Viduka puts on a show for Ferguson
Man City 1 Leeds 1
Alex Ferguson watched Mark Viduka produce a striking masterclass against Manchester City as Leeds’ battle to avoid the drop erupted in familiar Alan Smith fury.
The Manchester United manager is known to be in the hunt for a new forward to take the pressure off free-scoring Ruud van Nistelrooy and is already reported to have had one bid turned down for the big Australian.
He will probably have decided to up his offer on the evidence of tonight’s efforts as Viduka could hardly have done any more to advance his claims for a move to Old Trafford.
It was not enough to drag Leeds out of the relegation zone as Antoine Sibierski’s late header gave the home side some reward for their dominance.
But for Viduka, the scrap to avoid the drop could soon be a thing of the past as Ferguson gets ready to flick open his chequebook.
There is more of the Fergie fire in Smith though. The Leeds-born, Leeds-supporting, Leeds player may never countenance a move to Old Trafford but that does not stop the United chief admiring from afar.
And, after another wholehearted display which did help his team draw level with Leicester and Portsmouth, there was a certain dogged Unitedness about the way Smith aggressively raced towards the nearside linesman who denied the visitors a stoppage-time penalty.
Television replays showed David Sommeil fouled James Milner but the impact was an inch outside the box, invalidating Smith’s claims.
It did not stop the striker’s protests though and only the intervention of Gary Kelly prevented him adding to an unpleasant-looking disciplinary record.
The incident fired Leeds up for the final frantic stages and the three men they had booked in stoppage time showed how desperately they needed the point.
Not that they would have too much cause for complaint if their recent improvement had come to a shuddering halt as they were largely outplayed for much of the contest.
Yet they were helped by a dismal defensive mistake from Sommeil that would give a manager nightmares.
Convention has it that Father Christmas wears red and arrives on December 25, so it can only be presumed he must have chosen the City of Manchester Stadium to get some pre-match practice in.
It is certainly a fair bet that none of the Leeds contingent will find a better present under their tree in three days’ time than the one Sommeil handed them this evening.
The pass Milner played to the edge of the City penalty area should have given Sommeil few problems given its relative lack of pace and the space the Frenchman had to control it.
Unbelievably, his first touch was so bad, it allowed Viduka to steal in, nick possession, slip round David Seaman and stick the ball into an empty net.
The burly Aussie can have scored fewer easier goals in his three-and-a-half years with the Elland Road outfit and his elation contrasted sharply with Kevin Keegan’s obvious dismay on the touchline.
High in the stand above, Ferguson was keeping his thoughts to himself yet more than the goal itself, the wily Scot was probably more impressed with Viduka’s workrate and his strength in possession.
In exactly the same lone forward’s role he has given Ruud van Nistelrooy, Ferguson watched the former Celtic forward keep a four-man City defence fully employed despite an acute shortage of possession.
His approach play was eye-catching too and one cheeky back heel would have set Jermaine Pennant up for number two had Richard Dunne not executed the perfect sliding tackle.
That opportunity came as the home side were still trying to shake off the shock of going behind.
City’s eight-match barren run as brought the inevitable talk of training ground bust-ups, cliques in the dressing room and a growing lack of confidence in the manager.
Keegan has dismissed it all, insisting his team were only a win away from recapturing the form which swept them to the top of the Premiership in August.
There was no sign of bruised egos in the opening stages as the Blues ripped into their opponents without being able to produce the killer touch.
Michael Duberry cleared a Claudio Reyna shot off the line, Dunne headed over, Reyna flashed a shot wide, then Joey Barton crashed a 20-yard drive against the foot of a post.
Keegan decided to gamble, throwing on Paulo Wanchope, Sibierski and Jon Macken. Not long afterwards Lucas Radebe was stretchered off in agony with a torn hamstring.
His loss to the Yorkshiremen is immense and was felt within minutes as Sibierski strode into the space he would have filled to nod home Sun’s cross seven minutes from time.
