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Thursday 28 August 1997
Issue 825


Sheringham off the mark as United look to Europe
By Henry Winter


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   Everton (0) 0 Man Utd (1) 2
   
   QUICKER in thought and deed, Manchester United comfortably
   dealt with Everton at Goodison Park last night. Goals from David
   Beckham, a header, and a first strike for Teddy Sheringham capped
   another day at the office for the champions of England.
   
   Maybe it was the smell of the Champions' League, but United gave a
   typically European-style performance, resisting early pressure,
   stilling the home crowd before scoring on the break. By the end,
   Goodison was a bowl of rancour, criticism falling down on Howard
   Kendall's players.
   
   Although Everton started promisingly, they faded against the
   high-tempo, high-pressure game of Roy Keane and his supremely
   competitive colleagues.
   
   Although Andy Cole was at last able to sit, however uncomfortably, on
   the bench, United still lacked their forward focus, a long-standing
   deficiency that continues to place an extra onus on the midfielders.
   Ryan Giggs was pushed forward, working enthusiastically with Paul
   Scholes and Sheringham.
   
   Such an approach initially allowed Everton room in central midfield,
   which Danny Williamson, Gary Speed and Graham Stuart began to use.
   
   For the opening 20 minutes, Howard Kendall's team looked invigorated,
   spinning the ball wide for their wing-backs and always alive to the
   knock-down options afforded by the towering Duncan Ferguson. The tall
   Scotsman also showed he is no slouch on the ground, drilling one
   wonderful cross-field pass to Terry Phelan.
   
   Everton seemed in the ascendancy, a false dawn prompted by Stuart's
   long-range shooting. Peter Schmeichel grasped the first effort cleanly
   but needed two attempts to smother the second. Having weathered the
   Everton storm, United stepped up a gear, counter-attacking with their
   traditional pace and gusto.
   
   After 26 minutes, Giggs appeared on the right to collect a pass from
   Keane, United's captain as industrious and influential a figure as
   ever. Giggs ran in but failed to trouble Neville Southall with a low
   shot.
   
   The warning went unheeded. Moments later, United moved ahead with a
   goal that had its roots in poor Everton marking. Taking a few short
   strides to the right-hand touchline, Gary Neville threw the ball
   powerfully into the box. It cleared a thicket of Everton defenders,
   eventually arriving close to Scholes, who was lurking unattended 10
   yards out from the far post.
   
   The ball was at an awkward height, perhaps explaining why Scholes
   mishit it. Everton's defenders were still turning to deal with Scholes
   when the ball looped back over them towards Southall's other post.
   There, again untroubled, was Beckham who celebrated his second start
   of the season with a header directed over Southall and into the top
   corner.
   
   Uplifted, the champions began to play with real cohesion, retaining
   possession where before they had been profligate. Beckham, clearly
   stirred up, fouled Slaven Bilic and was lucky to escape caution for
   the sort of petulance that Glenn Hoddle has warned him against.
   
   Goodison, which hardly took to Beckham, then saw his more positive
   side, a whipped-in corner directed to Sheringham, who again was unable
   to exploit the opportunity. Beckham finished the half with another
   fine ball from the right, a cross to the far-post almost met by Nicky
   Butt and Sheringham.
   
   Sheringham did not have long to wait for his debut goal. When another
   Everton mistake again ceded possession to the opposition, Giggs went
   gliding down the left.
   
   Sheringham, meanwhile, was at his stealthy best, slipping unnoticed
   into the box. When Giggs's cross came in, nicely angled back towards
   the edge of the area, there was Sheringham to shoot past Southall. He
   was quickly enveloped in the embrace of his team-mates.
   
   Everton were stunned but any culpability lay fairly and squarely at
   their back-door. United were never at their rampant best. Keane and Co
   just made their possession count.
   
   Goodison's disatisfaction, heard in bouts of booing, was
   understandable. Their players were second best when it counted.
   
   Kendall sent on Tony Thomas and John Oster, having earlier made the
   tactical switch to a back-four in replacing Craig Short with Michael
   Branch. Both formations looked vulnerable to the sort of incisive
   attacks United favour. Contrasting seasons lie ahead.
   _________________________________________________________________
   
   Everton (0) 0 Man Utd (1) 2
   Beckham 29, Sheringham 51.

