Match
Report
Manchester
United 2 (Johnsen
'22, Cole '68)
Newcastle
United 0
Manchester United flexed their muscles in front of a record
Premiership crowd at Old Trafford on Sunday afternoon - and
Newcastle simply crumbled as the champions opened the new
campaign with a deserved victory. Playing a brand of football
which must have left their title rivals sweating, the Red Devils
swept to a comfortable win thanks to a goal in each half from
Ronny Johnsen and Andy Cole. Even the noisy Geordie
followers in the 67,477 gathering which packed the rebuilt
United stadium knew the final margin could easily have been
far greater.
United had already rubbed the sleep out of their eyes when
Johnsen rose highest to meet a David Beckham corner after
20 minutes. Newcastle had been given advance warning of the
air raid only seconds earlier when Jaap Stam met another
Beckham corner with a bullet header which was tipped over the
crossbar by Shay Given. Beckham trotted to the other side of
the pitch - to the acclaim of the only supporters who cheer one
of England's few genuine talents - looked up and picked out
Johnsen, who glided the ball towards the corner with Given
only able to help it into the net.
Cole, who grabbed four in last season's 5-1 win over his
former club, was able to chuckle heartily to himself again
midway through the second period when he exchanged passes
with Ryan Giggs and slid a first-time shot under the advancing
Given. Standing on the halfway line, Old Trafford anti-hero
Alan Shearer was once again stealing himself for the familiar
taste of defeat on a ground at one stage in his career looked
likely to be his own.
The only sour note for United boss Sir Alex Ferguson was the
injury which left Johnsen limping off the pitch just past the
hour mark. After missing most of last season with two
separate knee injuries, Ferguson will be anxious that the
central defender has not suffered a recurrence of the problem.
Newcastle had started with an enterprising 3-4-3 formation
which initially met with a measure of success. Warren Barton
found space on the right, Rob Lee in the middle and
Argentine debutant Daniel Cordone up front. But almost as
quickly as the visitors opened gaps, so they were plugged.
Stam produced an immaculate sliding tackle to deny Shearer
a shooting opportunity, French Euro 2000 winner Fabien
Barthez was equal to a 20-yard Lee drive and Carl Cort was
adjudged offside as he controlled a crossfield pass from
Cordone with a clear run to the United goal. However, any
optimistic thoughts of a first Premiership win for the Magpies
at the 'Theatre of Dreams' swiftly evaporated into a struggle
for survival.
Johnsen's goal was the prelude to a period of attacking
brilliance from United which should have increased their
slender advantage. Roy Keane twice saw thunderous drives
clutched gratefully by Given, Cole failed to find the target from
the left angle of the six-yard area and Giggs had a penalty
appeal turned down when he tumbled to the ground trying to
hurdle Alain Goma's lunging tackle.
The Welsh winger also saw his magnificent first-time volley
crash back off a post after Paul Scholes had lofted a cross
deep into the Newcastle area. On this form, trying to stop the
red machine is an unenviable task but Magpies' chief Bobby
Robson felt the solution was to introduce Kieron Dyer as a
half-time replacement for Goma, who had been booked a
minute before the break for hacking down Beckham. The
England wing-back's personal contribution was minimal but his
arrival coincided with another defiant attacking thrust from
Newcastle. Cordone's shot was goal-bound until Barthez
plunged to his left to save while the already popular
Frenchman was also alert enough to deny Lee's rasping
20-yard drive, with Stam hoofing the rebound to safety.
The difference from the opening period was that United were
offering more space in the sure knowledge that they were
more likely to score than the opposition. Cole's goal proved
the theory, although Given had already stopped Beckham's
curling strike, Cole's daisy-cutter and a Nikos Dabizas
back-header which was desperately touched onto a post.
Though Newcastle persisted in pushing forward, they were
picked off easily by the United defence and the midfield area
was a black and white free zone as red shirts filled all
available spaces. With the game won, Ferguson threw on
Dwight Yorke - who had been on World Cup duty with Trinidad
in midweek - and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. White flags are
probably being raised already.
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