Blackpool 2 Manchester Utd 3:IN EVERY season, every title race, there is always one moment when everything falls into place and, for Manchester United, this was possibly the night when they showed themselves as champions-in-waiting.
At two-nil down with not even 20 minutes to play, this had looked like being a bruising experience for Alex Ferguson’s team but that would be to underestimate the competitive strengths of this side and the enduring qualities that now see them five points clear of their nearest challengers, Arsenal.
As feats of escapology go, it was remarkable, culminating in Dimitar Berbatov scoring the decisive goal after 88 minutes. Berbatov had begun the recovery, with the substitute Javier Hernandez drawing United level within two minutes. They had been outplayed at times, fortunate to be trailing by only two goals, via the former United reserve Craig Cathcart and DJ Campbell, but their unbeaten run now stands at 28 matches and the celebrations were raucous.
It was difficult, though, not to feel for their opponents.
The beauty of Blackpool this season has been that they have not shown the Premier League even a flicker of trepidation and in that first half it is no exaggeration to say there was a clear gulf between the sides.
Holloway’s men played with width and penetration, quick to the ball, attacking in numbers. United huffed and puffed but lacked wit and control and in some cases they were simply overwhelmed. Charlie Adam, loudly acclaimed by the Blackpool supporters in what could have been his last game for the club, justifiably earns most of the praise – one nutmeg on Darren Fletcher will linger in the memory – but it would be reckless to believe this team will simply dissolve if he signs for Liverpool.
Alongside him in midfield David Vaughan is another accomplished passer. Campbell and Luke Varney have flourished under Holloway’s management and there is a spirit of togetherness about this group of players that makes it seem a trick of the imagination that they were expected to be rock-bottom by now.
The first half was encapsulated by the moment Nani pulled out of a tackle with Elliot Grandin. There was the sight of a harassed Nemanja Vidic almost bundling an Adam cross into his own goal.
United were rattled, Paul Scholes unable to get on the ball, Wayne Rooney isolated in the left-wing role he dislikes. Scholes was booked for taking down Vaughan, which is always a tell-tale sign. It was extraordinary to see a side at the top of the table being dismantled in such a way. Both the goals came from corners from the right and, on each occasion, it was Adam’s left boot providing the delivery.
On the first occasion Rooney misjudged the trajectory of the ball and Fletcher failed to track Cathcart’s run, the centre-half putting a thumping header beyond Edwin van der Sar. The marking was generous in the extreme, the defending statuesque, and it was no better either for the second goal, Campbell arriving at the far post after Darron Gibson had inadvertently flicked the ball on. Again, it was a header and perhaps finally an important weakness has been discovered within this United side.
Between times Grandin had turned one shot over the crossbar and, in the face of some unrelenting pressure, Van der Sar denied Vaughan with a sprawling save. The goals were not the result of breakaway attacks; they were the product of some concerted spells of pressure against a side that gave the impression this modest little stadium, with its rutted pitch and no hot water in the showers, was not to their taste.
Ferguson responded at half-time by replacing the ineffectual Gibson with Ryan Giggs. There was an immediate improvement but, even then, Holloway was entitled to feel his side should have been awarded a penalty when Varney ran on to Adam’s pass and Rafael, missing the ball, brought him down. The referee, Peter Walton, was a long way behind play and United had a fortunate escape.
But then the recovery started. Suddenly Blackpool’s defence started to leave gaps and Giggs was seeing more of the ball than anyone. Berbatov turned in the first from Fletcher’s low delivery and the whole atmosphere changed.
From the next attack Giggs floated a ball into Hernandez’s path and the Mexican, on for the disappointing Rooney, swept his shot past Richard Kingson. Then Berbatov ran on to Scholes’s pass and won the game with a left-foot finish. “We shall not be moved,” the United fans sang.
Guardian Service
BLACKPOOL: Kingson, Eardley, Cathcart, Evatt, Baptiste, Grandin, Adam, Vaughan, Taylor-Fletcher (Harewood 74), Campbell, Varney (Phillips 68). Subs not used: Rachubka, Southern, Ormerod, Sylvestre, Edwards. Booked: Adam.
MANCHESTER UTD: Van der Sar, Rafael Da Silva (Anderson 80), Smalling, Vidic, Evra, Scholes, Fletcher, Gibson (Giggs 46), Nani, Berbatov, Rooney (Hernandez 66). Subs not used: Lindegaard, Owen, Fabio Da Silva, Evans. Booked: Scholes, Gibson.
Referee: Peter Walton(Northamptonshire).