   Everton: Southall, Barrett (Thomas 66), Phelan, Williamson, Watson,
   Bilic, Short (Branch 46), Stuart, Ferguson, Barmby (Oster 66), Speed.
   Subs Not Used: Gerrard, Farrelly.

   Man Utd: Schmeichel, G. Neville, Irwin, Pallister, Beckham, Butt,
   Sheringham (Cole 79), Giggs, Keane, Scholes, Berg. Subs Not Used: P.
   Neville, McClair, Poborsky, Van Der Gouw.

   Att: 40,079
   Ref: K W Burge (Tonypandy).
   _________________________________________________________________
   

     United draw level at top, Arsenal see drama
     (Adds detail) By Adrian Warner 

     LONDON, Aug 27 (Reuter) - 
     England striker Teddy Sheringham scored his first goal for Manchester
     United as the reigning champions won 2-0 at Everton to draw level
     on points with premier league leaders Blackburn on Wednesday.

     But the biggest drama of the night came at Leicester where
     championship contenders Arsenal were involved in a 3-3 draw which
     saw three goals in injury time, a hat-trick from Dutchman Dennis
     Bergkamp and problems after the final whistle.

     Sheringham, who moved to Old Trafford from Tottenham for nearly $6
     million in June, struck home a left-footed shot in the 51st minute
     to clinch the victory after David Beckham had given United the lead
     with a first-half header.

     Second-placed United are now level on points with Blackburn who
     lead on goal difference after thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 7-2 on
     Monday.

     Arsenal and Leicester are third and fourth respectively, two points
     behind after their intense encounter in the Midlands.

     The London club seemed to be heading for a comfortable 2-0 away win
     with seven minutes remaining after World Cup striker Bergkamp
     struck a brilliant long-range goal in the ninth minute and added a
     second in the 61st.

     But Leicester drew level to 2-2 with goals from Emile Heskey and
     Matt Elliott, the second in the 90th minute.

     After Bergkamp appeared to have scored the winner three minutes
     into injury time Leicester defender Steve Walsh went forward to
     head in the equaliser two minutes later to protect the home side's
     unbeaten record.

     Many of the fans were surprised that so much injury time was
     played. The final whistle saw angry scenes with Arsenal's
     controversial striker Ian Wright, who had been substituted,
     involved in a confrontation on the pitch with Walsh.

     Wright, who has been in trouble throughout his career for physical
     and verbal abuse of opponents and officials, could be in serious
     trouble with the England football authorities because of the
     incident.

     The 33-year-old forward was told by the England Football
     Association (F.A.) in July that he would face a long ban if his bad
     behaviour continued.

     Arsenal, who have put together an impressive team this season under
     coach Arsene Wenger were unlucky not get the three points which
     would have also have taken them level with Blackburn.

     The London club played some impressive attacking football.

     Bergkamp's opening goal was superb. The Dutchman curled the ball
     from the edge of the area into the top right-hand corner.

     West Ham moved up to fifth, one point behind Arsenal and Leicester,
     after a 1-1 draw at Coventry.

     England international striker Les Ferdinand scored twice for his
     new club Tottenham in their 3-2 home defeat of Aston Villa.

     Chelsea won their London derby at Wimbledon 2-0 after goals from
     Italian Roberto Di Matteo and Romanian midfielder Dan Petrescu.
   _________________________________________________________________
August 28 1997FOOTBALL

Sheringham opens new account as United take charge

BY OLIVER HOLT
FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENT

Everton . . . 0 Manchester United . . . 2

STILL playing a shade below their formidable best but still winning, a
Manchester United team inspired by the second-half performance of Ryan Giggs
eased Everton aside at Goodison Park last night with a nonchalance that did not
bode well for those who would seek to wrestle their FA Carling Premiership
crown from them this season.

United, who moved on to the shoulders of Blackburn Rovers at the top of the
table with a comfortable win over a limited Everton side, spurned a host of
chances but were still good enough to leave Howard Kendall, the Everton
manager, full of admiration.

"Whatever side I had selected," Kendall said, "whatever changes I had made,
would not have affected that result. We just could not cope with Giggs. If that
is the norm for them, it is a one-horse race. They were exceptional."

Sheringham, Giggs and Scholes all missed opportunities to make United's victory
more emphatic but, of more importance to the visitors was the identity of the
scorer of their second goal. Sheringham opened his account for his new club
with a deflected second-half strike that sealed United's victory.

