United Drop Points to Spurs

By David Hobbs & Chris O'Brien
January 5 2005

Tottenham Hotspur were denied their first victory at Old Trafford for 15 years as a late Pedro Mendes strike that crossed Roy Carroll’s line was not given. The traveling Londoners screamed in fury as referee Mark Clattenberg denied Spurs three points as they continue an impressive run of form.

United Drop Points to Spurs

Manchester United 0

Tottenham Hotspur 0

Tottenham Hotspur were denied their first victory at Old Trafford for 15 years as a late Pedro Mendes strike that crossed Roy Carroll’s line was not given as a goal. The traveling Londoners screamed in fury as referee Mark Clattenberg denied Spurs three points as they continue an impressive run of form.

Ulsterman Carroll, who had a blunder-filled evening, was well out of position when Mendes struck a long-range effort from the halfway line. United’s keeper could only fumble the ball into touch but it had already crossed the line and it was clear to everybody inside Old Trafford except the officials.

United had been the better side for most of the game but Tottenham battled away and showed spirit as they defended well and didn’t let the hosts take advantage of large quantities of possession. Oh how clear it was how much we were missing the services of attacking trio Ruud Van Nistelrooy, Wayne Rooney and Louis Saha.

The worrying thing is that Arsenal dropped points to Manchester City moments and when that filtered around in the ground, the fans urged their team to press forward. Chelsea will be laughing at Stamford Bridge as they widened the large gap at the top further by beating Middlesbrough 2-0.

Flu victim Gary Neville was again left out of the starting XI due to the virus and was replaced by brother Phil. Alan Smith lead the attack all-alone from the start with Darren Fletcher, Ryan Giggs, Cristiano Ronaldo and skipper Roy Keane supporting him from midfield.

Martin Jol had to deal without front-men Jermain Defoe and Fredi Kanoute. Midfielder Jamie Redknapp sealed his transfer to Southampton earlier in the day so youngsters Phil Ifil and Mark Yeates made the trip to Old Trafford.

United's Alan Smith was hapless as a lone strike, falling victim to Spurs' off-side trap that started to frustrate the Red Devils faithful.

Ryan Giggs, who showed a few good signs of bolstering the attack didn't have time to make it 4 goals or even more in 4 games as the Welshman had to be replaced by David Bellion in the first half because of a niggling hamstring injury. However, Bellion didn't prove much of a thorn in Spurs' backsides.

After a much-needed break, Untied were denied an opener by the woodwork. Phil Neville's ball evaded Spurs' defence and the attempted clearence by Noe Pamarot rattled the post. Ledley King was on guard to hook the bal out of danger.

David Bellion also had a one-on-one chance with Paul Robinson but the England international's reflexes were too good for Bellion's sloppy 2nd and 3rd touch.

Liam Miller and Jonathan Spector were injected into the fray as substitutes but couldn't master-mind a winning goal.

As United surged forward, they forgot about defending and Pedro Mendes took advantage of an out-of-positioned Roy Carroll. The Portuguese midfielder's audacious shot from by the half way line was fumbled by Carroll, resulting in the ball clearly passing the goal-line by a good yard or 2. However, the referee and his assistants didn't spot the ball passing the line and waved play on.

In my opinion, if there's any justice in this world, Spurs will be awarded the points.

However, Martin Jol's team and supporters shouldn't feel hard-done as they battled and battled away and got an excellent point from Old Trafford.

Final Score: Manchester United 0 - 0 Tottenham Hotspur
Att: 67,962

Manchester United: R Carroll, P Neville, R Ferdinand, M Silvestre, G Heinze, D Fletcher (76 L Miller), R Keane, P Scholes, C Ronaldo (84 J Spector), R Giggs (37 D Bellion), A Smith

Tottenham Hotspur: P Robinson, N Pamarot, N Naybet, L King, E Edman, D Marney, M Pedro Mendes, M Carrick, R Ricketts (90 A Gardner), R Ziegler, R Keane

Refereed By: M Clattenberg