Manchester United finally lost their unbeaten record in the league as they were beaten 2-1 by Wolves.
Goals from George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle were enough to cancel out Nani’s early opener, but United put on a poor performance to match the pitch they were playing on.
It took less than three minutes for United to take the lead, as Nani cut into the area from the right wing, only to be held up by the Wolves defense.
But, as the mercurial winger has done so often this season, he shifted the ball onto his (surprisingly strong) left-foot and slammed an unstoppable shot past Wayne Hennessey at his near post.
But the response Wolves were looking for came less than 10 minutes later.
United fell asleep from a quickly-taken corner and perhaps as a result of a makeshift defense following Rio Ferdinand’s late withdrawal, George Elokobi was left unmarked eight yards out to loop his header into the corner past the despairing Edwin van der Sar.
United dominated the opening 20 minutes, and Christophe Berra was treading a fine line when marking Nemanja Vidic from corners, leaving the Serbian on the floor on more than one occasion.
Wolves were causing some nervy moments for the United defense, however, with Kevin Doyle turning Patrice Evra before Vidic came to his team-mate’s rescue.
Nani was again involved just before the half-hour mark when his curling free-kick from 25-yards landed on the roof of the net, though Hennessey looked to have it covered.
Nenad Milias then had his own chance from a free-kick for Wolves, his effort deflecting off the end of the wall and flying just past van der Sar’s post.
Wolves had been bossing the game by all accounts between the half hour mark and half time, and their dominance – especially at set-pieces – told before half-time.
Milias was again the orchestrator, as he fizzed in a cross from wide on the right, and a combination of Elokobi and Doyle forced the ball home.
While the striker and defender were joking about who got the final touch, the Wolves fans got on with the business of celebrating a goal that gave them the lead at half-time.
Wayne Rooney seemed to be having a torrid time, not helped by the Wolves fans’ criticisms from the stand, or the referee missing a late tackle on the England striker by Richard Stearman, a clear yellow card had it been spotted.
United came out after half-time long before Wolves, and started with purpose, as Paul Scholes replaced the ineffective Michael Carrick during the interval. Scholes was immediately involved, spraying one of his trademark diagonal passes out to Giggs to win a corner.
Jamie O’Hara, making his debut for Wolves, was booked early on in the second half for cynically tugging back Darren Fletcher, and might have been lucky to stay on the pitch only minutes later when he scythed down Fletcher again.
Fletcher’s protestations were over the top – and not unlike Cesc Fabregas’ against Everton, but O’Hara could count himself lucky not to be sent off, and was withdrawn by his manager two minutes later by Mick McCarthy.
Changes were ringing for both teams, as United’s right back Rafael da Silva had an ugly injury put right by the medical team, after he dislocated his finger during an innocuous challenge with Matt Jarvis.
Among the changes was Ferguson replacing his top goal-scorer Dimitar Berbatov with Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. While Berbatov had been ineffective, it was somewhat surprising to see his number flash on the assistant referee’s board, especially when he had created such a devastating partnership with Chicharito during the comeback in their 3-2 win against Blackpool.
United were upping their game the longer the match progressed, but Wolves were standing strong, and Hennessey was a spectator for the most part.
That all changed when Rafael’s cross seemed to outfox the keeper, his clearance falling to Wayne Rooney, whose shot was blocked heroically by Stearman.
A scramble in the goalmouth with eight minutes to go almost led to an equalizer for United, but Scholes’ shot was blocked again.
Scholes almost scored two minutes later, but not only was his attempt saved, it was a blatant handball, spotted by the referee who rewarded his efforts with a yellow card.
United were then up in arms appealing for a penalty, as Evra’s attempted cross clearly struck Ronald Zubar on the arm, only for the referee to wave away all appeals.
United’s frustration was beginning to show, as Ryan Giggs hacked away at Doyle when he attempted to waste time by stealing the ball after a foul. Luckily for Giggs, the referee wasn’t watching, though the crowd did their best to sway opinion.
In truth, it was a terribly disappointing performance from the Red Devils. After hearing of Arsenal’s dropped points earlier in the day, this was truly a missed opportunity for the would-be champions.
Whether this match will be the catalyst for a poor run of performances remains to be seen. United can claim a poor playing surface and harsh conditions affected them badly, but they simply did not create enough against the bottom club in the league.
