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Giggs the real driving force as United open the throttle
By Steve Curry | |
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Man Utd (1) 2 Derby (0) 0 RYAN GIGGS was irresistible. The Welshman made and scored Manchester United's first goal, won the penalty that brought the second and generally illuminated the afternoon with his talent before, sadly and with some concern, he limped to the dressing room clutching a thigh. His had been the outstanding contribution to an afternoon where his team had failed to provide their usual heady mix yet did enough to open a nine-point gap at the top of the Premiership. With their Champions' Cup match against Monaco just two games away, United still look as if another visit to the fine tuner is needed, not least in the play-making department, but Alex Ferguson is a reliable mechanic. United's dip in form started with the defeat at Southampton on Jan 19, since when they have lost at home to Leicester followed by stuttering Old Trafford performances against Bolton and Barnsley. The midweek victory at Aston Villa, therefore, came as a relief to United and there was incentive enough for the players before yesterday's game, if only because Derby caused such an upset here last season. That was Paulo Wanchope's day, the occasion on which his career took off. His exhilarating individual strike in that meeting helped County to a notable 3-2 victory. Derby were also encouraged by their performance at Pride Park in October, a 2-2 draw when United were lucky to take a point, and their form this season has carried them into contention for a UEFA Cup place. Though Paul Scholes had finished a two-match suspension, the knee injury which cost him his place in the England side who played Chile now forced him to miss this one, Philip Neville coming in to play in front of the back four. United almost got off to a perfect start. Nicky Butt, driving into the heart of Derby's penalty area, was bundled out of possession, and the ball broke to Andy Cole, whose shot was deflected for a corner. There was an even better chance for Derby in these opening exchanges. Stefano Eranio provided the penetrative pass which allowed Wanchope to get goal-side of Gary Pallister, though he then failed to get any power into his shot. It is not difficult to see why Derby have created so many problems in the Premiership this season with their intelligent use of the ball in midfield and good movement from Wanchope, gangling but difficult to dispossess, complemented by the quick and muscular Dean Stur- ridge. United looked so unsure in defence that it was a relief when Cole flicked the ball beyond Igor Stimac and went surging for goal. It took an immaculately timed tackle from Christian Dailly to rescue the situation for Derby. United took the lead after 18 minutes against the run of play, but with a goal of the highest quality. Teddy Sheringham made the initial break, but it was Giggs who was the creator and finisher. His ball to Cole on the right was positive and he then spun away to the back post to receive the cross, driving it home on the half-volley. There should have been a second within four minutes. Sheringham's probing pass sent Giggs accelerating for goal and instead of shooting he squared to Cole, who looked in a better position. His first shot hit Mart Poom's legs and the United striker then put the rebound wide of the near post. Giggs almost struck again three minutes from half-time, but his 20-yard shot was saved by Poom diving to his left. United's debt to the long legs of Pallister was demonstrated again early in the second half as Sturridge's pace and persistence carried him deep into United territory. A superb cross-field ball from David Beckham sent Giggs on a weaving run and he laid the ball off to Butt, who was denied a second goal only by the alertness of Gary Rowett. Derby sought to catch United on the break and Sturridge again used his pace to effect, eventually being crowded out when Wanchope was waiting at the far post. United were then rescued by a fine defensive header from Beckham to deny Eranio as the Italian climbed to a centre from compatriot Francesco Baiano. It was an opportunity Derby were to regret moments later. For Beckham then turned attacker, his ball in was headed down by Cole into the path of Giggs, who sprinted for goal only to be hauled back by young Irish defender Rory Delap, who was booked for his offence. With Sheringham having missed two penalties this season it was Denis Irwin who stepped up to drive in his shot, even though Poom went the right way. __________________________________________________________ Man Utd (1) 2 Derby (0) 0 Giggs 18, Irwin 71 pen. Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin (Clegg 75), Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole (Cruyff 75), Sheringham, Giggs (McClair 79), P. Neville, Berg. Subs Not Used: Van Der Gouw, Casper. Derby: Poom, Rowett, C. Powell, Stimac, Sturridge, Wanchope, Delap (Willems 87), Carsley, Eranio, Dailly, Baiano. Subs Not Used: Hoult, D. Powell, Elliot, Kozluk. Booked: Sturridge. Att: 55,170 Ref: M D Reed (Birmingham). __________________________________________________________ February 22 1998 FOOTBALL United go nine clear at the top Joe Lovejoy at Old Trafford Manchester United 2 Derby County 0 CRISIS? What crisis? A week ago, when they were fortunate to draw at home to Barnsley in the FA Cup, and had won one game in five, United were deemed to be on the slide, yet today they stand nine points clear at the top of the table, firmer favourites than ever to retain their title. On a day when two of their rivals, Chelsea and Blackburn Rovers, both lost, the only cloud on the champions' horizon was the hamstring injury which forced Ryan Giggs out of the fray 12 minutes from the end - and out of the European Cup quarter final tie away to Monaco in 11 days' time. It is a considerable blow, and one which left Alex Ferguson in vexed, rather than celebratory mood. The United manager has made no secret of the fact that the European Cup is his priority this season and said: "I knew almost immediately, from the way Ryan pulled up, that he'd done some terrible damage. He was playing very well, and we can't afford these injuries. We now go to Monaco without [Roy] Keane and Giggs, and with [Paul] Scholes struggling to make it." More immediately, United will be without half a team for the FA Cup replay away to Barnsley on Wednesday. Apart from Giggs and Scholes, they have Ronnie Johnsen and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer unfit, and Henning Berg will be away on international duty, playing for Norway against France. United's strength in depth is such that they can cope with every loss, bar one. There is simply no substitute for Giggs's class. He scored the first goal here - his eighth of the season - and was the central character behind the second, when he rounded the goalkeeper and was pulled down, for Denis Irwin to remove Derby from contention with the sort of penalty that brooks no argument. Derby had arrived in optimistic mood. It was in the corresponding fixture last season that Paulo Wanchope, he of the rubber legs and golden goals, announced himself by making a monkey of the United defence to win the game 3-2. Such has been the Costa Rican's impact, and progress, that they really believed he could do it again. They were wrong. He had his moments, but never looked like scoring. Wanchope is by no means Derby's only matchwinner. Dean Sturridge is not short of admirers and Francesco Baiano has been a regular scorer since his arrival from Fiorentina. All three were a handful, but Peter Schmeichel, Gary Pallister and company have big hands. United were again without Scholes, who had served his suspension, only to go down with a recurrence of the knee injury which prevented him from taking his place in the England squad for the Chile game. In his absence, Phil Neville was preferred to Brian McClair as Nicky Butt's partner in the middle of midfield. Buoyed by their restorative win at Villa Park in midweek, United began in assertive mood, with Butt to the fore with some promising incursions. Derby sought security in numbers, their back three becoming five by the simple expedient of withdrawing both wing-backs at the merest hint of danger. With three clever, pacy forwards, however, they were always dangerous on the break - the threat underlined when Stefano Eranio's through pass from deep bisected United's central defenders to play in Wanchope. To Schmeichel's considerable relief, those endless, elastic legs were not quite long enough for once and failed to get sufficient power behind the shot to cause trouble. When United took up the initiative, a neatly executed spin by Andy Cole near halfway left Igor Stimac for dead and seemed to open the route to goal, but Christian Dailly materialised, as if from nowhere, to close it with an all-consuming, clean-as-a-whistle tackle. A bright opening, in which the game ebbed and flowed nicely, culminated in United taking the lead after 18 minutes with a goal straight out of the top drawer. Teddy Sheringham, a clever instigator throughout, set the attack in motion by supplying Giggs in the inside-left channel, from where he swept the ball out to Cole, near the right touchline. The striker showed the composure he often lacks in settling himself before delivering a testing, accurate cross to the far post where Giggs, steaming in, scored with an emphatic left-foot volley close in. It should have been 2-0 before half-time, but when Sheringham and Giggs worked the ball to Cole, 10 yards out, he hit the keeper with his first shot, then compounded his inaccuracy by drilling the rebound wastefully wide. Nothing if not persistent, Cole was soon back, but a much better strike was well saved. Giggs, too, tested Mart Poom with a strong, swerving shot from distance, and when Beckham produced the pass of the match to release the Welshman, Derby needed all their defensive numbers to shut out the danger. The second goal United needed arrived after 71 minutes, from the penalty spot. There has been some controversy about such things at Old Trafford of late, but there was no disputing this decision when Giggs, put through by Cole's headed transference of a Beckham cross, arced round Poom, only to be hauled down by Rory Delap. Irwin stepped up to make short work of the penalty, and that was that. Derby huffed and puffed to the end, but there was no way back. Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin (Clegg 75), Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole (Cruyff 75), Sheringham, Giggs (McClair 79), P. Neville, Berg. Unused: Van Der Gouw, Casper. Scorers: Giggs 18, Irwin 71 pen. Derby County: Poom, Rowett, C Powell, Stimac, Sturridge, Wanchope, Delap (Willems 87), Carsley, Eranio, Dailly, Baiano. Unused: Hoult, D Powell, Elliot, Kozluk. Booked: Delap (70min). Referee: M Reed (Birmingham). Attendance: 55,170. Copyright 1998 The Times Newspapers Limited. ______________________________________________________________________ United surge nine points clear, but Giggs injury LONDON, Feb 22 (AFP) - Manchester United powered nine points clear at the top of the English Premiership after a 2-0 win over Derby at Old Trafford as title rivals Chelsea and Blackburn slumped to defeats on Saturday. Chelsea's new manager Gianluca Vialli tasted defeat in his first league match in charge -- a 2-0 loss at Leicester -- while Blackburn were thrashed 3-0 at Southampton. With Liverpool not playing Merseyside rivals Everton until Monday, injury-hit Arsenal were United's only realistic title contenders to maintain their challenge, courtesy of a 1-0 over London rivals Crystal Palace. But United's joy at opening up an ominous lead at the top was tempered by the news of more injuries to key players. Welsh winger, Ryan Giggs, scorer of United's first goal, pulled a hamstring and will be out of action for two weeks while United manager revealed that midfielder Paul Scholes has suffered a knee injury in training. They join Norwegians Ronny Johnsen (calf) and Ole Gunner Solskjaer (virus) on a mounting injury list -- and Ferguson is worried. "Giggs has been in great form this season," said Ferguson. "He has shown great maturity in his game, but its one of these things which happens. "Scholes injured his knee in training and we cannot afford to be without key men. All this puts a bit of pressure on us." The Old Trafford chief refused to get carried away by United's nine point lead, their biggest advantage this season, and pointed out that second-placed Arsenal have two games in hand. "We are pleased that other teams have dropped points, but Arsenal won which keeps it tight. There's a long way to go yet," he added. Meanwhile, Chelsea player/coach Vialli admitted that Chelsea -- sunk by two goals from Emile Heskey -- had paid the penalty for an error-strewn opening 20 minutes. "We were too sloppy in that initial period and made too many mistakes. It was that period which cost us the game," said the Italian striker, who inspired Chelsea to a League Cup semi-final triumph over Arsenal in his first match in charge in midweek. "But I've got no excuses about Wednesday's game in the sense of the players being mentally and physically tired. "I asked the players yesterday if they were up to this no one said they were feeling tired." Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger saluted his makeshift team after a 1-0 winover Palace which lifted the Gunners into second. With 13 players -- including at least nine first choices -- on the injury list Wenger admitted: "If I had been offered a 1-0 win before the start today I would have taken it with both hands. "We had virtually a whole team missing and had to field a side with seven players between the ages of 18 and 21. We even had to take Jamie Day out of training with the youth team today to complete the substitutes bench." Blackburn manager Roy Hodgson watched his side fall 11 points behind leaders Manchester United with a 3-0 defeat at Southampton and conceded that the 1995 champions now need "a miracle to overtake them." Blackburn slipped to fifth in the League and had their championship odds lengthened from 12-1 to 20-1 as they became the latest of the title contenders to lose to Saints. Tottenham boss Christian Gross remained defiant after his relegation-haunted side slipped to another defeat -- 1-0 at Sheffield Wednesday. Gross admitted his side had come for a point but remained adamant his team would not pay the ultimate Premiership price. "I don't want to talk about luck because I have belief in the players we've got and I am convinced we will survive," said the Swiss boss. "We had enough chances to get a draw at the end and the second half was encouraging for the future." Coventry logged their fourth successive league win, although it took