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Giggs takes the easy way
By Colin Malam at Old Trafford | |
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Man Utd (1) 2 Tottenham (0) 0 AS expected, beating Tottenham was almost too easy for Manchester United. The contest was no more demanding than a practice match for the Premiership leaders at times, though the struggling London side did at least make them work hard for their two goals, both scored by Ryan Giggs, who was again a strong contender for man of the match. United, now seven points clear, would have won more emphatically had it not been for the heroics of Espen Baardsen in Tottenham's goal. Baardsen, who is only 20 and has both American and Norwegian nationality, made a very favourable impression with his shot-stopping and general competence in only his second senior game for Spurs. Nicola Berti had a much quieter time on his debut for the London club. Looking desperately short of match fitness after spending most of the season on the bench with Inter Milan, the Italian international struggled to get into the game and managed only one shot at goal, and that off-target. Jürgen Klinsmann, who embraced his old pal, Teddy Sheringham, before the kick-off, also looks ring rusty still and suffered the indignity of being the only player to be booked. Rather surprisingly, United made one change to the team who had walked all over Chelsea in the FA Cup six days earlier. The increasingly impressive Nicky Butt, core of the midfield in the absence of the injured Roy Keane this season, was rested so that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer could be reintroduced in attack on his recovery from illness. That adjustment suggested two things. One was that United had no great fear of being outplayed in midfield, especially in the absence of the injured David Ginola, whose vision and passing had been the mainstay of Tottenham's performances in recent weeks. The other implication was that the Premiership leaders intended to attack in force and on a broad front. Sure enough, United lined up with Sheringham, Andy Cole and Solskjaer in attack, while David Beckham, Paul Scholes and Giggs supported them in a three-man midfield. The new formation clicked very quickly, too, a goal nearly coming after only two minutes from the home side's first attack. It was begun by Solskjaer on the left. His square pass inside was turned into a killer ball by Sheringham, who slipped Giggs clear to the left of goal. Sensibly pulling the ball back instead of shooting, the Welshman offered Cole a free shot at goal and only a miraculous deflection over the crossbar with his leg enabled Spurs' reserve goalkeeper, Baardsen, to parry the thrust. The confident replacement for the injured Ian Walker, who has played for both the United States youth team and the Norway Under-21s, was given another scare a few minutes later when Giggs sent him hurtling across goal in pursuit of a 25-yard shot that whistled just wide. A pass across the face of goal by Sheringham also threatened danger until Sol Campbell deflected the ball away from Cole. For 20 minutes, Tottenham were under so much pressure that they could hardly get out of their own half. Berti, their latest big-name loan signing from Italy, must have wondered what he had got himself into as he sought vainly on his debut for a touch of the ball in the centre of midfield. When Spurs did finally lift the seige, though, they nearly scored. Campbell's accurate long pass enabled Jose Dominguez and Ruel Fox to engineer a counter-attack on the right, and the ball was only just deflected into the side-netting by a desperate, back-pedalling United defence as the Portuguese let fly. Forcing two corners in quick succession, Tottenham managed to apply some pressure of their own before being forced back into a defensive crouch once more. Baardsen came to their rescue again when he dropped on Cole's shot after the Premiership's joint leading scorer had stepped neatly round Ramon Vega on the edge of the penalty area. However, the American-born Norwegian could not go on saving his side for ever. A couple of minutes before the interval, Baardsen could not make a clean catch when Sheringham challenged him for the high, hanging centre Beckham sent over from the right. Giggs volleyed the loose ball fiercely into the net and the referee allowed the goal to stand despite Baardsen's vociferous claims that he had been fouled. Baardsen was soon in action again after the interval, as United's domination of the match began to become almost monotonous. The Spurs goalkeeper had saved, in fairly rapid succession, from Sheringham, Solskjaer and Cole by the time the second half was six minutes old, and that was only the beginning of his labours as United really started to turn the screw. But, with Cole shooting into the side-netting after taking a cross-field pass from Giggs on his chest, and Baardsen leaping to catch Sheringham's chip, United badly needed a second goal to confirm their dominance. They got it from a sweeping move after 67 minutes. Sheringham, inevitably, began it with