Report: United 1 Tottenham 0

09/09/2006 18:10, Report by Ben Hibbs

The Reds returned to the top of the table with victory over Tottenham on Saturday, thanks to a first-half header from the in-form Ryan Giggs, which ensures United have made their best ever start to a Premiership campaign.

The Welshman struck after just 12 minutes, and the solitary goal proved enough to secure a fourth successive win. But it wasn't the most convincing display. Spurs wasted several chances, while United were hanging on by the end. However, having stumbled in September last season, Sir Alex will be pleased his players stuck to task and retrieved what is so vital at this stage of the season: victory by any means necessary.

United were out of the blocks quickest. Cristiano Ronaldo, in his first foray down the right wing after five minutes, carved open the best early opportunity. Booed by the Spurs fans, the Portuguese winger responded with some quick-footed trickery to glide past Benoit Assou-Ekotto before testing Paul Robinson with a curling low shot.

Old Trafford was bathed in bright Autumn sunshine, and it was clearly causing the Tottenham goalkeeper problems. When Louis Saha was floored by Edgar Davids 35 yards from goal, Ronaldo struck a dipping, swerving shot from the subsequent free kick, which Robinson could only palm up in the air. Ryan Giggs, who had earlier collected the award for August’s Player of the Month, was quickest to react and nodded the ball off the underside of the crossbar to make it 1-0 after 12 minutes. The ideal start.

United faced a nervous period without the Welshman, who was forced off for a full five minutes to receive treatment for a bloodied nose midway through the half. Sir Alex was seen gesturing on the sideline that he felt it was as the result of an elbow from Davids, who had challenged Giggs in midfield. In unstoppable form, though, the 32-year-old was soon back on the pitch running at Tottenham’s defence.

Michael Carrick received a regular bout of boos from the travelling Spurs supporters following his £14million summer move from White Hart Lane, but he endeared himself to the home fans by showing signs of creativity in the playmaker role – much the same position as Juan Sebastian Veron undertook at Old Trafford – with his varied and incisive array of passes.

Despite United's good start, it was Spurs who ended the half strongest. They could have equalised but for a fantastic double save from Edwin van der Sar just before the break. Penned into their own half, the Reds failed on several occasions to clear the danger. And when Davids flicked a pass over the back four, van der Sar first had to smother a shot from defender Michael Dawson before rushing out to block a second effort from Ledley King.

United’s Dutch goalkeeper was forced into another impressive save seven minutes after the break, when Pascal Chimbonda overlapped down the right flank and saw his cross deflected following Ronaldo’s sliding challenge. Van der Sar had to palm the ball over the bar for a corner, from which Dawson powered his header wide.

Gradually Tottenham had loosened United’s grip on the game. And Spurs boss Martin Jol wasn’t settling for a draw. His intentions were clear when he made a double attacking substitution on 57 minutes, replacing Davids and the ineffectual Robbie Keane with, Reto Ziegler and Jermain Defoe.

United, meanwhile, had hit a lull in their performance, and needed something to lift the side out of it. Ronaldo almost found it after 65 minutes when he burst onto Saha’s deflected cross from the right and forced Robinson to tip his powerful shot over.

But it was Tottenham's substitute who nearly changed the game. Defoe was proving to be a real handful. His run down the right wing earned Kieran Richardson a yellow card after the United midfielder tried, but failed, to slide in and steal the ball. Then the diminutive forward rose highest in the box, but the ball ended up going over off his shoulder. Still United’s lead remained intact, but it made for nervous viewing, particularly as last September was the time Sir Alex’s side stumbled, with draws against Manchester City and Liverpool and a defeat to Blackburn spoiling the good start to the 2005/06 campaign.

Mido was the next to threaten United’s slender advantage, and he should have done better with a clear scoring opportunity. He climbed above Wes Brown to meet Assou-Ekotto’s cross, but made minimal contact with the header and didn't test van der Sar.

At the other end, United wasted chances of their own. Ronaldo went on a 50-yard run, but his final ball was neither a squared pass to Saha in space nor a shot on goal. Saha, too, passed up great chances to kill the game off. He was played in superbly by Reds’ substitute Darren Fletcher, but blazed his shot over the bar, then missed a one-on-one with Robinson.

Tottenham threatened again late on, but the Reds held out. Another three points is exactly what was required to put United back on top of the Premiership, but the performance will certainly need to improve against Celtic in midweek and Arsenal next Sunday.

Team Line-ups

United: Van der Sar, Neville (c), Brown, Ferdinand, Evra, Ronaldo (Silvestre, 90), O’Shea, Carrick (Fletcher, 80), Richardson (Park, 71), Giggs, Saha.
Subs not used: Kuszczak, Solskjaer.

Goalscorer: Giggs (12)

Tottenham: Robinson, Chimbonda, Dawson, King (c) (Murphy, 82), Assou-Ekotto, Ghaly, Jenas, Davids (Ziegler, 57), Zokora, Keane (Defoe, 57), Mido.
Subs not used: Cerny (GK), Huddlestone.

Attendance: 75,453 (Premiership record)

credit: manutd.com