United extend lead with Boro win

Published: 02 May 2009 - 14:12:00

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Ryan Giggs and Park Ji-Sung increased Manchester United's stranglehold on the Barclays Premier League title as they claimed a 2-0 win to increase Middlesbrough`s relegation fears. The Welshman and his South Korean team-mate fired their side to a fifth successive league victory in front of the biggest crowd of the season at the Riverside and established a six-point lead over closest rivals Liverpool, who do not play until Sunday. Wayne Rooney, starting wide on the left, three times went for goal from distance without hitting the target, but Giggs was not so forgiving when he was presented with his chance after 25 minutes. Federico Macheda, making his first league start for the club, stepped over Nemanja Vidic's ball across the edge of the penalty area and the Welshman left keeper Brad Jones rooted to the spot as he drilled to ball into the bottom corner without a second thought. Had Paul Scholes not been uncharacteristically wasteful twice at the end of the first half, the game could have been beyond the Teessiders by the break. Teenager Macheda let the home side off the hook within four minutes of the restart when he fired wide from just six yards after Rooney had left Tony McMahon on his backside, the second goal was just around the corner. It came with 51 minutes gone when Park swooped on Rooney's glorious reverse pass to dispatch a venomous shot past the motionless Jones. It took a brave 65th-minute block by David Wheater to deny substitute Carlos Tevez a third goal after Scholes had picked out Giggs with a raking long ball. Rooney twice went close late on and Matthew Bates denied John O'Shea his second goal of the week with a fine block nine minutes from time.