a raking pass out to Beckham on the right. The young England international made ground rapidly before delivering a deep and perfectly judged cross for Giggs, coming in unseen behind a clutch of straining Spurs defenders, to head his and his team's second goal just inside a post. __________________________________________________________ Man Utd (1) 2 Tottenham (0) 0 Giggs 44, 67. Man Utd: Schmeichel, Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Cole, Sheringham, Giggs, Scholes, Solskjaer. Subs Not Used: Butt, McClair, Berg, Clegg, Pilkington. Tottenham: Baardsen, Calderwood, Fox (Brady 77), Carr, Vega, Wilson, Domingues, Campbell, Clemence (Sinton 54), Klinsmann, Berti. Subs Not Used: Brown, Mabbutt, Mahorn. Booked: Klinsmann. Att: 55,281 Ref: P E Alcock (Redhill). __________________________________________________________ January 11 1998 FOOTBALL Giggs double adds to Tottenham misery United jaded but jubilant Chris Lightbown at Old Trafford Manchester United 2 Tottenham Hotspur 0 THIS WAS no classic and it was not an impressive Manchester United performance. They looked tired and at the end walked off the pitch with the demeanour of men who had found a simple task to be awkward and wearing. But Tottenham Hotspur just could not make anything of this dip in United's momentum. It does seem that nothing will alter the direction of either of these teams. The tale of the first half was a strange one. United veered between periods of having no momentum and starting to work up their familiar Old Trafford lather. Overall, they had remarkably little movement in midfield and only spasms of penetration into Tottenham's penalty area. It seemed to take Tottenham a while to realise that the script of the day might not necessarily be shot through with annihilation. United's first attack was brisk and ended with Ryan Giggs passing back to Andy Cole, whose snap-shot was excellently saved by Espen Baardsen. A corner followed and it seemed like business as usual. Sol Campbell and Colin Calderwood made something a hash of clearing the ball shortly afterwards, and Giggs shot just wide. David Beckham, among others, was barely able to get into the pace of things, but it did not seem to matter because others were willing to pick up his tab. Cole, for one, was buzzing around with such hyperactivity that at one point he needlessly gave the ball to Jose Dominguez. But what could Spurs do with it? Precious little. Tottenham flitted down the pitch and the move frittered away after a Clive Wilson throw-in led to nothing. After 18 minutes, the crowd began to grow uneasy. Beckham and Giggs just were not getting into things, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was getting nowhere in his withdrawn role, and Paul Scholes seemed to be having one of those days which was all movement but little action. Whether Tottenham could take much advantage of all this was another matter. After 14 minutes, for instance, Ruel Fox led something of a break out from Tottenham's vaguely besieged area, but got trapped far out on his team's right flank. However, he managed to get the ball out to Jurgen Klinsmann, who promptly whisked it on towards young Stephen Clemence. On the left flank, Clemence moved forward, cut in, but then gave the ball away with a pass that was too shrewd for the circumstances. Such things were to happen to and with Clemence time and time again. Like so many of Tottenham's home-grown young men, he shows endless flashes of potential, but it requires good handling and a sustained run in the first team to come to anything more than good-looking potential. The pendulum swung back to United, albeit half-heartedly. A torrent of United corners came and went. But Tottenham suddenly burst into life. Klinsmann, who had virtually been out of things, suddenly got on to the ball in a promising position and, as selfless as ever, fed it fast and hard to Fox. He in turn swished it on towards Dominguez, and Peter Schmeichel had to work very hard to ensure that all United conceded from this sudden burst out was a corner. Inevitably, this led to an outburst from Schmeichel. Is anything that goes wrong in, around, or near his domain ever this man's fault? Not yesterday, not according to him. United's momentum was seriously faltering, and after 44 minutes, the Tottenham fans were singing "Can we play you every week?". Then United scored. Baardsen vigorously claimed that he had been fouled by Teddy Sheringham as he went up for a high ball, and it seemed likely that he was. But Paul Alcock, the referee, was having none of it. Baardsen, who barely put a foot wrong all afternoon, left the ball while Sheringham was - at least - paying him very close attention, and Giggs cracked in the ball as soon as it came to him. The tale of the second half was, if anything, stranger. Beckham came to life and United's defence performed nearly as flawlessly as it had throughout the first half. But although their apologists may claim otherwise, United fell short of their true level. Tottenham's patchwork team was defending well enough, but that did not explain the level to which Cole's