Manchester United received more last-gasp salvation at Old Trafford
- this time from Edwin van der Sar as they scrambled back to the
Premier League summit.
Late goals against Manchester City and Sunderland have kept United
afloat at Old Trafford this season. This time the drama was all at the
other end.
Two goals up and cruising against Bolton thanks to an early Zat
Knight own goal and Antonio Valencia's first since a £17million summer
move from Wigan, United looked destined to cruise home.
Instead, the whole game changed following a series of superb saves from Jussi Jaaskelainen.
Matt Taylor pulled one back 15 minutes from time. And with almost
the final touch, Gary Cahill went agonisingly close to snatching a
point with a point-blank header which the returning veteran Van der Sar
somehow managed to keep out.
Given his much-publicised attack on Alan Wiley a fortnight ago and
memories of being despatched to the stands by Saturday's official Mark
Clattenburg when these two sides met at the Reebok Stadium in 2007,
Ferguson needed a quiet day.
After his apology seven days ago, Ferguson's mood of contrition with regard to his attack on Wiley's fitness levels continued in his programme notes.
He wrote: "I hope he has accepted my apology because I have always
respected Alan Wiley, who is a good referee, and my remarks were not
intended to be a slur on his integrity."
No such compassion was offered to Bolton, who apart from a brief
period just before Valencia broke his United duck, were totally overrun
until that late salvo, which was as unexpected as it nearly was so
profitable.
United could have been ahead before Patrice Evra charged forward on
the overlap and drove a cross to Michael Owen at the near-post.
With Wayne Rooney missing due to a groin injury, Owen could have done with getting his own name on the scoresheet.
Instead, his off-target header fell to Knight, who made a complete
mess of an intended clearance and instead trundled it into his own net.
More should have soon followed. Jonny Evans gave Jussi Jaaskelainen
the opportunity to make a fine block when really his far-post header
should have been guided in from a Ryan Giggs cross that came at the end
of some excellent approach play.
Dimitar Berbatov, celebrating the birth of his first child - Dea -
on Thursday, blazed a decent opportunity wide, while Jaaskelainen stood
tall in the face of Valencia's long-range effort.
It meant Ferguson's side had to wait until the 33rd minute to double
their lead, before which Kevin Davies had wasted a golden chance to
equalise.
Valencia has made a promising start in his new surroundings, with the exception of his efforts in front of goal.
The Ecuador star has rarely given the impression of being prolific
and there have been many better chances than the one he belted past
Jaaskelainen.
However, after collecting Michael Owen's square ball, he raced
forward before prodding a pass to Gary Neville, whose return was
delivered with precision, inviting what followed.
It was against Bolton six years ago that Cristiano Ronaldo announced himself to an unsuspecting audience.
The odds are against Valencia matching the Portugal superstar's
contribution. However, the early signs are that he has been another
astute buy.
Had Jaaskelainen not managed to beat away an acrobatic Berbatov
volley, the Bulgarian would have had a fitting way to celebrate such a
momentous week in his life.
After the furore at Wembley, there was little argument over who
should be man of the match, with Jaaskelainen becoming a one-man
barricade.
The Finn denied Valencia, whose rasping angled drive was heading for
the far corner and the worth of Jaaskelainen's immense contribution was
proved 15 minutes from time when Bolton dragged themselves back into
the contest.
United failed to heed the warning offered by a disallowed Ivan
Klasnic effort, and when Kevin Davies launched a far post cross towards
Taylor, the midfielder steered his header into the left corner.
The move highlighted Evra's weakness in the air, which Bolton desperately tried to exploit.
Ivan Klasnic, whose introduction had thrown United's defence into a
panic, fired narrowly wide, then Knight was off target before Cahill
was presented with his glorious chance.
Ferguson had already placed his trust in Van der Sar to make his
first appearance of the season after breaking his fingers in the
summer, and the 38-year-old did not let him down.
sportinglife.com
As Man Utd went in 2-0 up at the half time interval it seemed they were on target to record a straight forward victory however conceding a late goal put the pressure on although the team held on for the 3 points to jump back to the top of the table.
