CITY 1 MANCHESTER UNITED 1
FA Premier League
20th March 1993
attendance 37,136
Scorers
City Quinn(57)
United Cantona(71)
Ref R Hart
City Coton, Curle, Phelan, Reid, Hill, Vonk, White, Sheron, Quinn, Flitcroft, Holden – subs Quigley(unused), Ingebrigtsen(unused), Margetson(unused)
United Schmeichel, Parker, Irwin, Bruce, Pallister, Cantona, Ince, McClair, Hughes, Giggs, Sharpe – subs Robson(unused), Kanchelskis(unused), Sealey(unused)
FROM THE PRESS BOX
PATRICK BARCLAY WRITING IN THE OBSERVER 22ND MARCH 1993
Eric Cantona won a point for Manchester United, then seemed consumed by a perverse desire to throw it away again. Four minutes after heading a splendid equaliser, the Frenchman tried the most foolish of backheels dangerously close to his team’s penalty area. Possession was lost, Sheron’s shot hit a post. Had it gone in, well, such moments can decide championships.
As it turned out, United went off for lunch with a draw, the least they deserved from a morning on which, overcoming more frequently than their rivals the difficulties of playing with precision amid the frantic endeavour of a derby, Alex Ferguson’s side looked fit for the title, certainly more so than the recent procurement of two points from a possible nine might suggest.
United ought to have been well in front by half-time and, although thereafter they bowed to the mighty head of Quinn, sheer quality brought them level. Another fine move appeared likely to bring a winner but, extraordinarily, the referee with a clear View of the push with which Curle denied Hughes in the act of shooting, waved play on rather than award a penalty and send the City captain off.
Robson, available again and requiring four appearances before the end of the season to qualify for a medal if United finish on top, remained on the bench throughout, watching another authoritative display from his heir, Ince. While Robson’s 36 year old legs were idle, City needed those of their player manager, Peter Reid, who spurred his men to a performance markedly more impressive than on this ground, latterly invaded by some supporters frustrated by FA Cup defeat at Tottenham’s hands, a fortnight ago. “I don’t want to patronise him,” Reid’s assistant Sam Ellis said “but you could see the difference. Maybe leaving himself out against Spurs was the managerial faux pas.”
Though City were indeed less reliant on the long ball with the boss in harness, the match might well have been out of their reach before they scored but for the profligacy of Giggs and two outstanding saves from Coton. For the first half hour Ferguson had switched Giggs from right to left, reasoning that he would do more damage against Hill than the Speedy Phelan, and the ploy worked well but during this time Giggs might have scored two goals and prompted another.
Only 20 seconds had gone when Hill, nervously prodding an intended back-pass, gave the young Welshman an opportunity he wasted with a shot that rose too sharply. Taking Cantona’s return pass, kindly deflected by Reid, Giggs again lacked composure in pulling the ball wide. But when his cross swung away from Coton to Cantona, whose header was firmly directed downwards, exemplary football was thwarted by goalkeeping that took the breath away. City’s best chance of the half had come and gone just before this. With Reid, they were giving as good as they got in midfield, and the readiness of defenders, Curle and Hill especially, to surge forward caused problems. Hill taking a break from harassment by Giggs, found himself with only Schmeichel to beat after Holden’s cross ahad floated over White and the Dane was relieved to see the shot go inches wide.
The anxieties of the blue majority of the crowd, desperate for consolation, seemed to inhibit City at times. United continued to show all the sparkle. Giggs, now troubling Phelan, attempted to curl the ball round Coton and was not far off the target; it was a similar story immediately after half-time with Cantona clean through only to have Coton cleverly read his intentions at close range. Yet all this suddenly counted for nothing as the home side moved ahead. Quinn won the ball, which Sheron put wide to Holden, and the winger’s best cross of the match enabled the Irishman to impose his height on a knot of defenders. As soon as the ball left his head, you knew it was a goal and Schmeichel hardly bothered to move.
There was no panic in United’s reaction, even if Cantona, with his angry response to a foul for which Curle was booked, was lucky to get away with words of warning, and before long the modicum of space Vonk allowed Hughes, who had hitherto been subdued, allowed the United Man to turn the defender quite beautifully and feed Sharpe, now occupying the left flank. Sharpe’s cross was perfect and Cantona, at the near post, finally beat Coton with a glancing header.
Afterwards Ferguson chose not to make too much of the lost penalty that followed. “I don’t like to talk about penalty appeals,” he said, “because at the end of the day we are creating enough openings to win without them. I’m pleased with the way we’re playing and, if we come out of March still in the ball-park we’ll have a chance of the title.