service was reduced. Solskjaer had sustained periods of anonymity and it was curious to note that many of Cole's shots and chances resulted from him drifting back into patches of space that might normally be filled by his colleagues. Still, Sheringham ran hither and thither and produced his usual torrent of linking passes. With a ball-bearing like him, it takes an awful lot for the machine to run out of momentum altogether. United's second goal came during a period when counterattacking appeared to be their best chance of success. Sheringham swept the ball on to Beckham who, for once, picked out Giggs in the right way at the right moment, and although there appeared to be something untidy in the way Giggs got the ball over the line, get it over he did. Calderwood, for once, was utterly distraught. Tottenham had defended well and at that point of the match, you would have made them slightly the more likely candidates to score. But even now, although some of their moves were sharp, United could not work themselves into anything like their commanding home form. After 70 minutes or so, a move that had begun by Scholes moved through two other players before the ball came towards Cole at the wrong pace and angle. Neither was anybody on hand to make a better fist of this move before it died out. Not long from the end, Cole had to go back to the centre circle to get a decent sighting of the ball and his problem at that point was hardly that Tottenham were marking him into oblivion. Still, United march on. Who can stop them? Manchester United: Schmeichel, G Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Scholes, Sheringham, Giggs, Cole, Solskjaer. Tottenham: Baardsen, Wilson, Calderwood, Campbell, Carr, Vega, Dominguez, Clemence (Sinton 54min), Klinsmann, Berti, Fox (Brady 77min). Scorer: Manchester United: Giggs 44, 67 Booked: Klinsmann (60min). Referee: P Alcock (Halstead). Attendance: 55,281. Copyright 1998 The Times Newspapers Limited. __________________________________________________________ Giggs goals keep United on course for title hat-trick (Adds quotes, descriptive) By Mike Collett LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Manchester United, who crushed Chelsea 5-3 in the F.A. Cup last week, out-classed London opposition again on Saturday with an easy 2-0 win over injury-hit Tottenham Hotspur in the premier league at Old Trafford. The victory put United, chasing their third successive title, seven points clear of Chelsea, although Blackburn could narrow United's lead at the top to five points if they beat Derby on Sunday. Both United goals were scored by Ryan Giggs, although the first did not come until just before half-time, breaking some stubborn resistance from Spurs who had 10 first-team players missing through injury. Spurs gave a debut to Nicola Berti, their new signing from Inter Milan, and although he had a promising start for the relegation-threatened side, the Spurs attack and Juergen Klinsmann made little impression on United's defence and the outcome was never in much doubt. Both of Giggs's goals came from David Beckham crosses, with Giggs firing home a rasping drive for the first and scoring with a well-placed header for the second after 67 minutes. Giggs said afterwards: "David's crosses and passes are so precise. I don't get many with my head so I was happy to see the second go in. But it was a great ball -- and I couldn't really miss." The result leaves Tottenham deep in trouble one place off the bottom of the table, although their Swiss coach Christian Gross could take some heart from the performance. He said: "Defensively we did quite well for 90 minutes -- we were unlucky to fall behind before the break. We were solid in defence but up front we need something more to help Juergen. "I'm satisfied with the team performance -- but we need to create more dangerous situations." Chelsea, who went 5-0 down to United after 74 minutes of last week's Cup match, trailed 1-0 to Coventry for more than half-an-hour of Saturday's league match before bouncing back to win 3-1 and maintain their faint hopes of catching Alex Ferguson's men. Last week Chelsea scored three goals against United in 12 minutes when they were five down. This week they also scored three times in 12 minutes -- and that was enough for all three points. Two goals from substitute Mark Nicholls (65 and 70) and one from Roberto di Matteo (78) brought Chelsea victory in a match transformed after Chelsea player-coach Ruud Gullit came on and breathed some life into his team. Liverpool, who have a game in hand on the leading trio, moved to within a point of Blackburn with a 2-0 win over their bogey-side Wimbledon thanks to two second-half goals from Jamie Redknapp -- his second a memorable long-range shot. It was Liverpool's fifth successive league win and made up a little for the disappointment of their crushing defeat by Coventry in the F.A. Cup last week. Delighted Redknapp said: "It was tough -- it always is against Wimbledon but I think we deserved it in the end. "We felt if we kept plugging away we'd get chances, they fell to me and I tucked them