive win in the competition this season, kept their ambition of winning group B and qualifying for the European Cup quarter-finals very much alive. A fine first-half goal from Paul Scholes had settled their early jitters and they seemed to have put the game out of reach when Dennis Irwin, handed the penalty-kicking responsibilities in the wake of Teddy Sheringham's recent fallibility, scored with a spot kick 20 minutes before the end. Vos's fine reply, a left-foot flick past Schmeichel eight minutes from the final whistle, caused some late alarms, but United held on. If United win their next two games in the competition, against Feyenoord in Rotterdam in a fortnight and at home to Kosice, the whipping boys of the group, it seems that they will be in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals as one of the two best losers at the very least. In the game's opening moments, though, their progress had seemed as though it might be thrown up against an unexpected obstacle. Feyenoord, supposedly in the midst of domestic crisis, riven by problems and about to lose their coach, Arie Haan, had been touted as a soft touch. But in the first 15 minutes, it was the travelling Feyenoord fans, who had the most to cheer. Playing Gary Neville in the centre of defence in the absence of the injured Berg and Johnsen, United were thrown out of their stride as the Dutch hunted them down in small, voracious packs. They did not get their first hint of an opening until the 24th minute when Dudek swung wildly at a back-pass, miskicked it and then had to back-pedal furiously to claw away Cole's attempt to nod the ball back over him. Two minutes later, United should have taken the lead. Phil Neville swung in an inviting cross from the left but Giggs, unmarked on the edge of the six-yard box, could only aim his header straight at Dudek. Cole leapt at the rebound but stabbed it over the crossbar. After 32 minutes, United went in front. Irwin floated a cross to the back post, Cole nodded it back and Scholes, who seems to be making a habit of scoring vital opening goals, controlled the ball on his chest and flicked the ball round Dudek with the outside of his right foot from 12 yards out. It was a fine way to make the breakthrough. As the United fans taunted Liverpool about their defeat by Strasbourg in the Uefa Cup on Tuesday, with chants of "are you watching, Merseyside", Feyenoord seemed to wilt. Ten minutes before half-time, Giggs played Butt through but the midfield player fluffed his shot and allowed Dudek to push it wide. Giggs had a similar chance to increase United's advantage, but Dudek beat away his right-foot shot. Six minutes before the interval, Cole added to United's profligacy, taking the ball around Dudek after receiving Giggs's pass but hitting his shot against the base of a post from an acute angle. On the stroke of half-time, after Dudek had saved at point-blank range from Butt, an unlikely interchange between Pallister and Cole led to a cross from the United centre back that Sheringham could only volley over the crossbar from six yards out. Feyenoord almost made United rue their wastefulness early in the second half when Graff crashed a fierce left-foot shot against the outstretched legs of Schmeichel to shake United out of their torpor. Twelve minutes into the half, though, Sheringham leapt for a high ball and, when it dropped kindly for him on the edge of the box, he lifted it over a defender to Scholes who swung at it wildly and volleyed wide. As United continued to press, Dudek saved from Irwin, and Cole shot over after Beckham's clever cross. Midway through the half, Sheringham struck a shot against the post from Beckham's deliberately-placed corner and, then, in the 72nd minute, United seemingly put the match beyond doubt at last. Giggs forged forward in the vanguard of a counter-attack and when he laid the ball to Sheringham, the England forward was brought down in the box by Graff. Irwin dispatched the kick high to Dudek's right into the roof of the net. |
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