a Dion Dublin penalty a minute from time to kill off basement club Barnsley while Bolton moved up one place to third from bottom after a 1-1 draw at home to West Ham. The Hammers had hothead Welsh striker John Hartson sent off for violent conduct after 56 minutes but took the lead through Trevor Sinclair before Nathan Blake grabbed an 86th-minute equaliser. Aston Villa maverick Savo Milosevic was on target after 41 minutes at Wimbledon but failed to prevent a 2-1 defeat for Brian Little's struggling Midlanders. Jason Euell shot the Dons ahead after 10 minutes and Carl Leaburn added the second two minutes before Milosevic hit back. ______________________________________________________________________ Man United v Derby 21/02/98 3.00 Man United (1) 2 Derby (0) 0 FT Giggs 18 Irwin 71 (pen) Before the match Alex Ferguson received an award for being the second best manager in the world in 1997 - but their was nothing second best about Manchester United today. The trophy was from the International Federation of Football Historians and Statisticians and it is one of the few times this season that the United boss will have to settle for the runners-up prize. Ryan Giggs scored their first from a great move after 18 minutes and Denis Irwin added their second from the penalty spot on 71 minutes as United finally recorded their first FA Carling Premiership win over the Rams. United put their recent indifferent home form, which had seen them lose one and draw two of their last three games, behind them as they rediscovered their fluent passing game in the first half. Their passing was crisp and accurate with Giggs and David Beckham causing the visitors all sorts of problems. United had a point to prove against Derby who have been something of a bogey side for the champions. Remarkably the Rams had lost just three times to the champions in their previous 11 meetings. They had won three of their last four at Old Trafford and United's last home win over the Rams was back in April 1991. Derby's 3-2 victory last April heralded the arrival of Paulo Wanchope as the rubber-legged Costa Rican scored on his debut. The 22-year-old has scored 13 times this season and he has been rewarded with the offer of a new lucrative contract. After five minutes he nearly added number 14 when he was released by Stefano Eranio, but he failed to connect properly with his shot and Peter Schmeichel saved. But United took control after that and they deservedly took the lead with a lovely sweeping move. Teddy Sheringham fed Giggs, who spread the play out to Andy Cole on the right and the Welshman continued his run to meet Cole's back-post cross and score his eighth goal of the season. United were now flying and Giggs connected with Phil Neville's cross, only to plant his header straight at Derby goalkeeper Mart Poom. On 22 minutes, Cole nearly doubled United's lead when Poom saved his shot from Giggs' pass with his legs before the striker put the rebound past the post. Ferguson was clearly enjoying United's performance and he even had time to smile and joke with some fans sitting behind him. United continued to pressure Derby and Cole won possession from Chris Powell in the penalty area on the right-hand side, but Poom saved his shot from the narrow angle. But United could not afford to be complacent and after 37 minutes Rory Delap's powerful drive was deflected away for a Derby corner. Giggs nearly beat Poom with a low drive four minutes before the interval, which the Estonian international saved low down to his left. Eranio fed Dean Sturridge four minutes after the interval and the Derby striker raced into the United penalty area, where he was halted by a great tackle from Gary Pallister. This was a much-improved United from the one which has spluttered in recent weeks and their spirit was typified by Giggs who raced back to nip the ball away from Eranio, to leave the Italian bewildered. United's second-half performance did not match their first, but they still managed to extend their lead in the 71st minute when Giggs won them a penalty. Cole played the Welshman in and he was fouled by Delap, who was booked. Irwin made no mistake from the spot to score his third of the season and second penalty. United's day was slightly marred when Giggs went off 13 minutes from time with an injury to be replaced by Brian McClair. Derby, to their credit, did not give up and eight minutes from time they hit the side netting, but there was no denying United. Man United: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin (Clegg, 75), Pallister, Beckham, Butt, Cole (Cruyff, 75), Sheringham, Giggs (McClair, 79), P. Neville, Berg. Subs not used: Van Der Gouw, Casper. Derby: Poom, Rowett, C. Powell, Stimac, Sturridge, Wanchope, Delap (Willems, 87), Carsley, Eranio, Dailly, Baiano. Subs not used: Hoult, D. Powell, Elliot, Kozluk. Booked: Sturridge. Attendance: 55,170. Referee: M D Reed (Birmingham). |
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