away. We could have had three or four in the end. "We've got to keep winning in the league. Manchester United might slip up and we've got to be there if they do." Arsenal stayed among the leading pack with a 2-1 win over Leeds, managed by the former Arsenal manager George Graham. All three goals fell to Dutchmen with Marc Overmars striking twice for Arsenal after 60 and 72 minutes and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink scoring for Leeds in the 69th minute. West Ham were the biggest winners of the day, crushing bottom-placed Barnsley 6-0 at Upton Park with young Frenchman Samassi Abou scoring twice. That defeat kept Barnsley rooted firmly to the bottom of the table on 18 points -- two less than Spurs and four less than Bolton in 18th place. Barnsley are five points behind Crystal Palace, Coventry and Everton, who are all on 23 points. Everton's recent mini-revival continued with them winning for the third time in four league matches, 3-1 at Crystal Palace, still the only team in the entire English League without a home league win this season. Sheffield Wednesday also eased their relegation fears with a 2-1 win over Newcastle who have now lost four successive league games. Bolton drew 0-0 with Southampton who had Francis Benali sent off after 31 minutes for flicking Jamie Pollock in the face -- the 10th time he has been dismissed in his 10 seasons at Southampton. © Reuters Limited 1997 __________________________________________________________ Giggs maturing into one of the greats By Mike Collett LONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - If things had turned out differently, Manchester City could now be the dominant force in English soccer and a young man named Ryan could be looking forward to playing for England in the World Cup this summer. As it is, Manchester United are the undisputed rulers in England, but young Ryan will be a spectator at France'98. The young man in question is Ryan Giggs, who as a youngster was known as Ryan Wilson, played for Manchester City's youth team and was captain of the England Schoolboys team. The latest team to fall under his spell were Tottenham, beaten 2-0 by United at Old Trafford on Saturday. Young Ryan scored both of the goals. The catalyst for his dramatic change of identity, club and country was not a footballing matter -- but the divorce of his parents. After they split he decided to take his mother's name, and when the time came to make his senior international debut he chose to represent his Welsh mother's country rather than that of his English father. Along the way he left Manchester City and signed as a professional for Manchester United. There have been many people who have thought long and hard about how different City's fortunes would have been over the last seven years if Giggs had developed at Maine Road rather than move to Old Trafford. For just about the only thing that has never changed is his incredible footballing ability. Only recently turned 24, Giggs made his league debut for United as long ago as March 1991 -- and is already a veteran of 224 league appearances plus nearly another 100 matches in cups. When he first played, his darting runs, his balance, his shock of black hair and his incredible ball control brought immediate comparisons with United's 1960s hero George Best. Still some years from his peak, Giggs's virtuoso performances this season have consistently reminded many older fans of Best at his very best -- and the way he played against Tottenham on Saturday was further proof that Giggs is set become an even better player than before. He may never quite possess Best's raffish glamour and cheek on the pitch, but he has the ability to mesmerise his opponents in exactly the same way. He scored both goals on Saturday and although United did not play particularly well against the injury-hit relegation-threatened Londoners, Giggs was outstanding. Manager Alex Ferguson could hardly praise him enough afterwards. "He was the highlight of the game -- he was magnificent. "His passing was marvellous today and these are the things that as a maturing player he is adding to his game. His passing ability and other parts of the game are coming together." Giggs, who has now scored six times this season, put United ahead with a piercing shot a minute before half-time, and added the second with a rare headed goal midway through the second half. "I don't get many headers so I was pleased to see that one go in," he said. "I've had a good run, I'm quite happy with my form -- last season I had a few nagging injuries, hamstrings, and missed the odd game. This season there have been no injuries and I'm enjoying it." And he believes that United can win not only the league for the third straight season -- but also the F.A. Cup and United's real goal this year -- the European Cup. "We've got the squad to go all the way. We've got to keep playing well, consistently. You've got to perform or you're out of the team - it's such a good squad. "Everyone likes winning and we've got that feeling at the moment." Giggs is now regarded as the "old man" of the younger players at