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Electronic Telegraph


Sunday 22 February 1998
Issue 1003


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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