- English Barclays Premier League
- 29 December 2012, 3:00pm
- Old Trafford
- Attendance: 75,595
Man Utd | v | West Brom |
2
| 0 |
live commentary
94 mins:Full time at Old Trafford as United seal the points. The hosts dominated the first half and went ahead through an early McAuley own goal. However, West Brom came back in the second half but failed to make their chance pay and were eventually punished by a late goal from Robin van Persie
92 mins:West Brom are still giving it everything as Shane Long continues to look busy
90 mins:United seal the points as Robin van Persie curls home with his left foot from the edge of the area
90 mins:Great save by Foster as Welbeck bursts into the box but the England international is more than equal to the task
89 mins:The Baggies have been excellent today but haven't really threatened De Gea which will annoy Steve Clarke
87 mins:Another chance for Odemwingie, as the Nigerian fires goalwards but his effort is deflected wide by Vidic
85 mins:West Brom again put the ball in the box but the delivery eludes everyone and runs to saftey
84 mins:Changes for both sides as Tom Cleverley makes way for Paul Scholes while for the the Baggies, Marc-Antoine Fortuné comes in for Graham Dorrans
83 mins:Good chance for United as Van Persie finds himself free but his shot is again easily saved by Foster
82 mins:West Brom still dominating possession and United's sluggishness in midfielder must be a huge worry for Sir Alex
79 mins:Decent chance for United but Ashley Young once again fails with an effort from the edge of the area and Foster easily saves
77 mins:The visitors are well and truly in the ascendency now, passing the ball very nicely and United are really struggling to find their rhythm
74 mins:Another change for West Brom as James Morrison comes on for Chris Brunt
71 mins:West Brom go close again as Gareth McAuley sees his header crash against the bar. Great chance for the Baggies who look extremely confident now
69 mins:First change for West Brom is an attacking one as Romelu Lukaku comes on for Markus Rosenberg
68 mins:First change of the game is made by the home side with Shinji Kagawa making way for Robin van Persie
65 mins:First caution of the game goes to Luis Antonio Valencia for a blatant foul on the tricky Odemwingie
63 mins:United should really be ahead now, as the ball finds its way through to Young on the penalty spot but the England international completely misses his kick
60 mins:Good work in the middle by Thorne as his headers flicks on to Peter Odemwingie but the Nigerian again fails to find the target
57 mins:United coming back into it now as both Evans and Vidic find themselves free at the back post but neither can find the target with their headers
55 mins:The visitors are enjoying some good possession here as Brunt again finds space but his shot goes well wide
53 mins:Another chance for West Brom as Gabriel Tamas gets a free header but can't find a team-mate and the ball is cleared
51 mins:Good chance for Brunt as he finds himself in space but he shot goes straight at David De Gea and the Spaniard easily saves
49 mins:More good work from Cleverley as he bursts into to box but the ball is blocked and cleared
48 mins:Unsurprisingly its United who have had the best of the opening moments of the second half as Tom Cleverley fires a low cross in but the ball is well cleared at the front post
46 mins:Back underway at Old Trafford and it'll be interesting to see if United will live to regret failing to make their chances pay in the first half
45 mins:Half time at Old Trafford and Manchester United currently lead thanks to a deflected own goal from Gareth McAuley
44 mins:Almost a chance for West Brom there as Chris Brunt arrows a good ball in but his effort is well cleared by the United defence
43 mins:Steve Clarke may consider making some changes at the interval and James Morrison would certainly give his side some extra spark
40 mins:Chance for West Brom as Peter Odemwingie easily goes past Chris Smalling but fails to hit the target with a right footed shot
38 mins:United look almost certain to double their lead before half time as Valencia comes forward but his cross eludes everyone
35 mins:Another good clearance from Tamas, as he shows good speed to get across and head a Cleverley cross as Kagawa looked set to pounce
33 mins:Another chance for United as Carrick fires goalwards from a corner but his effort is cleared off the line by Gabriel Tamas
32 mins:Great save from Foster as he saves well from Young's deflected shot following good work from Valencia
30 mins:Good chance for United as Welbeck crosses but Young fails to control his header and misses the target
29 mins:United still controlling things but they do look dangerous on the break, especially Welbeck who clearly thinks he has something to prove
26 mins:West Brom might need to make a change here as Peter Odemwingie appears to have picked-up a knock following a tackle with Smalling
