Justice has been served



I went one step further in my pre-match rituals this time. Apart from using my Man Utd towel and watching the match downstairs, I decided to do a bit more to show I had faith in my team. I placed a $5 bet on them. The amount may be small, but it was more of a show of faith to my beloved team, the belief they could triumph against the odds.
They did, and how.
All eleven fought, ran and sweated it out, fire burning in their eyes, the hunger to bring down arsenal was so obvious. Caroll was steady behind, even teaching henry a bit about the fine art of possession play; Gary Neville was steady, cynical when necessary; Heinz, the "Argentinean Stuart Pearce" was at his blockbuster best; holding the fort, Rio Ferdinand, the wall which all arsenal's attacks couldn't penertrate, a almost peerless performance, with the assistance of his able deputy Silvestre, who has recovered the confidence of old. The wing masters of Giggs and Ronaldo were subdued somewhat, but they were always a threat; Scholes was in his element, making all those clever balls and being the creative force. Playing Phil Neville was a masterstroke, despite the absence of the Captain Keane, the Younger Neville ran around the pitch like a man possessed, harassing the arsenal players as they dallied on the ball, reminiscent to the last time Man Utd beat arsenal at Old Trafford.
But perhaps the story of the game can be better told by charting the fortunes of the two strikers. Rooney, the man-child of only 19, skipped around the imposing figure of sol campbell and was fell. Penalty. arsenal fans, before crying foul, should cast their minds back to the portsmouth where robert pires did a even more disgusting dive. Up stepped Ruud Van Nistelrooy, who only found the crossbar on the other side the last time the two sides met at Old Trafford. This time he found the wrong side of lehmann's dive, and the look he wore as he raced to the touchline in sheer ecstasy, skidded on his knees and let out a great shout. He wore the look of a man vindicated, the demons past exorcised from him in a single instant. A script only destiny could write.
And perhaps destiny was indeed playing a part, as as arsenal pressed forward, in their desperate search for an equaliser, the substitutes Louis Saha and Alan Smith combined to initiate a quick counter attack, putting paid to any notions that the 4 strikers at Man Utd cannot work together. With a simple square pass, Smith found the 27 million Wayne Rooney, 19 on the very same day, the same player who ended a similar unbeaten run of arsenal's to announce his arrival at the highest level, sweeping it into the net with the simplest of finishes to produce the coup de grande.
Destiny's hand was apparent.
Form is temporary, class is permanent.
And ultimately, justice, has been served.