So close to an Old Trafford upset
CALL me greedy, but I can't help but feel a little cheated with Saturday's result against Manchester United.
Normally, if someone offered me a draw with the Red Devils I'd snap their hands off, but despite having come away with a point this time around, to be honest I'm still a little bit gutted.
I'm not going to whinge on about time added at the end of the game – given substitutions, goal celebrations and the sending off.
Nor am I going to complain about Kieran Richardson's sending off (it may have seemed harsh, but he kicked the ball away, so, by the letter of the law, he had to be shown a second yellow).
But even accepting all of that, it is still galling to think that we were just minutes away from a massive victory, only to see it snatched from our grasp by a fluke of a goal.
OK, so United had us firmly under the cosh before they grabbed their late equaliser, and I'm sure their fans would argue it was deserved.
However, let's be honest, Patrice Evra's shot was going nowhere near the target until it was deflected into his own goal by Anton Ferdinand.
It was hard on Ferdinand, who in my opinion had a good game and had bounced back after being left on the bench for the Wolves clash the previous weekend.
I suppose a point is better than nothing, and while it was heartbreaking to miss out on the win, there were plenty of positives to take from the game.
Firstly, there can't be too many occasions when we have gone to Old Trafford and given such a good account of ourselves.
One of the main plusses for me was the fact that we played with two up front, and it almost paid off.
It's fair to say we were on the back foot for long spells in the game, but we also asked questions of the hosts on the break.
Not so long back we would have come to Old Trafford, put 11 men behind the ball, and basically, as they say, parked the bus in front of the goal – and still lost.
This time we made far more of an effort to pose a threat in attack, and it so very nearly worked.
On top of that, both our strikers got on the scoresheet, and Darren Bent looks a far better striker than Harry Redknapp has ever given him credit for.
Thankfully, what the Spurs boss didn't see in Bent, Steve Bruce certainly did – and we are reaping the benefits.
Hopefully, we can give the same sort of spirited display against Liverpool this weekend.
And who knows, this time lady luck might just be on our side, and we can come away with three points instead of one.
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Weather for South Shields
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 1 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South
