United left to pay the penalty

AT LAST, following a seemingly endless parade of cricket scores and one-sided turkey shoots, Manchester United and Fulham have produced a match that proves the Premier League is not dead.

Following a hat-trick of 6-0 victories in the space of one weekend (Wigan 0 Chelsea 6; Arsenal 6 Blackpool 0 and Newcastle 6 Aston Villa 0) there were some serious questions being asked yesterday about the competitiveness and quality of the league, so it was encouraging to see the debate suspended for a while by an intense and dramatic battle at Craven Cottage that ended 2-2 and featured a pulsating finale by the Thames.

Brede Hangeland’s thunderous header in injury-time left even United manager Alex Ferguson admitting Fulham deserved a point, especially as the big defender had scored an unfortunate own goal only minutes earlier to put the visitors 2-1 ahead. The match also included a wonderful strike from Paul Scholes, his 150th in all competitions for United, as well as a superb penalty save from young goalkeeper David Stockdale and a cameo performance from Fulham striker Bobby Zamora.