English Premier League
“Winners never quit and quitters never win.” This is one phrase that could be used to describe the Blackpool vs Manchester United at Bloomfield Road. After being two goals down at 70 minutes and when all seemed lost, the Red Devils raised their game to another level to end 3-2 winners.
It was only the second meeting between the two clubs and if the travelling United fans were expecting a walkover, they were in for a surprise. The Tangerines took the lead in the 14th minute after old United boy Craig Cathcart headed in a corner. Led by their inspirational skipper Charlie Adam, Blackpool completely outplayed United in the first half. It only got better in the 43rd minute after Van der Sar blocked David Vaughan’s goalbound effort. Adam swung in the corner which DJ Campbell headed in from the far post much to the delight of the 15000 odd home fans. The scorecard read 2-0 and the away fans were shell shocked.
United almost conceded a penalty right after halftime with Rafael sending Luke Varney tumbling in the box. The introduction of Giggs for the ineffective Gibson during the break seemed to make a difference and United looked more penetrative. But the goals never came. It was desperation time for Ferguson and he replaced Rooney with Hernandez. He broke the offside trap and almost scored within a minute of his introduction. United were 18 minutes away from their first defeat of the season when Fletcher squared up a pass to Berbatov who tapped home from close range to make it 2-1. United had their tails up and a minute later Hernandez beat the offside trap once again to collect Giggs’ through ball and completed the move with a crisp finish. 2-2! United were level even before Blackpool had recovered from the first goal.
Play was stopped for a while as Rafael was stretchered off the ground after suffering a concussion. Just as you thought United would be satisfied with a point, Berbatov struck again, his 19th of the season, to complete a remarkable turnaround.
With the victory, United widened the gap at the top to 5 points whereas it was a case of so close yet so far for Blackpool.
Tags: Blackpool, Bloomfield Road, Dimitar Berbatov, English Premier League, EPL, Football, Manchester United, Soccer
