Hull 1 United 3

27 December 2009 17:54
UNITED closed the gap at the top of the Premier League to just two points with a hard-fought victory at the KC Stadium. Wayne Rooney scored in first half time injury time and despite a Craig Fagan equaliser from the spot, the Reds secured a vital three points with an Andy Dawson own goal and a Dimitar Berbatov tap-in. Sir Alex Ferguson welcomed back a clutch of key defenders after last week's injury-influenced horror show at Fulham. Rafael, Wes Brown and Nemanja Vidic started allowing Darren Fletcher and Michael Carrick to return to midfield while Ryan Giggs and Berbatov also came in for the champions. United started patiently but burst into life after five minutes as Antonio Valencia charged down the right. The Ecuador international picked out Giggs with a well-flighted cross but the Welshman's volley dipped just over Boaz Myhill's bar. Wayne Rooney also threatened with a powerful run but curled a shot wide from the edge of the area. Giggs was inches away from scoring from a 16th-minute free-kick after Rooney went down under a Kamil Zayatte challenge, his shot curling narrowly wide. Mendy then blocked a Rooney shot from point-blank range as United stepped up the pressure. Hull appealed for a penalty after making a rare break on 21 minutes but Brown's challenge as Richard Garcia raced onto a Craig Fagan ball was deemed fair. Tomasz Kuszczak made a good save from Seyi Olofinjana before Rafael beat the offside trap at the end of an intricate move on the edge of the box but Myhill saved brilliantly from the Brazilian. But on the stroke of half-time, the pressure finally told when Rooney tapped in from Fletcher's cross. Hull were gifted a route back into the game just before the hour after a horrendous error by Rooney. The United striker played Kuszczak into trouble with a weak backpass and Fagan nipped in to win the ball. Fagan's touch took it too wide to shoot but he lofted back in a cross for Altidore and the American was bundled over by the backtracking Rafael. Wiley pointed to the spot and Fagan, taking over spotkick duties, stepped up to coolly slot an equaliser. United almost reclaimed the lead moments later as Brown rose to meet a corner but Myhill clawed the ball away from under his bar as Rooney threatened. They were back in the lead on 73 minutes when Rooney raced clear and his low cross was turned into his own net by Dawson with Ji-Sung Park waiting to pounce. And the points were wrapped up when Rooney's clever pass gave Berbatov the simplest of finishes. [LNB]

Source: Manchester_EveningNews