No complaints from Fergie as United stumble

AFP - 30 December 2007 03:18

Sir Alex Ferguson, pictured here on December 23, offered no excuses after seeing Manchester United slip to a dramatic 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

LONDON (AFP) - Sir Alex Ferguson offered no excuses after seeing Manchester United slip to a dramatic 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

United were 13 minutes away from extending their lead at the top of the English Premier League on Saturday when two expert headers from Anton Ferdinand and Matthew Upson turned a pulsating encounter on its head and sent the champions spinning to just their third league loss of the season.

It was no more than West Ham deserved for a fine performance and Ferguson - who was unable to field Wayne Rooney or Michael Carrick at Upton Park due to illness - was at a loss to explain his team's lacklustre display.

"I have no complaints," he said. "You are going to get hard days in a title race and this was a hard day for us. It's hard to say why it happened. You can't be perfect all the time. We were pretty perfect at Sunderland on Wednesday but it didn't happen for us against West Ham.

"The team struggled. West Ham were very competitive and aggressive, tackling everywhere, very motivated in what was pretty much their biggest game of the season. They wanted to beat us.

"It's a disappointment because I always feel that if you go into the new year top of the table then you have a great chance. But we still have a very good opportunity to go on in January."

Ferguson's demeanour suggested another non-performance against Birmingham on New Year's day will simply not be tolerated, although for all their travails at Upton Park, this was still a game United could have won.

They were handed a gilt-edged opportunity to open up a daunting two-goal lead in the 65th minute when Jonathan Spector inexplicably handled Cristiano Ronaldo's teasing cross.

The Portuguese, who had already put his team ahead in the 13th minute by neatly heading in Ryan Giggs' near-post cross, swaggered to the spot but his kick was snatched and the shot rolled well wide.

It was, as Alan Curbishley, the West Ham manager, observed, the game's pivotal incident.

"That was a big miss," he said. "It's the first time I have seen Ronaldo try and hit a penalty hard - usually he goes for placement but it was power this time. I was surprised to see him miss it and it was obviously a crucial moment."

West Ham had already been offered encouragement from a first-half display which saw Hayden Mullins strike the crossbar and Mark Noble miss the rebound with an open goal gaping, but Ronaldo's aberration offered fresh momentum just when defeat seemed inevitable.

They duly poured forward in search of an equaliser and, in the 77th minute, it arrived when Ferdinand, returning to action after a lengthy injury lay-off and a court case, headed in Noble's pinpoint corner.

That set up a grandstand finale and, with the noise levels in east London threatening to shoot off the scale, the home fans were handed the winner they craved when another excellent Noble set-piece was headed into the top corner by the soaring Upson.

"It's a fantastic result for us," Curbishley added. "We had 16 fit players today and I've ended the game with 14, so it's a huge effort from everyone. I'm just really pleased for the players."

Ferguson had no such consolation. This was a rare off-day for his previously all-conquering side and a riotous afternoon delivered yet more compelling proof that this season's league title race will be the most keenly-contested in years.

"If we had scored the penalty it probably would have been game over but, even so, I couldn't see West Ham coming back," Ferguson said. "But to concede two goals from set-pieces proves you are not at your best. It's just disappointing."