LFL: MUFC

This was the best I’ve seen us play for a good while and also one of the most exciting goalless draws I’ve been at. We played tenaciously, at times very fluidly and more than held our own against the third-placed side.

BEFORE

A few more points from our remaining matches could well move us up a place or two, with us quite possibly finishing higher than Chelsea, and I think we can do that but it's going to be a hard game this afternoon. Manchester United have won three in a row while our form has of course been very mixed and Ballard's absence will be felt. Diallo was on for the second-half against Liverpool last Sunday and he'll most likely feature today too. I'm sure he'll be given a great reception. I'll be at the game and I can't see us not conceding but I’m hoping it'll be another great battle. Match prediction: 1-1.

I called in at ALS before the game and got the team-news. There was only the one change for us with Ballard being replaced by Geertruida, who appears to have no future at the club. Angulo was back on the bench and that was good news. There were five changes from the Liverpool match in the Man U starting eleven and Diallo was in there. I was pleased to see that Mbeumo was only on the bench. The early kick-off ended Liverpool 1 Chelsea 1 so that put the latter two points above us. I was in my seat in the Upper East Stand around 2.30 and the weather was wet and quite windy. There was a very sizeable turnout of away fans, as expected. My friends' match predictions were 2-2, 1-1 and 2-1 but the general feeling from others I spoke with was that we were going to get a good hiding. Referee Stuart Attwell was booed when his name was announced.

THE GAME

Both sets of fans were in great voice as the game began. We did nearly all the early pressing and Talbi had the first shooting effort in the fifth minute but it was wide of their right post. Next thing a great move culminated in a Sadiki shot being palmed away by Lammens in goal for the first corner of the match. In the ninth United were awarded a free-kick just near the right angle of our box when Cunha went down. This was not a popular decision and brought the first, but possibly not the last, rendition of, “You’re not fit to referee!” of the afternoon. Anyway, the danger passed and we were awarded a free-kick in their half. The kick resulted in Brobbey bearing down on goal and Lammens rolling around for a while. We certainly had the bit between our teeth and there was a buzz going around. We had a handball shout in the nineteenth but nothing came of it eventually. We were giving the opposition little space all over the pitch and it had been a good opening quarter for us.

Hume conceded a free-kick in the twenty-sixth and it led to United’s first corner. It promptly led to their second on the other side but we manged to survive. Mr Attwell hadn’t been popular from the start but he was enraging our fans with several decisions against us and these were accompanied by the aforementioned chant. United were certainly doing more attacking now but we were still having a good go ourselves and a low Brobbey shot was narrowly wide in the thirty-second. Next thing a deflected Sadiki effort went out for another corner to us. That resulted in us getting a free-kick outside the centre of their box which came to nothing in the end. Our passing was great and we were contributing to an exciting tussle. Geertruida was having an impressive game and he certainly looked like a player we should be keeping as he was cool, calm and collected. Diallo was being closely watched and he hadn’t managed to make too much of a mark yet, thankfully. When he did get away from our defenders, he looked as tricksy as ever. We conceded a corner in the final minute and after we battled it clear one minute of added-time was announced. We won a corner on the left and it looked like it led to another on the opposite side but the whistle went for half-time and that was that. Mr A was loudly booed from the pitch. We’d definitely upped our game and we looked good for a point as long as we could keep it up in the second period.

There were no changes as we kicked off again. United were pressing a lot higher than before and we were living dangerously at times. Alderete was chopped on the half-way line and this finally resulted in a yellow-card for Mount. We then had our best move of the half when Talbi chipped in a low diagonal cross but nobody was there to get on the end of it. Zirkzee was also yellow-carded after fouling Alderete as he ploughed into their half. Very soon we had another corner, on the left, and it was headed onto the roof of the net by a defender for yet another corner. As we passed the hour-mark the game was still cooking with both sets of fans making a good racket. As our fans were shouting, “Shoooot!” Xhaka did have a long-distance shot but it was well over. Brobbey had a much better effort on target after we’d forced the move through a tough game of head-tennis just outside their box. Zirkzee was replaced by Dorgu in the first change of the game.

As the match entered the final quarter we hadn’t made any substitutions yet. A low shot from Geertruida came back off the post and then we had a penalty shout that went unheeded. It was all go. We then had a great chance when Hume broke quickly with Brobbey alongside him but Hume’s pass was poor and the opportunity went begging. Next thing we got a free-kick just outside the right angle of their box and Brobbey got his head on it but his powerful effort went out for a throw-in, making me think of Catts for some reason. Mbeumo replaced Diallo/Amad in the seventy-fifth and the latter got a great ovation from our fans. I wasn’t pleased to see Mbeumo on, though, as he’s a right handful. We finally made a change in the seventy-ninth when we brought on Angulo for Talbi. Angulo looked impressive as he cleverly jinxed down the left and got a cross in but when it looked like Brobbey had been fouled in the box, Mr Attwell awarded United a free-kick instead. Roefs was giving us the jitters at times with his messing about at the back instead of giving it a good welly. Five minutes to go but I wasn’t counting on anything of course. Bruno Fernandes went down and fiercely accused Reinildo of something or other as our fans shouted, “Cheat! Cheat!” and the upshot of it was… nowt, as far as I could see. We brought on Mayenda for Hume with about a minute left and this went down very well indeed. Four minutes of added-time were announced. United won a corner on the left but we got that and the follow-up clear. A Cunha shot was well-saved by Roefs but Cunha was then booked for diving. We conceded another corner with about thirty seconds left and before a subsequent corner could be taken the final whistle went and we’d won a great point. There was much applause all round. The United players stayed on to exchange applause with their fans and Amad/Diallo gave us all a wave.