Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson says his side are a step closer to winning the English Premier League.
|||London – Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said his side were a step closer to winning the English Premier League title for a record 19th time, despite a goalless draw Tuesday night at Newcastle which opens the door slightly for Arsenal.
Ryan Giggs, Nani, Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney all went close for the visitors, but Newcastle, who had chances of their own, defended stoutly and were relatively good value for a share of the points.
Arsenal have a game in hand on United, but Ferguson said his side's position on top, seven points clear, was beginning to look more and more secure.
“I think we'll be fine now,” Ferguson said. “We're in a better position than Saturday because we've played one game more.”
Giggs missed the best chance of the match after brilliant work down the left from Hernandez and Patrice Evra, but somehow the Welshman side-footed wide of the Newcastle post.
Both managers felt they should have had a penalty, but the claims by Peter Lovenkrands for Newcastle and Hernandez, who was booked for diving after his appeal in the last minute, were both waved away.
“It was a clear penalty on Hernandez,” a frustrated Ferguson said. “It's an insult because he's booked him. The referee has had a good game, but he's let himself down by booking him.”
He said he hadn't rewatched the Lovenkrands penalty claim.
“The first 20 minutes, full marks to Newcastle because they played very well, but we improved a lot and got into great positions,” Ferguson said. “We just didn't trouble the keeper.”
Not surprisingly, Newcastle manager Alan Pardew saw the two incidents from completely the opposite point of view.
“Danny (Simpson) stuck a leg out, which is dangerous, but he didn't touch Hernandez,” Pardew said. “He dived, and I'll praise the referee because it wasn't an easy decision to make at the end. My heart sank because I thought we weren't going to get anything.
“But Peter Lovenkrands should have definitely had a penalty. We started really well, and I was a bit disappointed we didn't get the early goal. But Manchester United are a fantastic team, and we were hanging on at the end. I'm very proud of the fans and the team today.”
Ferguson brought Michael Owen on for the last 10 minutes, but the former Newcastle man did not have a sniff in front of goal.
Three days after their defeat by Manchester City in the FA Cup semifinals, Ferguson chose Rooney, back from suspension, and Hernandez to start in attack, but leading striker Dimitar Berbatov was not even given a place on the substitutes' bench.
Rooney should have done better than shoot wide when one-on-one with the Newcastle goalkeeper, and Hernandez shot wide early on.
Newcastle thought they might have had a penalty when Lovenkrands went down in the penalty area, but the referee was not interested.
Stephen Ireland almost snatched it for the home side with a snap- shot soon after coming on as a second-half substitute for his debut, but his effort just went wide.
Right at the death, Hernandez was booked for diving in the penalty area, but television replays suggested he may have been a little unlucky.
Arsenal can cut the gap to four points - they still have to play United - if they can win Wednesday night at Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea, two points behind Arsenal, play Birmingham City on the same night. – Sapa-dpa
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/united-closing-in-on-title-fergie-1.1059361
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