24 mins:Nice work between Tom Cleverley and Shinji Kagawa but they both pass up the chance to shoot and the ball is cleared
22 mins:Another long ball for United but Evra fails to get on to it. The Red Devils seem to be keen to try and move the West Brom defence around here
20 mins:West Brom coming into the game, with Chris Brunt looking his usual composed self in the middle and youngster George Thorne showing plenty of energy
17 mins:Good work by Welbeck as he springs the offside trap but miscontrols the ball and Foster collects easily
16 mins: Chris Smalling is perhaps lucky to avoid a caution there as he slides in on Long but totally gets it wrong. The Irishman's pace is certainly causing problems here
14 mins:United moving the ball round well with West Brom happy to sit back and defend
11 mins:United dominating now, with Evans spraying the ball around nicely and Valencia coming into the game down the right
9 mins:United take the lead as Ashley Young's cross is deflected into the net off the unfortunate Gareth McAuley to give Ben Foster no chance
6 mins:First chance for United as Vidic attacks Ashley Young's corner but his header narrowly misses the target
5 mins:Penalty shout for the visitors as Shane Long goes down following a clash with Chris Smalling but John Moss isn't interested
4 mins:First shot of the game as Chris Brunt tries his luck from distance but his effort sales way over the top of the bar
3 mins:Good covering work by Michael Carrick, as Shane Long bursts through but the experienced midfielder gets back and plays the ball back to David De Gea
1 mins:United have started well here, with Patrice Evra already looking a threat on the left
United get us underway and the ball is played long but well dealt with by Gabriel Tamas
2 mins:United boss Alex Ferguson has decided to give Robin van Persie a well earned rest with Danny Welbeck coming into the side, while Shinji Kagawa also returns from injury. West Brom have a number of absentees due to injury, most notably captain Jonas Olsson who has a groin problem and is replaced by Gabriel Tamas
1 mins:Both teams come into the game following wins on Boxing Day and its sure to be an entertaining fixture
Well welcome along to coverage of the Premier League match between Manchester United and West Brom
- English Barclays Premier League
- 29 December 2012, 3:00pm
- Old Trafford
- Attendance: 75,595
| Man Utd | v | West Brom |
2
| 0 |
match report
A Gareth McAuley own goal and a late Robin van Persie strike gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over West Brom at a sodden Old Trafford.
The rain-soaked pitch, which was subject to two inspections prior to kick-off, put paid to any hope of free-flowing football but McAuley's blunder and substitute Van Persie's sublime finish were enough to separate the sides.
After having a good shout for a penalty turned down in the opening few minutes by referee Jonathan Moss, when Shane Long went down under a challenge from Chris Smalling, Baggies defender McAuley inadvertently gave United an early lead.
Ashley Young's attempted one-two with Shinji Kagawa was diverted back into the winger's path by the outstretched leg of Graham Dorrans, allowing Young time and space to drill a low cross into the danger zone, which cannoned off the despairing McAuley to put the league leaders in front.
Ben Foster kept his side in the match twice in quick succession just after the half-hour mark, firstly brilliantly tipping Young's powerful effort over the top, and then scrambling a Michael Carrick effort away from the resulting corner.
The early goal and a much-changed line-up seemed to affect the Baggies' momentum, as they never really got going in the first period.
However, they made a much brighter start to the second half, with Chris Brunt coming close from distance, and McAuley had a great chance to make amends for the earlier own goal, but could not direct his header on target from a Brunt free-kick.
As the game wore on, the pitch deteriorated even more, stifling much of the play. Kagawa, making his long-awaited return to the side, was the only one whose quality was not hampered by the damp conditions.
He was at the heart of everything for the Red Devils before being replaced by Robin Van Persie.
Another substitution made a huge difference to the game. Romelu Lukaku added an extra dimension to West Brom's attack, with his physical presence causing the United back-line problems. The defending was desperate at times, with some last-ditch blocks keeping the score at 1-0.
However, despite all their pressure the Baggies rarely troubled David De Gea in the United goal, and in fact the league leaders came closest to adding to the scoreline through Van Persie and a Danny Welbeck effort, before the Dutch hitman once again got his name on the scoresheet in added-time.
His stunning left-footed strike from the edge of the area beat Foster all ends up to seal the three points for the Red Devils.
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