Super-sub Goater nips in to put dent in United’s Premiership hopes

Manchester United 1 Manchester City 1

Trailing to Ruud van Nistelrooy’s first-half opener and with neither Robbie Fowler nor Nicolas Anelka making much of an impact, Keegan threw on Goater and Ali Benarbia for the final frenzied five minutes.

The outcome was devastating. With his first touch Benarbia delivered an astute free-kick which Shaun Wright-Phillips chipped into the box where Goater, scorer of two in City’s 3-1 triumph over the same opposition in November, steered his header past Roy Carroll.

City could have had even more, Goater’s injury-time effort was ruled out for handball against Anelka, who had steered his team-mate into space after Wright-Phillips’ deflected shot had bounced back off the crossbar.

But parity was to be enjoyed when for 85 minutes the familiarity of defeat stared the visitors in the face, only for United to pay for their inability to convert a succession of chances, which meant they went into the final stages clinging to van Nistelrooy’s 27th club goal of the season.

With the weight of history hanging heavily on their shoulders, City could have done without the loss of their inspirational goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel in the pre-match warm-up.

Desperate to play against his former club, the great Dane pushed himself just too far in his attempts to overcome a calf injury and disconsolately threw his gloves into the crowd as he accepted defeat.

Carlo Nash was called off the bench and was quickly into the action as United, publicly lambasted by their normally ultra-defensive manager after the Maine Road debacle, forced a couple of early corners, signalling their attacking intent.

Giggs was revelling in his roving role just behind van Nistelrooy and popped up on the right to deliver a cross which Nash bravely collected at Paul Scholes’ feet.

While Giggs’ contribution was obvious, Roy Keane was slightly less easy to spot but produced a performance of all-round magnificence.

Keane had ended the last Old Trafford meeting between the pair in disgrace when he viciously connected with Alfie Haaland’s knee.

The turbulence of that event has rumbled on for almost two years, since when the fiery son of Cork has hit the headlines on a regular basis for all the wrong reasons.

Yet yesterday, he showed why he remains such a vital and valued member of Ferguson’s side.

In defence, Keane swept away danger on more than one occasion, in midfield his biting tackles robbed the visitors of their momentum and in attack, the 31-year-old spotted the gaps which his team might have exploited more clinically than they did.

It was Keane who set up United’s opener, sending Giggs galloping through the chasm which had opened amid the blue shirts and the Welshman had the awareness to know exactly where van Nistelrooy wanted the cross to land.

Van Nistelrooy might have netted a replica just before the half-hour when Keane sent David Beckham sprinting down the right but this time Nash managed to smother the danger.

Beckham should have been awarded a penalty before that when he was sent flying by Sommeil’s ill-advised challenge. Referee Alan Wiley waved away the howls of protest from a mass of red shirts but television replays indicated the official had got it wrong.

For all their effort, City lacked a goal threat. Their new £20million strikeforce was largely starved of possession. Fowler remained on the periphery after the break, when City at least pushed forward with greater conviction, even if the eventual outcome was less than dangerous.

United though carried more threat. Sylvain Distin slid in to deny van Nistelrooy a scoring chance after the Dutchman had latched onto Rio Ferdinand’s long ball, then Giggs was not too convincing when he lost out to Nash in a full-blooded tackle as he attempted to finish off a length-of- the-field move by latching onto Beckham’s delayed through-ball.

Beckham failed with head and foot as the contest continued to be a switchback ride between home dominance and periods of City pressure.

It was then that Keegan made his fateful decision, which could have untold consequences for United’s Premiership dream.

MANCHESTER UNITED: Carroll, Gary Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre, Beckham, Keane, Veron (Butt 77), Giggs (Solskjaer 88), Scholes, van Nistelrooy.

MANCHESTER CITY: Nash, Sommeil, Howey, Distin, Jihai, Foe, Horlock (Wright-Phillips 66), Berkovic (Benarbia 85), Jensen, Anelka, Fowler (Goater 85).

Referee: A Wiley (Staffordshire).