Manchester United's jinx to the rescue
Only last week Manchester United fans were groaning about their inability to finish off and win matches and end up drawing them, about how this jinx was a negative force keeping them from picking up points. Irony is, after they fell 2-0 behind to Villa,
they were praying for this jinx to somehow come into play. And you know what the cruelest part of it all is, that it did.
Cruel for an Aston Villa side that put in a performance that was apt to warrant a fine win over a Manchster United side who couldn't find their own untill the final ten minutes that is. But this comeback couldn't have been any sweeter for United, barring
they'd actually come back to win the match which would've been a dream come true, but then it wouldn't have been the draw jinx at work.
How Darren Fletcher was made to swallow his words when after the midweek draw with Manchester City, he called for Manchester United's need to stop drawing matches. Right now, he might even be worshipping it, in the hope that it helps them every time they
come unstuck against teams.
Frankly though, Manchester United didn't deserve anything whatsoever from this game, the performance they put in didn't even have a pulse. Aston Villa, on the other hand, put in a performance which was commendable to say the least, and their relatively young
winger Mark Albrighton sparkled throughout.
Its not easy for a player to claim that he's out done Patrice Evra, and its rare to hear of such a claim but Albrighton didn't just "out-do" Evra, he tormented him. He knocked the ball forward and left Evra for dead time and time again. And only if Albrighton's
finishing had been on par, he could've had a stunning hattrick instead of that measely solitary goal.
But even that solitary strike oozed class, not because of individual brilliance though, rather because of fantastic build up play and a great team effort that finally saw downing released on the counter attack to put a curling ball in begging to be prodded
home, and Mark Albrighton duly obliged, sidefooting home to give Villa what appeared to be an unassailable lead.
Writing off Manchester United though is foolish in every aspect and ambiguous interpretation of the word. And that is what Manchester United proved with their never say die attitude they clawed back the two goal deficit with two goals of their own, produced
from virtually nothing to salvage an immensely vital point.
The first was a Macheda strike that had the venom of a nuclear missle, to expect any goal keeper in the world to save that strike, you would have to be completely blind. The second was a hopeful diving header by the ever present Nemanja Vidic which somehow
found its way into the back of the net even with numerous bodies stacked infront of goal.
And then emotions ran wild as United could hardly believe what had just happened. Only ten minutes ago they were 2-0 down with hardly a chance in h**l of turning things around, now they found themselves level pegging and in the ascendency, trying to push
on to win it. They huffed and puffed but in the end the two goal haul was all they could muster.
Aston Villa not knowing how they let slip a nailed on win, and United not knowing how they managed to escape the jaws of defeat this time, the fans were left to ponder and reflect on the days grippingly intense events.
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