If that is the start of United's attack functioning properly, too, their
challengers will struggle to keep up and Ferguson could not disguise his
delight. "I'm pleased for Teddy," Ferguson said, "because any striker wants to
score as soon as possible when he moves to a new club. That will do his
confidence a lot of good."

For much of the first half, Everton dealt comfortably enough with the threat of
United's front two of Giggs and Sheringham, snuffing out most potential
problems by deploying Bilic just in front of the back four.

Schmeichel was the busier goalkeeper for the first 20 minutes, leaping above
Barmby to head away an awkward Pallister back-pass, then hurling himself to his
right to catch Speed's deflected shot. Midway through the half, the Danish
goalkeeper needed two attempts to gather Stuart's ambitious 35-yard drive but
gradually, as Everton's efforts foundered, United began to ease their way into
the game.

In the 29th minute, the visitors broke the deadlock. Gary Neville's long throw
eluded the Everton defence and after Scholes mis-hit it, it bounced up to
Beckham at the far post and he nodded it unerringly back across Southall and
into the far corner of the Everton net.

Now United began to dominate possession. Sheringham scuffed a near-post effort
from Giggs's low corner and, six minutes before half-time, United nearly scored
again when Beckham's cross skidded across the face of goal in front of a trio
of United attackers. Only Butt, the last of them, made any contact with it, but
he could not guide his header back into the goal.

In the second half, Everton's resistance crumbled completely. Kendall took
Short off and pulled Bilic into the back four and they were quickly overrun.
Giggs, in particular, was rampant, his pace a constant source of embarrassment
to Watson and Bilic.

Six minutes after half-time, the Wales international created United's second
goal when he beat Watson with nonchalant ease on the left and cut the ball back
for Sheringham. Bilic tried to block the United striker's shot but succeeded
only in deflecting it past Southall.

As Everton pressed forward, searching for a way back into the game, United
exploited their openness in defence but wasted a string of chances to extend
their advantage.
   _________________________________________________________________

Man United 28 Aug 1997

REDS LOOKING OMINOUS FOR TITLE HAT-TRICK

Nobody can bet against Manchester United becoming only the fourth team ever to
win the title three seasons on the trot, after their awesome demolition of
Everton.

But, while both Alex Ferguson and Howard Kendall were both singing the praises
of the champions after their 2-0 win at Everton, Teddy Sheringham was the man
for whom the night took on a more personal significance.

He finally managed to score a goal for his new club, five games into his Old
Trafford career.

The pressure had been mounting; he'd missed a penalty at his old club Spurs and
been getting gently increasing stick for his failure in front of goal.

But the classy striker, new man in Glenn Hoddle's World Cup plans, broke his
duck in the second half at Goodison Park to grab the killer goal in an
impressive victory.

Afterwards he admitted: ``I'd be lying if I said there hadn't been any pressure
on me.

``As a striker you thrive on goals, and I am no different to anybody else. The
first was welcomed.

``I know I'm at United to score goals and I am no different to anybody else.
But I'm also around to contribute towards winning games, and that's what I've
been trying to do.

``The fact that we are not losing matches had taken a bit of the pressure off
me. It would have been worse if we had been losing matches 1-0 and were down at
the bottom of the league.''

There had always been a fat chance of that, still more so after United's superb
display at Everton.

Kendall described them as ``frightening a side, if they maintain that form, who
would make the title chase a one-horse race.''

Whatever the likes of Blackburn and Arsenal, plus Liverpool, are doing
elsewhere, the ominous shadow of a highly professional machine like United is
hanging over everybody.

Whoever wants the title knows they must drag it, kicking and screaming, away
from Old Trafford.

Only Arsenal, Liverpool and Huddersfield have achieved title hat-tricks, and
you won't find anybody who witnessed the humbling of Everton who would bet a
brass farthing against United becoming the fourth club in soccer history to
achieve the feat.

Fergie called it: ``Our best display of the season so far.''

Kendall added: ``There was nothing I could have done to change things I told my
players in the dressing room that they couldn't have done much to stop what
happened.

``United were at the top of their form; few teams would have coped with them on
that showing.''

Words like that have been spoken by a few managers in the past five seasons,
during which United have won five crowns.

United are getting better and better too.

They make so few mistakes, concede so few goals and lose so few matches Kendall
could just be right about that one horse race.


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