Source: http://www.goal.com/]www.Goal.com/[/url]
Goals from George Elokobi and Kevin Doyle were enough to cancel out Nani’s early opener, but United put on a poor performance to match the pitch they were playing on.
It took less than three minutes for United to take the lead, as Nani cut into the area from the right wing, only to be held up by the Wolves defense.
But, as the mercurial winger has done so often this season, he shifted the ball onto his (surprisingly strong) left-foot and slammed an unstoppable shot past Wayne Hennessey at his near post.
But the response Wolves were looking for came less than 10 minutes later.
United fell asleep from a quickly-taken corner and perhaps as a result of a makeshift defense following Rio Ferdinand’s late withdrawal, George Elokobi was left unmarked eight yards out to loop his header into the corner past the despairing Edwin van der Sar.
United dominated the opening 20 minutes, and Christophe Berra was treading a fine line when marking Nemanja Vidic from corners, leaving the Serbian on the floor on more than one occasion.
Wolves were causing some nervy moments for the United defense, however, with Kevin Doyle turning Patrice Evra before Vidic came to his team-mate’s rescue.
Nani was again involved just before the half-hour mark when his curling free-kick from 25-yards landed on the roof of the net, though Hennessey looked to have it covered.
Nenad Milias then had his own chance from a free-kick for Wolves, his effort deflecting off the end of the wall and flying just past van der Sar’s post.
Wolves had been bossing the game by all accounts between the half hour mark and half time, and their dominance – especially at set-pieces – told before half-time.
Milias was again the orchestrator, as he fizzed in a cross from wide on the right, and a combination of Elokobi and Doyle forced the ball home.
While the striker and defender were joking about who got the final touch, the Wolves fans got on with the business of celebrating a goal that gave them the lead at half-time.
Wayne Rooney seemed to be having a torrid time, not helped by the Wolves fans’ criticisms from the stand, or the referee missing a late tackle on the England striker by Richard Stearman, a clear yellow card had it been spotted.
United came out after half-time long before Wolves, and started with purpose, as Paul Scholes replaced the ineffective Michael Carrick during the interval. Scholes was immediately involved, spraying one of his trademark diagonal passes out to Giggs to win a corner.
Jamie O’Hara, making his debut for Wolves, was booked early on in the second half for cynically tugging back Darren Fletcher, and might have been lucky to stay on the pitch only minutes later when he scythed down Fletcher again.
Fletcher’s protestations were over the top – and not unlike Cesc Fabregas’ against Everton, but O’Hara could count himself lucky not to be sent off, and was withdrawn by his manager two minutes later by Mick McCarthy.
Changes were ringing for both teams, as United’s right back Rafael da Silva had an ugly injury put right by the medical team, after he dislocated his finger during an innocuous challenge with Matt Jarvis.
Among the changes was Ferguson replacing his top goal-scorer Dimitar Berbatov with Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. While Berbatov had been ineffective, it was somewhat surprising to see his number flash on the assistant referee’s board, especially when he had created such a devastating partnership with Chicharito during the comeback in their 3-2 win against Blackpool.
United were upping their game the longer the match progressed, but Wolves were standing strong, and Hennessey was a spectator for the most part.
That all changed when Rafael’s cross seemed to outfox the keeper, his clearance falling to Wayne Rooney, whose shot was blocked heroically by Stearman.
A scramble in the goalmouth with eight minutes to go almost led to an equalizer for United, but Scholes’ shot was blocked again.
Scholes almost scored two minutes later, but not only was his attempt saved, it was a blatant handball, spotted by the referee who rewarded his efforts with a yellow card.
United were then up in arms appealing for a penalty, as Evra’s attempted cross clearly struck Ronald Zubar on the arm, only for the referee to wave away all appeals.
United’s frustration was beginning to show, as Ryan Giggs hacked away at Doyle when he attempted to waste time by stealing the ball after a foul. Luckily for Giggs, the referee wasn’t watching, though the crowd did their best to sway opinion.
In truth, it was a terribly disappointing performance from the Red Devils. After hearing of Arsenal’s dropped points earlier in the day, this was truly a missed opportunity for the would-be champions.
Whether this match will be the catalyst for a poor run of performances remains to be seen. United can claim a poor playing surface and harsh conditions affected them badly, but they simply did not create enough against the bottom club in the league.
Source: http://www.goal.com/]www.Goal.com/[/url]