Old Trafford and has long been used to being in the spotlight. This season there has been a greater maturity and self-confidence about his play and his outstanding goal against Juventus when United beat the Italian giants 3-2 at Old Trafford in October was seen as confirmation of his greatness. United for their part have carefully nurtured his talent. Mindful of how the pressures on Best effectively ended his United career in his late-20s, Ferguson was always very protective of Giggs, rarely allowing him to be interviewed, and ensuring he stayed away from the bright lights. "When I was 17, 18 I just wanted to concentrate on football - and the manager said to do that and I'm grateful to him. I think I've benefited from the boss's early shielding of me. "But I'm becoming a bit of a veteran now -- it's easy when your playing well." United are currently playing very, very well and Manchester City and England can only thing about what might have been. © Reuters Limited 1997 __________________________________________________________ Man United v Tottenham 10/01/98 3.00 Man United (1) 2 Tottenham (0) 0 FT Giggs 44,67 It had been billed as a battle between Teddy Sheringham and Jurgen Klinsmann. And the former Tottenham team-mates, who scored 52 goals in a golden season at White Hart Lane three years ago, embraced on the halfway line before the match began. But in truth it was the only time they took centre stage in a disappointing match which still saw a below par United forge seven points clear at the top of the Premiership. Indeed Sheringham had a quiet game by his standards, leaving the stage for United's glamour boys Ryan Giggs and David Beckham to take the glory. Beckham, who boosts his playboy image by jetting off to a Paris fashion show this week, provided the little inspiration which was on show at Old Trafford with some pinpoint crosses. And the outstanding Giggs was on hand to score two cracking goals - one in each half. But it is a measure of United's domination of the Premiership this season that they can win games like this at a canter while playing only to around 80 per cent of their potential. It was not pretty to watch, in parts it was down right dour, but the only statistic United boss Alex Ferguson will be bothered about is that it was their ninth win in 10 games. Maybe the side was suffering a hangover from that dramatic 5-3 FA Cup third round victory over Chelsea last Sunday. It did not look that way when Andy Cole brought an instinctive save from Espen Baardsen, the Norwegian goalkeeper deputising for the injured Ian Walker, after just two minutes. And the Premiership's leading scorer was by far United's most lively weapon on a day when too many passes went astray and too few shots hit the target. United, however, lifted themselves out of their lethargy in the 43rd minute when Beckham supplied a looping shot from the right-hand side. Baardsen dropped the ball under pressure from Sheringham and Giggs drove in a quite venomous volley from 16 yards. It should have inspired United to greater things but try as they might they could not find the fluency of recent weeks against a side which is beginning to respond to new manager Christian Gross. Sheringham had a 20-yard shot saved just after the interval and Cole, who with each game surely books his ticket to the World Cup finals in France this summer, continued to be a constant danger. But it was the Beckham-Giggs combination which gave United the breathing space their superior workrate deserved. He swept in another of those waspish crosses from the right in the 67th minute and Giggs rose at the far post to slot home a rare headed goal for his sixth strike of the season. In truth, it was a stroll after that for a United side superior in every department. Spurs boss Gross, can at least take solace in the fact that his side's passion and commitment, so fragile this season, could not be faulted. But Klinsmann, playing his third match since his move from Sampdoria, was still way short of the electric form which once made him such a feared striker. Indeed his main contribution was a booking in the 60th minute when he uncharacteristically booted the ball into the stand after the whistle had been blown. Nicola Berti, the former Italian international signed by Spurs on a free transfer from Inter Milan in midweek, fared little better. The midfield man blasted one shot over the bar in the 82nd minute but apart from that was virtually anonymous on a disappointing debut. In the end it was a match which did not really tell us anything new. United are marching to the title and Spurs will struggle to stay in the Premiership. Man United: (4-3-3) Schmeichel, Neville, Irwin, Johnsen, Pallister, Beckham, Cole, Sheringham, Giggs, Scholes, Solskjaer. Subs not used: Butt, McClair, Berg, Clegg, Pilkington. Tottenham: (4-4-2) Baardsen, Calderwood, Fox (Brady, 77), Carr, Vega, Wilson, Domingues, Campbell, Clemence (Sinton, 54), Klinsmann, Berti. Subs not used: Brown, Mabbutt, Mahorn. Booked: Klinsmann. Attendance: 55,281. Referee: P E Alcock (Redhill). |
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