Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Manchester United Taste Their First Victory Against Portsmouth

Wayne RooneyPortsmouth 0-1 Manchester United
Manchester United picked up their first win of the season with a 1-0 triumph at Portsmouth.

It was only their second victory in the last six visits to Fratton Park and it was thanks to a scruffy 33rd-minute goal claimed by Darren Fletcher which will probably go down as a Sylvain Distin own-goal.

Patrice Evra's cross from the left struck both Sol Campbell and Fletcher - United's scorer in a 1-1 draw with Newcastle United last week - and was creeping past a stranded David James when Distin's frantic attempt to clear off the line sent the ball spiralling into the roof of the net.

Pompey were a little unlucky with a few near-misses but finished pointless after two matches having failed to really test goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.

"We played some excellent football. It's a difficult place to come. Last year we drew here, the year before we lost - so it's a bonus. We tried to get a system where the players were comfortable in their positions. We used the players in the right way."

- Sir Alex Ferguson


"I thought it was a very even game up until they scored. The way the first half went, I was well pleased. We have three or four players who haven't played for a while and missed a pre-season and I had to throw them in. The work rate was much better today and you couldn't fault the effort."

- Harry Redknapp

No comments: