there were alot of conflict about United being here to begin with.
Some were afraid of a Terrorism scare and some claimed United were too greedy.
However, that isn't the point here. As this was a Testimonial Match for Sami Al Jaber, one of Saudi Arabia's best footballers.
I couldn't watch the match though, didn't think it would be shown live anyway, but I just saw a clip from youtube and the goals were magnificent for such a game.
It starts of with the opposition team scoring. A freekick that rebounded off the wall and to an opposition player, whose first shot was blocked by Ferdinand only to allow the same player to hit home on the rebound.
United's first came from a counter attack which saw Ronaldo and Tevez linking up for the goal as they speed through the Al Hillal defence and Tevez slotted the ball in.
United's second goal came from the main man (now) Ronaldo, as he headed in a beautiful header from Nani's corner past the keeper.
However, the main man, Al Jaber wouldn't have a proper testimonial match if he didn't score. And he did just that when he scored from the penalty spot past Kusczack.
The final goal came from the opposition, but it took some magic for them to get past Heaton as they scored through a nice bicycle kick.
Just another friendly and training match for the United stars.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Reading 0 - 2 Manchester United @ Madjeski Stadium 20th January 2008
On a weekend of bad luck, at least there is still something to smile about.
This match was going to be a tough one as we already did draw to Reading at home in our first game of the season.
And I guessed as much, Reading would take it to us as they try to put a dent in our defence of our beloved title.
The game started off well, with Ronaldo and Tevez having shots on goal. Which was a good thing as slowly it would build up confidence and hopefully they'll score much later into game.
Then there was the scare, as Ferdinand had a blunder but it was saved by Van Der Sar, and luckily our other center back, Vidic was there to clear off the ball before it was shot into the empty goal.
Hargreaves, who was to me the man of the match in the first half was exceptional as he kept winning the ball. He nearly scored his first goal for United with a marvelous free kick only to see it blocked by the Reading goalie. His free kick was ala beckham style and it would have been a signal to Becks that, there is other potential free kick takers in the England squad.
The second half restarted with Park, who rarely contributed, taken off for Giggs. With the United vice-Captain in charge, they became more composed and started attacking the Reading goal from all angles. Nevertheless, the Reading goalie was there to stop us.
When all hope seems lost, we finally made a breakthrough, thanks to a team up by Tevez and Rooney once again. The goal was a sheer relief as everyone was cheering in the mamak stall i was at. (poor arsenal fans were dreading that goal)
United continued attacking and it looked like Reading was going to go all out to try and get an equallizer. They continued attacking the United goal but was squandered by the impressive defence we have.
Finally to wrap things up, Ronaldo managed to get into a counter attacking run and guided the ball straight pass the Reading goalie, making it 2-0 in the 90th minute.
Jobs done, but I felt that Reading could have taken some points from us on that night!
This match was going to be a tough one as we already did draw to Reading at home in our first game of the season.
And I guessed as much, Reading would take it to us as they try to put a dent in our defence of our beloved title.
The game started off well, with Ronaldo and Tevez having shots on goal. Which was a good thing as slowly it would build up confidence and hopefully they'll score much later into game.
Then there was the scare, as Ferdinand had a blunder but it was saved by Van Der Sar, and luckily our other center back, Vidic was there to clear off the ball before it was shot into the empty goal.
Hargreaves, who was to me the man of the match in the first half was exceptional as he kept winning the ball. He nearly scored his first goal for United with a marvelous free kick only to see it blocked by the Reading goalie. His free kick was ala beckham style and it would have been a signal to Becks that, there is other potential free kick takers in the England squad.
The second half restarted with Park, who rarely contributed, taken off for Giggs. With the United vice-Captain in charge, they became more composed and started attacking the Reading goal from all angles. Nevertheless, the Reading goalie was there to stop us.
When all hope seems lost, we finally made a breakthrough, thanks to a team up by Tevez and Rooney once again. The goal was a sheer relief as everyone was cheering in the mamak stall i was at. (poor arsenal fans were dreading that goal)
United continued attacking and it looked like Reading was going to go all out to try and get an equallizer. They continued attacking the United goal but was squandered by the impressive defence we have.
Finally to wrap things up, Ronaldo managed to get into a counter attacking run and guided the ball straight pass the Reading goalie, making it 2-0 in the 90th minute.
Jobs done, but I felt that Reading could have taken some points from us on that night!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Manchester United 6 - 0 Newcastle United @ Old Trafford 13th January 2008
and they say The "Toon-Army" were the best fans in the world...
I don't think they had much to shout about after they witnessed 45minutes of pure class.
again, one might wonder, is it possible? that this season is turning out to be better than the last?
I do think so too.
I wasn't able to catch the live match on telly as I was holidaying in Singapore(where the only channels i got were mandrine ones) Nevertheless, the trusty computer is always there for me to check the live scores and keep updated.
