A win was still a win and the momentum was still on. It was important not to drop points after the three hauled at the Emirates last weekend. All that good work could be unravelled a careless drop in points against the supposedly weaker team in Sunderland. So, concentration was key, and we saw plenty of that focus on the first stages of the game.
We were rewarded with two goals in then first quarter of the match. First being presented to van Persie by a former United player, John O'Shea. He failed to deal a low cross from Ashley Young, parrying the ball towards the predatory Dutchman who passed the ball onto the top of the net. Cool finish.
The second was a well-worked team effort. The ball was initially brought forward by Phil Jones playing at right back. The play was switched when eventually Cleverley got the possession at the far end playing a pass back to Carrick who returned the ball via a defence-splitting pass back yo Claverley. He side footed the bal past the despairing Mignolet in Sunderland goal.
The other plus point was then return of Nemanja Vidic. But he was not able to to earn United a clean sheet. In fact he was at fault for failing to clear the ball inside the six-yard box, allowing a free header at the far end. He would be better once he got more games under his belt I was sure.
The main thing was, the win maintained a six-point lead at the summit of the league. There was still plenty to play for, but it was telling that we were in this position despite not yet hitting our stride. Come the business end of the season, I hope that the defence would be tighter. We really could do with clean sheets.
