P: West Ham 1 - 0 United
PREVIEW: WEST HAM v UNITED
Excellent away form has been one of the cornerstones of United’s success this season and Sir Alex will hope his side’s good run continues at Upton Park later today.
‘Squeaky bum’ time used to arrive in mid-April. Chelsea’s remorselessness in seasons past has forced United to reassess their strategy. Playing a full pelt from the turn of the year is no longer good enough to claim the title in May. Now even in mid-December, points dropped or lost could prove decisive. United know they have to win.
Sir Alex takes a refreshed team to east London, having given his senior players a three day holiday at the beginning of the week to recover from the hard fought victory over neighbours City. The team will need all its energy and concentration to defeat a home side likely to show renewed appetite following Alan Curbishley’s arrival as boss.
“There is no doubt Sunday will be a harder game for us now,” the manager said. “The West Ham players will have an increased energy and desire because they will want to convince and impress their new manager.
“But maybe that will be a good thing for us because we will have no illusions about the task that awaits us.”
Old boys Rio Ferdinand and Michael Carrick in particular will understand United’s need to play at tempo and with width. The manager also insists that some time soon a team will get a hiding from United when his team converts all of its chances.
“We are making away games harder for ourselves by not taking our chances,” Sir Alex added. “We could have won by six at Reading and ended up drawing, which was a slip, and we should have won by a lot more at Sheffield United and Middlesborough.
“Overall, the players have been doing fantastically and I have to trust them but it is an area where we can improve.”
For all the likely bounce Curbishley’s presence will give to his new team, West Ham are there for the taking. The Hammers are unrecognisable from the unit that came within a minute of claiming FA Cup glory last term. Rumours persist of dressing room discontent. Nigel Reo Coker and Paul Konchesky are looking for a way out of the club. Key players are injured whilst the forwards have lost their goal scoring boots and don’t know where to find them.
Yet, this is West Ham’s cup final. United will need all of the surefootedness they have shown previously on their travels if they are to come away from the Boleyn ground with all three points. It should be a cracker.
PREMIERSHIP RESULTS:
Everton 2 - 3 Chelsea; Manchester C. 1 - 2 Tottenham; Charlton Athletic 0 - 3 Liverpool; Arsenal 2 - 2 Portsmouth; Newcastle U. 2 - 1 Watford; Reading 1 - 2 Blackburn; Wigan Athletic 0 - 1 Sheffield United; Aston Villa 0 - 1 Bolton
MATCH REPORT…
West Ham 1 - 0 United
Reo Coker (74)
Sir Alex predicted a stumble would come and it duly arrived undeservedly at Upton Park.
United left the field disconsolate after conceding a soft goal to West Ham’s Nigel Reo Coker late in the second half. The manner of the defeat will have reminded the manager of similar losses against FC Copenhagen and Celtic, where United enjoyed most of the play but still went home with nothing to show for their efforts.
“I’ve been on to my players recently about missing chances away from home and today was another example of that,” Sir Alex said. “We are now two points clear when it could have been more. This has not been a good day for us.”
United will have to pick themselves up in time for the next match at Aston Villa and will need to find their misplaced goal instinct if they wish to maintain their slender lead over Chelsea. Time and again United came up against a home rearguard determined not to be breached and could not find the imaginative pass required to confirm their superiority with goals.
Instead, Saha and Ronaldo opted to shoot from distance, giving Robert Green in the home goal a good but none-too-distressing afternoon’s work-out. The manager will relish the option of using Henrik Larsson’s cunning and nous in tight matches such as these, when his principal strikers are off-colour.
The game’s early exchanges set the pattern for the match. West Ham were enthusiastic if not incisive whilst United probed without real heart-stopping menace. Saha brought a save from Green on 19 minutes and Ronaldo might have done better when he bore down on goal in the 27th minute only to shoot weakly and predictably.
United should have fallen behind some four minutes later when Rio Ferdinand found himself outmuscled by Bobby Zamora in a race towards the United penalty area. The West Ham forward was one on one with Edwin Van Der Sar, who saved brilliantly to allow Paul Scholes to move the ball out of danger.
That was West Ham’s only contribution to the first half but was still the clearest opportunity of the match.
United set about the home side in the second half as they had done in the first. The midfield saw plenty of the ball but lacked the final pass that would unlock the Hammers’ defence.
There seemed little danger when a West Ham pass found substitute Teddy Sheringham out on United’s right flank. His nutmegged pass beyond Vidic found Harewood who managed to elude Ferdinand to swivel and cut back his pass to the on rushing Reo Coker who stroked the ball home from close range on 74 minutes.
It was harsh on United but on a day when the team looked heavy legged and in need of inspiration, the main creative sources Ronaldo and Rooney were unable to make an impact.
TEAM
United: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Vidic, Heinze (Park 92), Ronaldo, Carrick (O’Shea 83), Scholes, Giggs (Solskjaer 72), Rooney, Saha
Subs: Kuszczak, Silvestre
POST SCRIPT
Sir Alex: “We didn’t deserve to lose as we created plenty of good chances. We have been throwing away lots of chances recently and this was another example of that. It’s something I’ve spoken about with the players over the last few days. The championship race wasn’t going to be decided in December but I’m happy with the form of the team and we’re playing well.
“We have come here at a time when there is a great upsurge of enthusiasm and optimism. We just have to gather ourselves and start another charge. We played some fantastic football but our finishing could have been better, plus our decision making was off at times. This result was nothing to do with nerve.The hallmark of champions is the ability to claw your way back. We have proved we can do that in the past and are good enough to do it again.”
Alan Curbishley: “We set off with a lot of enthusiasm, which you expect with a new manager coming in, and one or two were getting really tired. It was tough in the second half, but the goal just gave us that little bit of a lift and the opportunity to hang on to something.
“The title race has become a titanic battle between those two and Alex will be the first to tell you it’s going to be tough to win it. I don’t know where I’d put my money but we have turned things on its head a bit”