First 45 minutes? dissapointing... Rooney missed numerous chances which would have won the game for United in the first half, unfortunately, we had to learn the hard way. At the half time whistle, I guessed Fergie gave them a piece of his mind and that turned the game around.
The last time I remember United winning by this goal margin were the days of Van Nilsterooy back in 2003/2004 (i think) where (if i'm not mistaken) Paul Scholes scored a marvelous hat trick. Looks like history is repeating itself as also in that year, the title race was between Arsenal and United.
The first goal from Ronny, was a sign of his creativeness. Yes, that type of free kick was done before by Ronaldinho against Werder Bremen in last year's Champions League tie. So I guess Ronny has learn a thing or two from Goofy at the Nou Camp. It definitely caused the defenders to struggle and indeed it was surprising.
Tevez's second goal was of pure luck and of course some skills from the Welsh wizard. Given's blunder of a shot that rebounded back of his defender into the path of Giggs was an immediate sign of "GAME OVER". If it were to go out for a corner, it would have been okay, but to the path of Giggsy? You'll never stand a chance. His excellent footwork and accurate pass to the path of Tevez, made me even start chanting chants which I learnt during my trip there last month.
Ronny's second indicated the sign of teamwork, flair, determination and of course talent from the three men. Yes, it was Carrick's (i was cursing him before the match.. i take that back now) pass to Rooney and Rooney's pass to Tevez which eventually got to the feet of Ronny to allow the whole of Old Trafford to erupt in cheers of "He plays to the left, He Plays to the RIgghhttt, That Boy Ronaldo, Makes England look Shite".
The fourth goal was marvellous. I usually look up to Ferdinand as a role model when I used to play defence during my high school days. And certainly, I would love to try what he did. No one saw him coming, the Newcastle defenders thought they had everyone covered, but with Ferdinand's anticipation and agility, who knew that the strong defender would be up defending one minute and the next minute, he's scoring one marvellous goal!
The fifth and sixth goal well, it was also thanks to lady luck but I feel it was also the class of the players that led to this massacre of Newcastle. Ronny bagged his first ever hat-trick (wished I was there to experience it) and hopefully it's a start of a new record just like how they used to win games with either 1 goal or 4 goals.
The atmosphere was great but unfortunately for another old United favourite of mine, Smithy, would have a dissapointing return. His red card at the end marked either the start of Newcastle's doom or hopefully, it will be a benchmark for them to rise up and be one of best teams in the league.
I don't think they had much to shout about after they witnessed 45minutes of pure class.
again, one might wonder, is it possible? that this season is turning out to be better than the last?
I do think so too.
I wasn't able to catch the live match on telly as I was holidaying in Singapore(where the only channels i got were mandrine ones) Nevertheless, the trusty computer is always there for me to check the live scores and keep updated.
First 45 minutes? dissapointing... Rooney missed numerous chances which would have won the game for United in the first half, unfortunately, we had to learn the hard way. At the half time whistle, I guessed Fergie gave them a piece of his mind and that turned the game around.
The last time I remember United winning by this goal margin were the days of Van Nilsterooy back in 2003/2004 (i think) where (if i'm not mistaken) Paul Scholes scored a marvelous hat trick. Looks like history is repeating itself as also in that year, the title race was between Arsenal and United.
The first goal from Ronny, was a sign of his creativeness. Yes, that type of free kick was done before by Ronaldinho against Werder Bremen in last year's Champions League tie. So I guess Ronny has learn a thing or two from Goofy at the Nou Camp. It definitely caused the defenders to struggle and indeed it was surprising.
Tevez's second goal was of pure luck and of course some skills from the Welsh wizard. Given's blunder of a shot that rebounded back of his defender into the path of Giggs was an immediate sign of "GAME OVER". If it were to go out for a corner, it would have been okay, but to the path of Giggsy? You'll never stand a chance. His excellent footwork and accurate pass to the path of Tevez, made me even start chanting chants which I learnt during my trip there last month.
Ronny's second indicated the sign of teamwork, flair, determination and of course talent from the three men. Yes, it was Carrick's (i was cursing him before the match.. i take that back now) pass to Rooney and Rooney's pass to Tevez which eventually got to the feet of Ronny to allow the whole of Old Trafford to erupt in cheers of "He plays to the left, He Plays to the RIgghhttt, That Boy Ronaldo, Makes England look Shite".
The fourth goal was marvellous. I usually look up to Ferdinand as a role model when I used to play defence during my high school days. And certainly, I would love to try what he did. No one saw him coming, the Newcastle defenders thought they had everyone covered, but with Ferdinand's anticipation and agility, who knew that the strong defender would be up defending one minute and the next minute, he's scoring one marvellous goal!
The fifth and sixth goal well, it was also thanks to lady luck but I feel it was also the class of the players that led to this massacre of Newcastle. Ronny bagged his first ever hat-trick (wished I was there to experience it) and hopefully it's a start of a new record just like how they used to win games with either 1 goal or 4 goals.
The atmosphere was great but unfortunately for another old United favourite of mine, Smithy, would have a dissapointing return. His red card at the end marked either the start of Newcastle's doom or hopefully, it will be a benchmark for them to rise up and be one of best teams in the league.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Aston Villa 0 - 2 Manchester United @ Villa Park, 6th January 2008
Well todays match was pretty late and I only managed to catch it by crashing over at my friend's place (I really need to consider cable television). Anyway, the match started off with a bang as both teams contested hard to draw first blood.
It was funny watching Fabio Capello on the stands watching the match and viewing his England players and not Cristiano Ronaldo like he used to when he was back at Real Madrid. Anyway, the match was pretty tight in the first few minutes and it seemed like Aston Villa was going to score but thanks to our strong defensive displays, Villa couldn't get a chance to slot the ball into the back of Van Der Sar's net.
Eventually United had chances to attack when Anderson did something spectacular, we've seen Ryan Giggs (vs Arsenal) do it in 1999, Ruud Van Nilsterooy (vs Fulham) in 2003, Ronaldo (vs Fulham also) in 2007 and now Anderson in 2008, but unfortunately for him he didn't manage to score. He took the ball in his own half and ran all the way towards the Villa goal cutting through numerous defenders but his shot wasn't powerful enough to go past Scott Carson.
United's other chance came from Ryan Giggs, but he squandered that chance as he miss-kicked the ball and it ended up for a goal kick.
By half time, it was clearly going to be a tough 2nd half with Saha and Carrick both unimpressive in the first half.
When the 2nd half started, United begun to attack the Villa goal with more flair as they tried to score that goal that would seal their passage to the next round. Eventually they lacked the Rooney factor, which led Fergie to sub Park Ji-Sung and the boy wonder started to terrorize Scott Carson's goal and impress Fabio Capello.
Although he missed his first shot, his presence on the field led United to score their first goal when Giggs ran into the box and passed a through ball straight into the path of Ronaldo, which is a definite goal. Villa tried their best to get the equalizer in the dying minutes, but the energetic run from Ryan Giggs from the Villa half to defend, led United to their second goal as he got the ball which eventually ended up with Ronaldo who had a shot on goal only to have it deflected into the path of, Mr. Rooney.
The game ended with 2-0 to United and progress to the next round.
It was funny watching Fabio Capello on the stands watching the match and viewing his England players and not Cristiano Ronaldo like he used to when he was back at Real Madrid. Anyway, the match was pretty tight in the first few minutes and it seemed like Aston Villa was going to score but thanks to our strong defensive displays, Villa couldn't get a chance to slot the ball into the back of Van Der Sar's net.
Eventually United had chances to attack when Anderson did something spectacular, we've seen Ryan Giggs (vs Arsenal) do it in 1999, Ruud Van Nilsterooy (vs Fulham) in 2003, Ronaldo (vs Fulham also) in 2007 and now Anderson in 2008, but unfortunately for him he didn't manage to score. He took the ball in his own half and ran all the way towards the Villa goal cutting through numerous defenders but his shot wasn't powerful enough to go past Scott Carson.
United's other chance came from Ryan Giggs, but he squandered that chance as he miss-kicked the ball and it ended up for a goal kick.
By half time, it was clearly going to be a tough 2nd half with Saha and Carrick both unimpressive in the first half.
When the 2nd half started, United begun to attack the Villa goal with more flair as they tried to score that goal that would seal their passage to the next round. Eventually they lacked the Rooney factor, which led Fergie to sub Park Ji-Sung and the boy wonder started to terrorize Scott Carson's goal and impress Fabio Capello.
Although he missed his first shot, his presence on the field led United to score their first goal when Giggs ran into the box and passed a through ball straight into the path of Ronaldo, which is a definite goal. Villa tried their best to get the equalizer in the dying minutes, but the energetic run from Ryan Giggs from the Villa half to defend, led United to their second goal as he got the ball which eventually ended up with Ronaldo who had a shot on goal only to have it deflected into the path of, Mr. Rooney.
The game ended with 2-0 to United and progress to the next round.
Introduction
Welcome peeps to my new site,
I was kinda finding it hard to post in my other blog reviews of Man Utd matches so I decided it would be placed here.
I will be aided by some of my friends who are fellow supporters and I hope we will be able to give our own reviews on each match that comes along.
Note: This site is on Manchester United matches ONLY.
Thank You for your cooperation.
United All the Way...
I was kinda finding it hard to post in my other blog reviews of Man Utd matches so I decided it would be placed here.
I will be aided by some of my friends who are fellow supporters and I hope we will be able to give our own reviews on each match that comes along.
Note: This site is on Manchester United matches ONLY.
Thank You for your cooperation.
United All the Way...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
