United Steals Thriller

Manchester United 4 - Newcastle 3
Scorers
Manchester United: Evans (25), Evra (58), Van Persie (71), Hernandez (90)
Newcastle: Perch (4), Evans (og 28), Cisse (68)

Team: De Gea, Rio, Evans, Smalling, Evra, Carrick, Scholes (Cleverley 69), Giggs, Valencia, Van Persie, Hernandez (Fletcher 90)

Just as it looked like we were heading for a second successive draw, Carrick's cross caught the Newcastle defence square and Hernandez reacted quickest to prod the ball beyond the on rushing Krul to steal the points for United.

After missing numerous chances in the game, Hernandez must have felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders when the ball went into the net. Carrick, too, made amends for his error which resulted in Newcastle's opener. He lost the ball in midfield and Ba lashed out a shot that De Gea could only parry onto the path of James Perch. It was a familiar sight, and once again we had to orchestrate another come-from-behind win.

Evans equalised when he reacted quickest to Hernandez's cross-cum shot from a set-piece, but his joy was shortlived. Three minutes later, Evans once again found himself on the scoresheet, but this time on the wrong end of the pitch. There was a bit of controversy as Cisse was offside, but Evans did get to the ball first. The referee first disallowed the goal, before allowing it. It was a decision that was hard on United but probably the right one according to the letter of the law. Thankfully it didn't alter the final result.

In the second half, Evra brought the teams level again with a sweet left foot shot. He's recently been having an Indian summer and scoring goals for fun. As we pushed for the winner, Newcastle once again pegged us back with a sweet volley from Cisse after good work from Obertan. Didn't remember him doing that well on the flanks for us.

This time round, we were quick to answer. Van Persie found his name on the scoresheet after his first volley was not cleared by Krul. With the scores level and around 20 minutes to go, United threw the kitchen sink at Newcastle but found the Geordies hard to break down. It was only until the final minutes in injury time that Hernandez scored to take a home victory.

Ferguson nearly paid the price for playing both Scholes and Giggs together in midfield. For a good two thirds of the game, we allowed Newcastle too much time and spare in midfield, It wasn't until Scholes was replaced by Cleverley that the passing become quicker and more incisive. During this festive period, the games come fast and furious and I understand the need to rotate players, however, playing both Scholes and Giggs is a recipe for disaster. As it stands, we're already handicapped with Carrick as the default starter, at least today he made good in the final minutes.