United Catches Wigan Napping

Manchester United 1 - Wigan 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (1)

Team: Van der Sar, Vidic, Evans, O'Shea, Rafael, Scholes (Fletcher 86), Carrick, Nani (Anderson 60), Ronaldo, Rooney (Tevez 8), Berbatov

We took another significant step towards our third consecutive title doing just enough to put off an in-form Wigan side that showed plenty spunk and promise. Daisy (or is it Dolly? I can never tell them apart and google/wiki sheds no answers either) has done a wonderful job since taking over the Latics.

We scored our goal early in the 1st minute while Wigan were still in the team huddle. Ronaldo broke off on the right and fed Rooney with a good cross. Rooney's goal was the only one in a game where both defenses stood out.

It's a bitter sweet victory for me. It's been sometime since we scored an early goal (before the 15th minute) and I was just about to use this post to go on one of my usual rants about it. Then up pops Rooney to play the role of spoiler. Curiously, that was the sweet part.

Having taken an early lead, we failed completely to play the game, let alone build on it. We allowed Wigan the time and space to play their game. To compound matters, we were guilty of giving the ball away in alarming frequency in the first half. Thankfully Vidic and his merry men were in fine form yet again.

Another worrying sign, along side our distinct lack of goals (again), was that Rooney seems to have pulled his hamstring. He was replaced by Tevez early in the game. Neither Tevez nor Berbatov made any positive contribution to the game. Well, at least Tevez worked his socks off trying to make an impression. While Berbatov joined the other Spurs alumni fading into the Old Trafford background.

Whatever the case, it makes this weekend's fixture against Bolton at the Reebok so much more difficult. Should we prevail, we will top the table for a good 48hrs before Pool plays.

In other news, United is scheduled to play in Malaysia and Indonesia in the summer. If time permits, I'm thinking of making a short trip down to KL to catch the game. Time to wrestle a few elbows to get free tickets from some journalist friends.....

Last but not least, here are some photos sent to me by Antonio on her trip to Old Trafford and Gigg Lane a month back. It got to me while I was having a whale of a time in Beijing, so sorry for the late acknowledgement. ;o)

Photos