Villa at Old Trafford

Manchester United ran riot over Villa this morning.

Even though Ashley Young went close with a shot in the fourth minute, Villa never looked like ending a miserable run of results at Old Trafford stretching back 25 years.
That close shave only succeeded in getting United going and Rooney rattled in a shot from the edge of the area that was cleared by Petrov. Ryan Giggs then slipped the ball through to Tevez in the 10th minute, but Mellberg made a crucial block.
Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring with his 35th goal of a remarkable season and Carlos Tevez added a second to leave Villa stunned. United were knocking the ball around with ease, with Scholes at the heart of everything good about their play. United should have extended their lead in the 48th minute when Rooney was sent clear by Tevez. It looked as though he must score, but the England striker sent his effort wide from close range.

Ronaldo came close in the 52nd minute when his shot hit Bouma and came back off the bar. However, a minute later Rooney made it 3-0 when he rounded Carson after Ronaldo's flick-on split the Villa defence. It was Rooney's first goal in six games in all competitions for United and he savoured the moment after taking his tally to 16. United remained in the driving seat and Tevez should have scored in the 66th minute, only to head wide in front of goal following a cross from Hargreaves before Rooney hit the post. Rooney made it 4-0 in the 70th minute with his second of the game after again being released by Ronaldo and Villa boss Martin O'Neill cut a miserable figure in the lashing rain. Rooney thought he had scored his hat-trick in the 78th minute, only for his effort to be ruled out for offside. Given his unselfish running, it would have been well deserved in an impressive show by United.

United versus Liverpool

Manchester United crushed Liverpool 3-0 at Old Trafford in a hard fought north-west derby. Wes Brown opened the scoring, with his first goal of the season and only the third of his career, to give United control at the break, before Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani netted inside the last 11 minutes as Liverpool tired.

United had goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar and defender Rio Ferdinand back after groin and back injuries respectively, while Paul Scholes and skipper Ryan Giggs also returned. Liverpool were unchanged after seven straight victories.

The opening tackles were sharp and Mascherano was booked for cutting down Scholes, before Wayne Rooney twice went close. First the striker got behind Jamie Carragher, whose tackle could easily have produced a penalty had the former Everton man gone down. But the England striker kept his feet and forced Jose Reina into a save with his legs. Then Scholes' lofted pass fell behind the Liverpool defence, and Reina scooped the ball away from Rooney. Then Ronaldo's shot hit the foot of a post before Reina half-stopped a 33rd-minute Giggs effort and needed to claw it back from under the bar. The deadlock was broken a minute later when Rooney's curling cross into the box was met by the unlikely figure of Brown who headed it into the net.

The second half started with the Liverpool keeper Reina making a point-blank save to stop a Ronaldo effort. Then he produced another improbable save from Rooney. United sent on Carlos Tevez and Nani for Giggs and Anderson after 73 minutes, and it took another wonder save from Reina to stop Tevez making it 2-0. Reina denied Ronaldo with a block which hit the bar and went out for a corner, which proved decisive. Nani took the corner and Ronaldo headed it home and a couple of minutes later Nani blasted home the third from the edge of the box.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was delighted with the victory on an important weekend in the title race.

'We started to get the breaks, Ronaldo could have had a hat-trick, Wayne Rooney could also have had a hat-trick, they both had one on one chances with the goalkeeper. In the end we should have finished them off earlier. On the day, once we had the second goal that was it. I feel that 3-0 was not a flattering score, we could have got more. It was good to play like that and beat our biggest rivals, we did our job and have three more points and a good goal difference.'

Big morning coming

A great line up of football coming up, with Manchester United playing Liverpool at Old Trafford and then Chelski and Arsenal at Stamford Bridge.

United kick off at 2.25 am (Monday) and the other game is at 5 am (Monday).


and if someone could drop me a line on what else went down at the meeting, I would be most appreciative.

United and the Wanderers

Cristiano Ronaldo played the captain's role to the full, scoring both goals to hand Manchester United a 2-0 win against Bolton and the advantage in the title race. Ronaldo, given the skipper's armband for the first time by Sir Alex Ferguson, responded with a virtuoso display.

In the ninth minute, Carlos Tevez threatened to score, only for Ricardo Gardner to whip the ball off his toe, but from the resulting corner Ronaldo struck. First the winger rose to head back Nani's corner, Tevez missed an overhead kick but Bolton only half-cleared and Ronaldo was swiftly there to strike a shot into the ground and home from 12 yards out.

Then in the twentieth minute Ronaldo struck again, after being fouled. It was another of those tremendous Ronaldo free-kicks that appear to defy the laws of physics - rising, dipping and swerving from 30 yards out over a six-man wall to leave the Bolton keeper clutching thin air.

United nearly made it three in first-half injury-time as first Darren Fletcher's low drive was blocked and then John O'Shea blasted wide.

