Source: Team_Talk
Van der Sar: We need to close the gap
Edwin van der Sar left Sunderland bemoaning more dropped points having spared Manchester United further pain.[LNB] The 39-year-old Dutchman and his team-mates survived a burst sewage pipe in the their dressing room and a first-half onslaught on the pitch to head away from the Stadium of Light with a draw, their fourth in succession away from home in the Premier League.[LNB]But for the efforts of van der Sar and skipper Nemanja Vidic, the 0-0 scoreline might have been very different as Steve Bruce threatened to finally secure a first victory as a manager over his former boss Sir Alex Ferguson.[LNB]The keeper made a fine 16th-minute save from Steed Malbranque after the Frenchman has waltzed through the United defence to collect Lee Cattermole's pass, and Vidic got in a vital block to repel Nedum Onuoha's snapshot.[LNB]Van der Sar needed the help of a post to keep out compatriot Bolo Zenden's 37th-minute strike from distance, and although United, who were without Wayne Rooney, improved significantly with Dimitar Berbatov's introduction as a half-time substitute, they were happy to hear the final whistle when it came.[LNB]Van der Sar said: "We were happy to go in at half-time with a 0-0. In the last 15 minutes we had one or two chances, but not enough to get the winner.[LNB]"I don't think we put enough in our offensive game to really claim the three points. I don't think the service was sufficient to get the goal in the end.[LNB]"We can be happy that we had a clean sheet, the second in a row after Valencia on Wednesday, but I think it was two dropped points today, because we dropped too many already in away games.[LNB]"We were disappointed with a draw at Bolton, we got a nice win in Valencia which sets us well for the Champions League and of course today, you are looking for a win to close the gap a little bit."[LNB]The gap to leaders Chelsea stood at two points on Saturday evening ahead of the Blues' home clash with Arsenal, not yet a major problem, but one which will increase in magnitude if United cannot address their problems on the road.[LNB]To date, they have squandered leads at Fulham, Everton and Bolton and came mightily close to a first defeat of the season at the Stadium of Light.[LNB]To that end, Ferguson was able to take comfort from the performances of Vidic and the fit-again Rio Ferdinand, who were re-united to good effect in the north-east.[LNB]The manager said: "The first 20 minutes in particular, they [Sunderland] kept bombing the crosses in, and they are good at that.[LNB]"They put that ball in the box and of course [Darren] Bent has a very good spring and he is a good header of the ball, and he is a threat on those crosses.[LNB]"But we handled it, we got through it without being absolutely brilliant."[LNB]Ferguson insisted that his side's preparations had not been unduly disrupted by the plumbing emergency which provided an interesting start to their afternoon in Sunderland.[LNB]However, several members of the squad left with less luggage than which they had arrived.[LNB]Van der Sar said: "We came back in after the warm-up and they told us to go in a different room.[LNB]"We didn't go into the dressing room because the smell was horrendous.[LNB]"There are a lot of suits, shoes and wash bags that have had to be thrown away.[LNB]"Albert [Morgan, kit manager] was struggling to get the shin pads clean. It was a rare moment."
