Source: Team_Talk
Scholes still packs a killer punch
TEAMtalk feels Paul Scholes showed why he was handed a new one-year contract with his knockout blow for Manchester United at Eastlands.[LNB] There is life in the old dog yet - and who better than Paul Scholes to show that you write off Manchester United at your peril?[LNB]Just when it looked as though honour would be preserved at Eastlands for both Manchester clubs, but with precious little gained, Scholes - so often the executioner who shatters City's dreams - once more delivered the killer blow.[LNB]United were like an old boxer desperate to show the young upstart that he still rules the roost.[LNB]The bitter rivals slugged it out toe-to-toe and for much of the match the rugged old pros of United - especially Scholes and Ryan Giggs - gave the City new boys a steady pummelling without ever landing a knock-out punch.[LNB]And as City bobbed and weaved, ducked and dived, it looked as though time was beginning to tell on the old king of the ring. But heavyweights such as United have resilience born of years of experience at the top, and Scholes popped up with an injury-time header that left City flat on the canvas.[LNB]It was a thrilling end to a match that until then had been anything but.[LNB]So much was at stake - a title defence for United and Champions League qualification for City - yet neither seemed prepared to throw caution to the wind in the hope of forcing a decisive outcome.[LNB]Even Ferguson admitted afterwards he could not see either side scoring until Scholes planted his header beyond Shay Given from Patrice Evra's cross.[LNB]Yet despite the victory, and despite having the better of the match on their rivals' home turf, this match still managed to pose more questions for Ferguson than Roberto Mancini.[LNB]Tricky questions too, such as how to stop their reliance on the old guard, and on Wayne Rooney who once again was preferred despite being less than fully fit to Dimitar Berbatov, a man whose body language alone looks to have talked himself into being sold this summer.[LNB]If United really are to hold off the challenge from their neighbours then Ferguson needs to carry out some major restructuring work in the summer.[LNB]As for the match itself, Manchester derbies have not always been feasts of football, but there have surely been few more tepid encounters than this one.[LNB]There were few moments to savour, and some distinctly unsavoury ones such as when Rooney appeared to be guilty of some exaggerated play-acting to get Vincent Kompany booked. The speed with which he got to his feet and ran back into his position served only to illustrate that he cared little that everyone then clearly knew his intention.[LNB]City's chances could be counted on one hand, and all came near the end: Craig Bellamy sliced badly wide when he should have passed to an unmarked Carlos Tevez, Gareth Barry elected not to shoot when clean through, then Nemanja Vidic came to United's rescue in a crazy goalmouth scramble.[LNB]United's pressure was more constant, with Rooney, Giggs and Nani all threatening.[LNB]A fully-fit Rooney would probably have scored from his one clear opportunity rather than screwed the shot wide; almost certainly he would have put it on target.[LNB]Giggs would have been hugely disappointed that his volley from a position of mouthwatering possibilities did not fly into the back of the net rather than be driven into the turf.[LNB]In the end in mattered not - 92 minutes and 43 seconds, always a good time to score.
