Wigan Athletic 1 v 2 Manchester United
JJB Stadium, Wigan
6th March 2006
Manchester United had possibly their luckiest night of the year last-night, with a last-minute own-goal securing all three points for the Reds.
United had been riding their luck throughout the first half, with Wigan having the better of the chances, although United did break through with a blistering attack from Rooney and Ronaldo. Their slick inter-passing created an opening for Rooney,but he unselfishly, and perhaps wrongly, passed the ball across to Louis Saha at the back-post, and the attack died.
Van der Sar was left clutching the ball on the goal-line after a corner scramble, and Kavanagh and Bullard seemed to be getting the better of O'Shea and Giggs in the very middle of the park.
The goal still came as a shock to United however. A Wigan corner was met by an attacker, who headed it at goal. Giggs was on the post to clear, but maybe should have done better with his clearance. The ball fell back to the attacker who played the ball through the melee. Van der Sar got a hand to it, but could only parry it to another Wigan boys feet.
This inspired United to start playing football, and United started piling forwards into the box.
It was only when van Nistelrooy came on that things started to happen. Ruud's first touch put Ronaldo through to place an easy shot past Filan from 6 yards out.
United huffed and puffed, but it looked like it was going to end in a draw, which Fergie has confessed he would have been happy with.
But a lucky break came United's way, when three minutes into injury-time a Ronaldo throughball made it into Saha's path. He smashed it towards goal from a tight left angle, but the ball crashed down off the ball. Luckily Chimbonda was on hand to chest the ball into hisown net by acident, and the game was won.
