Full Time Report: Manchester United vs. Wolverhampton Wanderers – Ji-Sung Park Unlikely Man U Hero
Manchester United’s unlikely hero Ji-Sung Park awarded his side a well-fought victory over the low-lying Wolves to move the Red Devils two points behind Chelsea.
The midfielder found the opening goal of the match in the 44th
minute to give his side a comfortable lead at half time. United, however, looked off-colour today and seemed too focused on the Derby to take the Wolves seriously. That backfired in the worst possible way as in the second half (the 66th minute,
in particular), former United substitute Sylvain Ebanks-Blake found the equalizer.
It was up to the Korean to find the winning goal, which came deep into injury time, when he squeezed a dominant effort from inside the box to register a famous win. Manchester United’s troubled midfielder Owen Hargreaves was handed
his first start in nearly 2 years but could last only 5 minutes before pulling a hamstring. His last full 90-minute appearance came against Chelsea in September 2008.
This injury is an addition to the long list of setbacks the player has suffered in his attempt to recover from knee issues, and even though the current problem doesn’t look serious, it would certainly aggravate those who think
that the 29-year-old’s career is virtually over. It would be the last thing that Ferguson would need, especially with Nani, Ryan Giggs and Wayne Rooney already on the injury list. Bulgarian Dimitar Berbatov was also struck with viral infection and hence, United’s
5 most efficient players this season have been ruled out.
Hargreaves was substituted by Bebe, who had a rough evening. The player looked like work-in-progress material sent in as finished goods and his crosses were embarrassing. The player had no control on the ball and just had pace
to reach the ball but looked lost. Bebe was therefore substituted in the 75th minute for Kiko Macheda.
It was astonishing to see the visitors dominating the first half at Old Trafford. The side created the best of opportunities but it took one moment of brilliance from Fletcher to find Park for the first goal of the game. Park finished
off a perfect one-on-one and gave his side a not so deserving breathing space. The Wolves, who were brilliant on the night, dominated possession in the second period but couldn’t make much out of it. It was substitute Ebanks-Blake, who found the equalizer
after coming on the pitch only 60 seconds ago. The player took a brilliant first touch to move away from Vidic and then fired a perfect shot that rolled in between Van Der Sar’s legs to score one against his former club.
The equalizer led to McCarthy’s pulling men back, with all the players going for the defence. United had to hire the services of Paul Scholes for some creativity in the midfield and the player found Javier Hernandez with a great
long ball. The Mexican, however, was booked for his diving to get a penalty while French starlet Gabriel Obertan couldn’t control his overhead kick.
With the sixth draw of the season on the cards for the Red Devils, Park stepped up and drilled a spectacular goal to get the shot past the opposing goalkeeper and gave Sir Alex Ferguson a nice gift on his 24th anniversary
with the Premier League club.
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