Immediately after the break Bolton got into further trouble by chopping down Tevez on the edge of the box. Old Trafford awaited Ronaldo, but he was the decoy and instead Nani took the free-kick and only a sprawling dive by the keeper kept the ball out. A Ronaldo hat-trick looked odds on when he ran at the Bolton defence, performed a couple of step-overs and sent in a fierce shot but the keeper was able to parry his effort.

Saha should have sealed matters after a neat side-step but lost his cool and found the stands instead. As United poured forward for a third, Nani had three decent chances in quick succession, two missed and one saved. The home fans were left cursing they had not fallen to his captain.

Ferguson said: 'The important thing was that we had the opportunity and the incentive to go three points clear of Arsenal, our nearest pursuers. 'It's nip and tuck now. I think it's going to go to the wire. Chelsea will be key because they have got us and Arsenal at home. It's a lead, it's not a significant lead but it's a lead nonetheless. 'With eight games to go the team who plays with the most consistency now will win it.'

Ronaldo now has 33 goals this season - overtaking George Best's 32 in 1968, the most a United winger had scored in one campaign until now - and 24 in the league.
Ferguson added: 'It's fantastic and speaks volumes about the player, it's amazing that he can do that playing in the position he does.'

Manchester United NZ monthly meeting

The Manchester United Football Club Supporters Club of NZ monthly meeting is on this Wednesday at the Speakers Corner in Browns Bay.

ALL WELCOME

United and the Rams

Ronaldo came to the rescue in this mornings match, as Manchester United again struggled with their finishing. As with the game against Portsmouth, United had heaps of possession and chances but failed to finish, until Ronaldo scored in the 70th minute.

Full report

Mt Albert ( Owairaka ), Sunday

This Sunday, the Manchester United NZ Sunday football team will be playing at the ground on top of Mt Albert, kick-off is 2 pm.

ALL WELCOME

Man Utd NZ vs AHC

The Red Machine turned up at Waikaraka park for a practice game against the green of AHC. The numbers were down again, so everyone got play 90 minutes, like it or not !
And it was United who opened the scoring with the hardworking Mike Tull getting the day started, then minutes later, Ron Quick danced thru the green defence and blasted the ball home for a great individual goal. Well, two up and the game was only 10 minutes old, some of the guys were a little stunned, but the buzz was good and KJ added a third just before the halftime whistle. So a very relaxed team sat down in the shade for the halftime message, a very simple one, “More of the same, please”, and so it was, when in the opening ten of the second spell, KJ and Mike forced the defence into a mistake and we were four - two up ! The spirit of the AHC guys was rapidly falling apart and Mike added the killer blows with two more great goals for his first MUFCSCNZ hat trick and our first six goal haul for a while.

Management ( Ken, Marc ) would like thank all those that turned up to play, Mike T, Jan, Steve T, Phil, Steve M, Ron, Mike (keeper), KJ, Ji, and also the great support from Carrie, Anamaya, Mike Ts missus and the others.

Manchester United vs Portsmouth

United were undeservedly bundled out of the FA Cup this morning by Portsmouth.
The final score of one - nil, NO reflection on the amount of possession and total domination the Reds had over Pompey.

Ronaldo paid the penalty for all those dives, when he was illegally checked in the penalty area and play was waved on, he also suffered a shoulder charge in the opening minutes as the Portsmouth defence showed its intentions for the day. Nani was also unlucky not to get a penalty awarded and to top it all, I don’t believe Pompeys penalty was just, as the player took advantage of Kuszczaks swinging arm and fell over, because he had no chance of getting the ball, but such is life, and the sun did come up the next day.

United thru to the quarters

Manchester United beat Lyon one nil this morning at old Trafford.

A Ronaldo goal put the Reds thru to the quarter finals of the Champions League.

Comfortable at the Cottage

A stylish 3-0 victory at Craven Cottage returned Manchester United to the top of the Premier League.

United dominated the early possession, stringing passes together and having the first shot inside three minutes when Louis Saha chested on Park's right-wing cross for Nani to drill into the chest of Niemi. Two minutes later Saha, facing his old club in his first start for two months, was galloping through the middle again onto a long free-kick from Paul Scholes but unaccountably skewed his shot wide from 14 yards. And then Tevez won a dubious free-kick inches outside the area, it was Hargreaves who stepped up to place it perfectly over the wall and wide of the keepers reach.
The Fulham keepers flying saves kept out Scholes' shot which appeared to be creeping inside a post and it was Scholes again who chested Patrice Evra's cross past a post. But Fulham could not keep the Red tide at bay for ever and they opened up again in first-half stoppage time when Park was granted the freedom of the penalty area to head in a Scholes cross after a neat link-up between Tevez and Nani. Then after the break it was Fulham’s Davies who ended the scoring with an own goal.

And a major bonus for United was Arsenal's failure to win at home against Aston Villa.