United Wins It In A Thrilling First Half

Reading 3 - Manchester United 4
Scorers
Reading: Robson-Kanu (8), Le Fondre (19), Morrison (23)
Manchester United: Anderson (13), Rooney (pen 16, 30), Van Persie (34)

Team: Lindegaard, Rio, Evans, Rafael (Smalling 31), Carrick, Fletcher, Anderson (Jones (45), Young, Rooney, Van Persie (74)

We won this thriller with all the goals coming in the first half. It looked like a potential banana skin, but we navigated it and sailed to a well deserved 3 points.

Chelsea had lost in the early game to West Ham and Shitty were held at home to Everton. Usually when the early contenders slip, so would we, but today we held our nerve and came back twice from behind in sensational fashion to beat a resilient Reading.

Just as the doctor ordered, we fell behind early thru a superb volley from Robson-Kanu. The goal spurred us and we levelled with a brilliant goal from Anderson after some good work with Young. Evans was then fouled in the box and Rooney put us into the lead from the spot.

Just as the early deficit invigorated us, Reading did their own revival on us. Two corners from Shorey resulted in two headered goals. We couldn't defend the corners and paid the price.

In a ridiculous to and fro battle, we punched back harder with another couple of quick goals from Rooney and Van Persie.

Van Persie could have made it 5, but his shot over the line was not seen by the linesman, despite it being way way over the line before being cleared. On the other side of the pitch, Reading were equally unlucky not to be awarded a corner despite the ball clearly coming off Evra.

Just as games of this nature are played, adjustments were made and the second half fell into a dull affair. Van Persie should have put the result beyond doubt when he robbed the Reading keeper of the ball. He put the effort wide. As a result, we barely survived a late late Reading onslaught of freekicks and corners. The defence held firm and we collected all the points in a thrilling contest.

I just have to add that this is probably one of the most thrilling first halves I've seen in a long long time.

Roo & Ron Late Show.

Reading 0 - Manchester United 2
Scorers
Manchester United : Rooney 78, Ronaldo 90

Team : Edwin Van der Sar, Evra, Rio, Vidic, Brown, Hargreaves (Nani 70), Carrick, Park (Giggs 46), Ronaldo, Tevez (Fletcher 80), Rooney

For some unforeseen reason, Reading has always been a tough team for us since they got promoted. Steve Coppell's side has always found something extra when they faced his former employers.

Today's game was no exception. Had it not been for some desperate defending, we could have concided early. We didn't help ourselves very much with some really poor passing that encouraged our opponents. Carrick just doesn't help himself. After playing brilliantly last weekend, he's come down to earth in the most emphatic fashion. Apparently he shows up once every 20 games or so. At least his presence doesn't hurt the team...much.

That's not to say that we didn't create chances ourselves. In fact we created a boatload of chances but just couldn't find the target. And when we did, that huge American, Hahnemann, stood in the way.

All I can say is that it was pretty damn frustrating to watch us pound on the door but simply cannot find a way in. It was much the same in the second half, with Reading having the early chances and us not finding the killer touch later on. For a moment there I was tempted to feel that it just wasn't our night. To be really honest, I was just glad that Reading hadn't taken their chances.

Just as the game looked like it was going to be a scoreless draw, Tevez's lofted ball found Rooney in the penalty area. With a somewhat cheeky but well intended flick, Rooney directed the ball beyond Hahnemann and into the far corner of the goal. Despite being a little unorthodox, it was a masterful touch.

The remainder of the game was quite frankly a little nerve-wrecking. Reading poured forward for the equalizer and their endeavours were nearly rewarded in the dying minutes when Harper powered thru the midfield into the penalty box. His shot, however, was just wide of the goal. It probably sums up their night, yet at the same time was way too close for comfort.

Apparently Ronaldo heard my thoughts. From a Vidic headed clearance, he received the ball from our half and ran the full length of the pitch to continue his wonderful goal scoring form.

It was a difficult test, but we weathered the storm and eventually came away with a couple of late goals to seal the victory. With Arsenal and Chelsea both winning their games, we maintained our position on the top of the table....albeit it barely.

The lads should get a good rest until the next game against Spurs in the FA Cup over a week later.

10 Men Reading Holds Champions (Manchester United 0 - Reading 0)

I had a strange feeling this was going to happen and privately expressed my fears to Kentona but held my tongue/keyboard here instead of jinxing the team.

We did everything and batted relentlessly at the Reading goal but it simply refused to give. Maybe it was the late kick off that screwed us again (a running theme on this blog last season), or that Rooney was injured and we didn't have a recognised striker to take his place. Or even the fact that prior to our game, the only other draw game was Derby vs Portsmouth. The law of averages some how evened out the draw statistics, especially after both Chelsea and Arsenal won their games earlier.

We were heads and shoulders the better side today, spending a huge portion of the game literally camped inside Reading's half. We pelted their goal with shots but that big American, Hahnemann was equal to the task. Carrick, Ronaldo and Rooney all played brilliantly. Carrick in particular was exceptional with his passing.

It was a blow to us when Rooney was taken off at the half, presumably for an injury to his foot sustained in the first period. Let's hope it's nothing serious. Despite our attacking prowess on paper, we're actually paper thin when it comes to planting that important target man up front. If Rooney's injury is a long term one, we could rue losing both Smith and Rossi this summer, since Tevez would be the only fit one left standing.

Nani did well coming on to replace Rooney and I expect him to be a crowd favourite with his unselfishness and work rate. For that same reason, I'm sure Tevez will win the hearts of the Old Trafford faithful.

Reading was reduced to 10 men in the 72 minute, when substitute Dave Kitson lunged at Evra with his studs showing. It was a dangerous challenge and could have seriously hurt Evra. While I thought it might have been harsh to send him off at first glance, the replays had me agreeing with referee, Rob Styles....something that doesn't happen very often. And if anyone is wondering, I still think he's a crap referee.

And that statement was perfectly justified in the dying seconds of injury time when he firstly gave Reading a corner instead of a goalkick to us...and when he harshly gave a freekick to us right at the edge of the Reading penalty area. Both were piss poor decisions, but in the end they cancelled themselves out.

The draw's a disappointing result, given the way we had approached this game. And it's even more disappointing considering our perceived main rivals all scrapped to victory on the opening day. Well, as they say, the Premiership title is a marathon and not a sprint, let's just make that we recover well from this stumble off the blocks.