BACK TO ARCHIVE INDEX © All written site content is copyright ComeOnBoro.com 2004-2007, unless otherwise stated, and is not to be used without prior permission.	MANCHESTER UNITED 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 1, FA Premier League, Saturday 21 April 2007 With news that the gap between Boro and the bottom three had been narrowed to a mere six points, this game at Old Trafford had an added significance. After Ronaldo's theatrics at the Riverside and the FA Cup quarter finals there was a history to this tie that promised to make it an explosive one. Boro reverted to a 4-4-2 formation with Mark Viduka being reinstalled in attack. He was to partner Yakubu. Lee Cattermole further cemented his place on the right of midfield after being recently out through suspension. Stewart Downing was on the left whilst Fabio Rochemback increased his number of Boro starts by partnering George Boateng in the centre from the off. The backline was identical to that deployed against Liverpool - with Jonathan Woodgate and Emmanuel Pogatetz partnering each other in the middle whilst the two Andrews - Davies and Taylor - were on the right and left respectively. Schwarzer, Davies, Woodgate, Pogatetz, Taylor, Cattermole, Rochemback, Boateng, Downing, Yakubu (Lee 82), Viduka, Jones, Huth, Morrison, Johnson THE FIRST HALF Manchester United were clearly scared of the Boro as Paul Scholes kicked the ball out of play within the first five seconds. Evidently they had been briefed to time waste from the off so it looks like a game of many throw-ins and set-pieces. But Cristiano Ronaldo had other ideas as he ran down the right at the Boro defence. He squared the ball back to Wayne Rooney instead of shooting. Thankfully he did as the move broke down in a promising position for the home side. Ronaldo's intent was clear - and this time it didn't involve him rolling on the ground like a girl. Another dangerous cross was cut out by Jonathan Woodgate. You couldn't say it wasn't coming - but no one expected it to be quite this soon. Boro's defence had evidently booked a lad's holiday for four in the Algarve as the entire backline went missing, allowing Paul Scholes to loop a ball over them. Rooney, who was probably offside, ran on to it and made no mistake, rounding Mark Schwarzer before laying the ball to Kieron Richardson. He made no mistake from six yards out. Things didn't bode well for the next eighty-seven minutes. MANCHESTER UNITED 1 (Richardson, 3) MIDDLESBROUGH 0 The game calmed down after this, with five minutes of tepid play . On eight a Taylor cross troubled Edwin Van der Sar in the United goal but a Yakubu nudge allowed the Dutchman to rest assured that he was fouled rather than just rubbish. On nine Yakubu made a complete pillock of himself by failing to control the ball after Boro had pushed into United territory. He was in a good position but in attempting a shot from twenty-five yards instead of feeding Downing, all that resulted was one set of frustrated fans and one hungry midfielder. Perhaps Roary could maul a ball-boy for him or something. But then that would result in a tranquiliser-induced trip to the zoo again. And then who would entertain the fans? The footballers?! Don't be stupid! Southgate had evidently learned from Wednesday's defensive debacle as Boro were reaping some reward for a more attacking line-up this afternoon. United were looking vulnerable when put under pressure but as soon as they attacked Boro threatened to crumble. If any situation proved the overused adage "Attack is the best form of defence" then this truly was it. On sixteen Fabio Rochemback blasted a free-kick at the wall, evidently confusing it for the goal. Had it been the goal, he would have scored as it cannoned off the United defence and away to nowhere in particular. Things were worrying for Boro - when Rio Ferdinand can beat three of your defenders with a mazy run into your own territory you know when you're struggling. Yakubu should have been to the ball early on but he was caught flatfooted and Ferdinand almost penetrated Boro's fragile defence. On nineteen Wes Brown dressed up in medieval armour, donned a helmet, grabbed a sword and shielded the ball away from Mark Viduka. The Australian, probably frustrated that he hadn't brought his mace with him, was almost in but Van der Sar gathered the ball after Brown's obstruction. Viduka then probably challenged him to a duel, saddled up Roary and rode off into the wilds of Salford to formulate a battleplan. Boro were being continually defeated by the long ball over the top - making Southgate regret that he hadn't brought the official MFC stilts with him (available from the club shop at the stadium and in the Boro - £49.99). It was concerning that Boro's backline was so square, being pulled through United's intricate play. Yet despite this it was only the long balls that were defeating Middlesbrough's defence. United