Aston Villa 1 Manchester United 1: match report

10 February 2010 21:46
Having of late looked like a man who wanted to be Wayne Rooney heroic sidekick in an epic title challenge, Nani last night turned villain. Against the Villans. [LNB]A ghastly two-footed challenge by the Portuguese winger, provoking his dismissal, meant that the champions had to cope for more than an hour with 10-men. The player in the banana-coloured boots slipped up. Rooney? He was, again, wonderful. [LNB] Related ArticlesRyan Giggs sent for X-ray on arm injuryPremier League tablePremier League actionPremier League fixturesTelegraph player raterAston Villa face wait over HeskeyAnd so Manchester United earned a draw, although they deserved more, with Chelsea's result making this an even more precious point. For Aston Villa this was a gifted chance to get back on track for the top four. It went, for them, maddeningly unexploited. Their depleted opponents had more shots, more corners and more resolve. [LNB]United have been 'in the zone' of late, eating up points, building momentum, confidence soaring, but were soon knocked out of it. Villa matched up in the midfield. [LNB]Five strung across the middle of the pitch, it meant space was at a premium, even on a surface as wide and expansive as Villa Park, although there was always the variability of human error and so when Wes Brown failed to clear it eventually gave Stewart Downing the opportunity to sweep a low shot across the area. [LNB]It served as an unheeded warning. Again Villa, emboldened, came forward and this time Downing was more precise, curling in a cross from the right, which was flicked on by Carlos Cuéllar towards Richard Dunne but Rafael poked out a leg and blocked. Unfortunately for United his clearance fell straight to Cuéllar who cleverly arced a header over Edwin Van der Sar from 12 yards. [LNB]Given Villa had committed two defenders into the United penalty area for a counter-attack their boldness had been rewarded. [LNB]How would United react? They equalised. Nani, until then an ineffective gadfly rather than the pretender to Cristiano Ronaldo's crown, crossed deep towards Ryan Giggs who volleyed a dangerous cross cum shot into the six-yard area. It was probably going wide but with Paul Scholes hovering, the ball cannoned off James Collins' legs and flew into the net. [LNB]Barely four minutes had elapsed between the strikes and Villa, who had gone more than five hours without scoring a goal at home had also now had their impressive defence, the most parsimonious in the division, breached, albeit through an own goal. [LNB]Nevertheless Villa's defence Martin O'Neill had again singled out his three summer signings at the back for praise in his programme notes was comparatively solid as United's continued to wobble with neither Jonny Evans nor, in particular, Wes Brown convincing. It was all set up and just as the contest was starting to develop, Nani intervened again. [LNB]It wasn't the kind of intervention to be savoured for as the ball ran away from him he launched into a clueless, stupid challenge on Stiliyan Petrov. [LNB]It wasn't malicious just plain dumb from a player who had already demonstrated he couldn't tackle. Referee Peter Walton produced the inevitable red-card. No debate. [LNB]United were, understandably, rocked. Suddenly penned back into their area, they broke out with Michael Carrick's forcing a fine tip-over from Brad Friedel, with a fierce drive and then Darren Fletcher flicking the ball onto the roof of the net from the corner. [LNB]However Brown's failure to deal with Gabriel Agbonlahor was turning into a pressure point at the defender was given a warning by Walton after, again, wrestling the Villa striker to the ground although Villa created little. [LNB]Nani's departure had placed even more of the responsibility for United's attack on Rooney. Always full of threat and menace he did, however, appear isolated although Friedel had to hurtle from goal to clear as the striker, following a determined run, appeared set to latch onto Ryan Giggs' slid pass. [LNB]Villa were struggling to press their man-advantage. Instead it was United who pushed and substitute Antonio Valencia should have done better than shooting wide, from Giggs cross, after having to switch the ball into his favoured right foot before, moments later, Rooney was crowded out as he attempted to pull the trigger from Carrick's centre before finally Villa fashioned a chance and Van der Sar held onto James Milner's low drive. [LNB]But it was United, who lost Giggs with an arm injury, who were probing and Rooney was coming into his own. He fired past one of Friedel's post and then, even closer, past the other while the goalkeeper had to pluck Valencia's cross with the striker waiting to bundle the ball home. [LNB]By now Rooney was revved up and superbly held off Collins and Dunne before forcing Friedel to superbly palm over his dipping shot. [LNB]The ten men were making all the running with Villa struggling to gain a foothold. They failed, time and again, to build possession while Rooney, dropping deeper, dictated matters and, in one counter, brilliantly chasing back to hunt down Ashley Young. In added time, Cuéllar swung in a free kick, Dunne stretched out a boot but just failed to guide the ball past Van der Sar. [LNB]

Source: Telegraph