Portsmouth 0-1 Man Utd

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Portsmouth 0-1 Man Utd
Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008 2:49PM / Standard Entry / Members only
2 comments
Manchester United ended their Fratton Park jinx to grab a 1-0 win, their first Premier League victory of the season, with a scruffy goal in the 33rd minute which left Portsmouth still pointless.

Darren Fletcher claimed the goal after Patrice Evra's cross rebounded off Sol Campbell and then the Scot's shins before creeping beyond stranded goalkeeper David James.
It may have crept over the line but Sylvain Distin's frantic attempt to clear put the ball into the roof of the net and earned United only their second win at Fratton Park in the last six meetings.
• Harry: Title favourites out of the way
For Pompey it was another setback after last Sunday's 4-0 defeat at Chelsea.
The new partnership up front between Jermain Defoe and Peter Crouch again came up empty and looked less lethal than that of Carlos Tevez and Wayne Rooney.
United were still missing some key injured players like Ryan Giggs, Michael Carrick and Owen Hargreaves but their midfield coped comfortably enough with the equivalent Pompey department in which Sean Davis made a surprise comeback.
This time Hermann Hreidarsson was left out and Pompey lined up with three centre backs in Campbell, Distin and new £5million man Younes Kaboul.
Portsmouth's shock FA Cup quarter-final victory at Old Trafford in March probably robbed United - the Premier League and European Champions - of a glorious treble.
And the home side rubbed it in by parading the the famous old trophy before kick-off.
So there was a bit of edge in this match between two sides who met in two fairly friendly encounters pre-season.
Now United will face a gap of nearly two weeks after meeting Russia's Zenit St Petersburg for the European Super Cup in Monaco on Friday and then facing back-to-back fixtures with Liverpool and Chelsea.
Diop almost surprised United in the first 15 seconds. His shot from 25 yards was not far off the mark - and it was doubtful whether Edwin van der Sar would have got there had it been on target.
United, also without the suspended Nani, soon replied with Wes Brown making a run down the right and cutting the ball back for Rooney to shoot strongly on the turn but straight at David James.
Pompey were bright and lively at the start with Lassana Diarra typically busy in the midfield.
And they wanted a penalty after 13 minutes when Davis's attempt to cross from the right seemed to brush the hand of Nemanja Vidic but Referee Chris Foy ruled in United's favour.
Diop foolishly got himself booked five minutes later when bringing down Carlos Tevez from behind and it needed a smart save by James to hold Paul Scholes' thumping free kick from nearly 30 yards.
Just as United begun to swing the ball about with some style Pompey forced two chances with Evra needing to get back and put Crouch off his shot after Defoe made the first opening, helped by a miskick from Anderson.
Then when Diarra's right-wing corner floated over Crouch as he grappled with Rio Ferdinand, a late run by Kaboul found a free header but he glanced it wide.
Moments later though came United's breakthrough when Evra, overlapping on the left, turned the ball across and it hit both Campbell and then Fletcher before trundling towards goal beyond a stranded James.
Distin's frantic attempt to clear on the line only sent the ball rifling in to the roof of the net - although Fletcher, United's scorer against Newcastle last Sunday, tried to claim it.
Pompey felt hard done by and tried to repair the damage but the ever-willing Defoe hooked his shot over from short-range after Campbell went forward to cause mayhem from a Glen Johnson free kick into the area.
And it would have been a picture goal for Rooney had his low drive not sped inches wide after a breathtaking touch sold a dummy to Kaboul as he collected Brown's pass on the edge of the Pompey box.
Arsenal loanee Traore took a bad tackle from Brown - who was booked - just before the break and was replaced by Jerome Thomas 10 minutes into the second half.
Tevez and Rooney combined to almost set up a second United goal for Anderson who just failed to force the ball home at the far post and Pompey battled hard to respond to a range of tactical tinkering.
Thomas replaced Traore as the left wide-man and hit a blistering shot from long distance which Van der Sar had to punch away.
Then Crouch, who covered acres of ground, outjumped Brown but saw the Dutch goalkeeper comfortably field his near-post header.
Carelessness at the back almost cost Portsmouth when Kaboul gave the ball away and Scholes' shot hammered against Johnson for a corner.
And with Defoe being perpetually caught offside there was not much the home side could raise to threaten United's solid defence - except from long distance.
Harry: Title favourites out of the way
Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp predicted that Manchester United and Chelsea will again fight it out for the Barclays Premier League title after his side lost 1-0 at home to Sir Alex Ferguson's team.
Darren Fletcher's deflected effort before the break sealed Pompey's fate at Fratton Park, and the result followed their 4-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge nine days ago.
It means Redknapp's team are still looking for their first goal and point of the season and he said: 'It's been a tough start and the only consolation is that we've played the two teams who I am sure are going to slug out the championship again.
'I think United will get (Dimitar) Berbatov (from Tottenham) in the next few days and they will be even stronger than they already are.
'But Chelsea are really strong too, and Arsenal and Liverpool have got it all to do to finish above those two.'
Redknapp admitted his team had failed to pressurise United after the interval.
'We showed some promise in the first half but then we ran out of steam,' he said.
'I was a bit afraid because I took a chance with a few players. Sean Davis has hardly kicked a ball in pre-season because of injury, Younes Kaboul has missed a complete pre-season, and Armand Traore was out with a knock at Arsenal before he came here.
'We did okay and I came in at half-time feeling pleased, but when the pace went out of the game in the second half people like (Carlos) Tevez and (Wayne) Rooney popped the ball about and we couldn't deal with it.
'We've been a decent team over the last two seasons and I believe we'll still be a good team this season, but United's touch and movement was a bit too much for us.
'We've got to provide quicker service for Peter Crouch. He's a bit disappointed but he's also got to help us out by winning a few more headers.
'When we settle down and understand each other a bit more we'll be okay.'
Ferguson hailed a 'bonus' win for his side after they triumphed through a scruffy 33rd-minute goal when Fletcher saw his goalbound touch from Patrice Evra's cross helped in to the roof of the net by Sylvain Distin's frantic attempt to clear off the line.
Ferguson admitted it was not a game he had banked on winning because of Pompey's fine record of three wins and a draw from the last five home meetings with United, whom they also knocked out in the quarter-finals on the way to winning the FA Cup last term.
But he said: 'We played some excellent football. It's a difficult place to come.'
Ferguson did not appear at the traditional post-match media briefing and did not send a representative but told Sky Sports after the match: 'We tried to get a system where the players were comfortable in their positions. We used the players in the right way.'
He hinted, though, that he is still trying to sign Tottenham's rebel striker Berbatov.
'There's only a week (to go before the transfer deadline) and you start to concern yourself,' he said.
'We've shown we've (already) got a good quality of player here. We would like to add but we'll have to see what happens.'