may have been dominating possession but it was all largely in front of Boro's back four with little penetration through it. Boro's second shot of the game came on twenty-seven when Yakubu galloped at Wes Brown like a rampant horse on the prairies. Unfortunately his shot was more akin to that of a donkey but it did take a deflection for a corner. Little resulted from this but at least Boro were now getting more established in the game. On twenty-nine Rochemback launched a cross-cum-shot into the area but unfortunately it did not beat the first man. A corner was conceded that Boro's number ten took. Nothing resulted from this. Another corner ensued. George Boateng took it and found Rochemback in the area. His looping header troubled Van der Sar who could only manage to parry the difficult ball. He wasn't looking the most assured in goal. The ball broke to Davies who launched a shot into the box but it lacked danger. On thirty-two Boro's defence, which had contained the likes of Rooney and Ronaldo reasonably well, restricted the Portuguese midfielder to another long-range shot that went wide. Boro were looking strong - as long as the ball didn't leave the ground. On thirty-five Ronaldo's skill won a free-kick for United twenty yards out. Boateng, the guilty party, received a harsh yellow card for his troubles. Gabriel Heinze had obviously been watching "Fabio Rochemnback Tips To Free Kick Taking" as he, like the Brazilian, cannoned the ball against the wall. The ball broke back to Heinze and he blasted it again, winning a corner. Rooney connected to the ball from the set-play, looping a shot over Schwarzer and thankfully over the goal. It wouldn't have counted however as Rooney clattered into Davies when following the flight of the ball. On thirty-nine Boateng fouled Ronaldo once more, except this time it was further out (about thirty yards). Like Rochemback and Heinze before him, Rochemback simply blasted the set-piece at Boro's three-man wall. Evidently the perm was back in fashion in the north-west as someone had rationed all the curlers. A confetti of yellow cards ensued - with Rochemback and Paul Scholes married in the referee's register. Before the sickness of that thought had time to truly disturb me however, the game took an unexpected turn. Boro were had been looking for quality delivers all afternoon and on the stroke of halftime who else but Downing provided one. From the left he pinpointed a cross that found Mark Viduka in United's box. He timed his run perfectly, cutting across Wes Brown and powering a header beyond Van der Sar. Boro were back in it. MANCHESTER UNITED 1 MIDDLESBROUGH 1 (Viduka, 44) United started to panic from here, demonstrated by a snatched Rooney shot that went high and wide. And that was the final moment of a half in which Boro had competed and defended doggedly. The goal was no less than what they deserved. THE SECOND HALF United made two like-for-like swaps at the start of the second half - with Rio Ferdinand making way for Darren Fletcher whilst Ryan Giggs came on for goalscorer Kieron Richardson. This gave United more creative options - Sir Alex Ferguson was evidently hoping that the Welsh international would be able to break down Boro's firm backline. A minute in and Giggs showed his class, curling a delicious ball into the box. Unfortunately Schwarzer stole his hoer d'ouerve and devoured it, catching the ball comfortably. Giggs scowled off to make some more pancakes. In a tight situation, Mark Viduka turned silkily on forty-eight. He rolled his marker by chesting the ball then flicking it over Wes Brown. His right footed shot however was not as classy and Van der Sar caught it easily. United were starting to lose their heads - irked by the fact that they were not winning and the game was already fifty minutes old. The only obvious answer was to book a Boro player of course, so Yakubu got booked for swearing. A free-kick was latched on to by Alan Smith but Schwarzer was alert to the danger and collected. On fifty-one Boateng ran into the box and almost set up Cattermole. The ball broke for a corner, from which Van der Sar completely missed the flight of the ball. Boro could not profit but the key to winning this game was evidently to put pressure on the Dutchman in United's goal, as he had been poor all game. Boateng was livelier than a five-year old with ADD on tartrazine as he punted another long-range shot towards United's goal. It went over but Boro were the side looking most likely to score at this stage - must to the frustration and boos of the United fans. A minute later the defence opened up like that spaceship at the start of "You Only Live Twice", allowing Ronaldo a shot from the edge of the penalty area. It went wide. Boro were having a go, full of confidence after their late first half goal. On fifty-seven Cattermole darted into the United box and teed up Yakubu, whose shot was blocked from the