United Beats Fulham...Barely

Manchester United 1 - Fulham 0
Scorer
Manchester United: Rooney (42)


Team: De Gea, Rio (Smalling 74), Evans, Rafael, Evra, Carrick, Giggs, Young, Valencia, Rooney (Scholes 78), Welbeck (Hernandez 73)

Jesus F Christ, don't our players know that football is played until the referee whistles for fulltime? We played some exceptional football for 85 minutes then crumbled in the final 5. Had it not been for some piss poor refereeing and our opponents being simply crap in front of goal, this would have been a draw or even worse.

We set the tone early in the game and Fulham never really registered as an attacking force. All the pressure came from us and Fulham were content to park the bus and take us on the counter.

The first half was a bit disappointing. We spent most of the time probing the Fulham defense, unable to really unlock the door until Rooney's surprising goal on the 42nd minute. A lapse in concentrate from a solid looking Fulham defense allowed Evans to get on the end fumbled clearance to lay off for Rooney to poke home at close range.

The second half was a much better affair. After the initial scouting of the wall Fulham built in the first half, we were able to take more precise measures to tear it down. There was alot of sublime passing to penetrate the first, second and third lines of defense, resulting in clear chances to add to our lead. Schwarzer in fine form and he denied Young and Valencia from running up the score. And when the Australian was beaten, Hangeland stood in the way of our progress.

Everything was going swimmingly until the final 5 minutes. Somehow the panic button of not getting a cushion of a second goal set in, and after playing so confidently for 85 minutes, United proceeded to crumble like a house of cards before our very eyes.

We got ridiculously sloppy with the ball and couldn't retain possession. Our players were diving into silly challenges and giving away stupid freekicks in dangerous areas. And we almost gave away a stonewalled penalty when Carrick brought Murphy down in the area. For some inexplicable reason, the referee waved play on. How the fuck we got away with that is still bothering me (in a good way).

The sound of the referee's whistle was possibly the sweetest sound that came from Old Trafford this year. We should have cleaned the floor with this Fulham team, yet we allowed them to hang around and nearly gotten punished. Coupled with Shitty's draw yesterday, we find ourselves sitting on a 3 point cushion. Lady Luck certainly played her part in this weekend's fixtures, from Crouch's wonder goal, to our referee swallowing the whistle.