Entry comments (2)

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Arvin1308
posted on Thursday, Aug 28, 2008 3:44PM

Nemanja Vidic would like to clarify comments attributed to him in several UK newspapers, which have either been taken out of context or misquoted.

Vidic conducted an interview with Russian football magazine Football Weekly, in which he was quoted criticising Manchester's weather and the English lifestyle.

In the interview the defender did discuss how difficult he found it adapting to life in England - including the rain Manchester occasionally experiences - when he first joined from Spartak Moscow in January 2006. He freely admits that, in his first six months in England, he struggled with a new language and culture which contrasted with that of Russia or his native Serbia.

But he feels compelled to clear up other comments attributed to him in the UK press, in which he supposedly said: "In Manchester the main attraction is a timetable at the railway station where trains leave for less rainy cities!

"In England people don't have time to feel the joy of life. Throughout the week they work so hard. They only talk to people at lunch. Then in the evening they watch TV so they can get up early for work the next day."

Nemanja told ManUtd.com: "I'd like to clarify that I did not make these particular remarks. I spoke about the difficulty I had settling in to life in Manchester, but that does not reflect how I feel now.

"I enjoy my life very much as a footballer at Manchester United and I'm very happy to be a part of this great club. I think I show that in the way I play every week. I also have far too much respect for the people of Manchester, and England, to criticise them in this way."
Arvin1308
posted on Tuesday, Aug 26, 2008 2:55PM

Anderson may have lost some of his hair while he's been chasing a medal in China but unlike Samson he's lost none of his strength.

The midfielder missed the opening weeks of United's season while helping Brazil to achieve a bronze medal at the Olympic Games.

But after arriving back at five o'clock on Sunday, he was ready to play again at eight on Monday, much to the respect of his Reds' team-mates including captain Rio Ferdinand.

"Anderson did well... until he got to 60 minutes and started blowing!" laughed Rio on MUTV.

"No, we have a little joke with him about that kind of thing. But he's a fantastic footballer with great abilities and we've not seen the best of him yet, I'm sure."

However, the ever-fashion conscious Rio was not as impressed by Anderson's hairstyle.

"His barnet's shocking at the minute! His extensions have come out and he's been in China where he's had nobody with the capability to braid him up. Hopefully now he's back in Manchester he can get hold of the person who normally does it for him!"

Anderson wasn't the only midfielder to be mentioned in the skipper's speech after the victory at Portsmouth. He also had words of praise for Darren Fletcher, a man who's making the most of a mini injury-crisis to stake his claim for a regular place.

"I think it's great that players are posing problems for the manager because they're putting in performances that demand at least a place on the bench if not starting.

"Fletcher's been outstanding in pre season and he's