angle. Rochemback took the resulting corner but it was cleared by the home defenders. On fifty-nine Boro had a two-against-two as Boateng played the ball to Rochemback. He carried the ball forward but instead of having a shot as the defence opened up, he elected to pass to the quickly arriving Viduka. Rochemback's pass, like the Titantic, never made it and sunk without trace. Cattermole, meanwhile, had sprung into life, like some form of warped jack-in-the-box. It took a last-ditch Heinze challenge to thwart him. Viduka had upped his ante as well - combining well with Yakubu. Sir Alex was worried. He introduced Ole Gunnar Solskjaer for Alan Smith in the hope that he would have the magic key to unlock the Boro defence. If Boro's defence was solid United's was rocky and Boro were getting reasonable success when they ran directly at them. On sixty-eight Lee Cattermole's handle had been turned and he popped up once more, launching a wonder-strike from twenty-five yards that only narrowly went over. Boro were getting closer and closer to an elusive second goal. United's shooting, meanwhile, was erratic - a Solskjaer effort made to look better through a deflection of Pogatetz. Frustration was the watchword - but not from Boro's point of view. The crowd were starting to get restless as United were made to play long balls as a way to break through Boro's defence. This didn't stop them though. On seventy-three Boateng launched himself at a Ryan Giggs shot from twelve yards, saving the concession of a second goal before Michael Carrick blasted a shot wide. Boro were blocking more than a Scottish hydroelectric project as Taylor intercepted a Rooney effort a minute later. The United fans meanwhile were becoming increasingly frustrated, blowing a lot of hot air about not being in the lead. All this needed removing and then transforming into subdued resignation, so Boro's gas export shutdown commenced as planned in an attempt to silence the crowd. The game was end-to-end at this stage as Rochemback broke but the move broke down at the Viduka stage. United then came at the Boro and the ball fell to Rooney in the box. He dinked it over the onrushing Schwarzer but the ball narrowly went wide. On eighty-one Rooney came once more, launching another shot that again went wide. At this point Southgate decided to change things - replacing Yakubu with Dong-Gook Lee - an unknown quantity could possibly take advantage of the uncertainty between United's centre-backs. If they knew little about him then there was a fair chance he could. United needed to win the game and in an attempt to do so they had adopted a 4-2-4 formation. Rooney had a shot on eighty-four that Woodgate blocked whilst two minutes later Solskjaer had an unchallenged header that went comfortably wide of Schwarzer's left hand post. As the game reached its conclusion, the Boro fans looked to the sky, paying their respects to any divine presence who could deliver them a result. But it was Boro and not United who were attacking. Ronaldo however showed that the game wasn't over yet - but Pogatetz was equal to the challenge. Thirty seconds later and a one-two between Carrick and Giggs allowed the former a shot that he blasted over the bar. As the game entered stoppage time controversy ensued as Dong Gook Lee went down in the penalty area. Such decisions have been given in the past but not this time as the referee waved Boro's protests away. At the opposite end Ronaldo went down but the referee came to the same conclusion - although this penalty refutation was far more clear-cut. Old Trafford was a cauldron at this stage with both teams doing their utmost to win the game. With two minutes of stoppage time to go, United came at the Boro once more but Rochemback won the ball and passed to Downing who did his best to keep the ball. He couldn't. With thirty seconds to go Ronaldo whipped in a free-kick that Davies headed out for a corner. Giggs took the set-piece but Cattermole cleared. And with that the whistle blew. Boro's closing down, commitment and work-rate were top class this afternoon and they were well worth the point they picked up today. It took a lot of character to come back from conceding such an early goal but to put in such a dogged display after Wednesday's debacle at Anfield says something about the players and Southgate's managerial skill. Boro's attack was strong but our defence was stronger, frustrating United throughout. The point picked up today takes Boro on to forty and almost certain safety. It couldn't have come at a better place and from a better performance. United meanwhile have had their title hopes dented. Perhaps it's just deserts for their conduct in previous games this season. FULL TIME FAN REACTION "Rudolph's not happy. We were robbed of a penalty though" Deeno SEND THIS TO A FRIEND BACK TO MANCHESTER UNITED v BORO MATCH PROGRAMME INDEX
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