Pride Of Manchester
(by Steve Bartram)

There are few feelings akin to watching a United performance like we saw against City. Watching ten red-shirted heroes battle tooth and claw to see off our local rivals is enough to remind you why we should be proud to support Manchester United.
In the midst of media criticism and the backlash of a number of our own fans, it's easy to labour under the delusion that trophies are the only important aspect of football.

But the victory over City was almost totally divorced from the issue of progression to the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. It was about digging in in the wake of stinging criticism and at the door of adversity to reaffirm how much being associated with United means.

Saturday's tabloids contained Roy Keane's annual tirade at his team-mates. In reference to some of the club's younger players, the Irishman said: "They need to remember just how lucky we all are to play for Manchester United and show that out on the pitch."

I defy anybody to say that the nine men who finished the game alongside Keano hadn't shown their captain just what it meant to don the red shirt.

A succession of sloppy goals conceded in preceding games had given the media all the ammunition they needed to fill column inches. With United a goal up but shorn of an uncharacteristically reckless Gary Neville at half-time, the press box would have been teeming with journalists reserving their back page lead for another defensive collapse.

But rather than wilt, United stood firm and defended as a team. The back four kept City at bay during a breathless twenty-minute period at the start of the second half, aided and abetted by Tim Howard's phenomenal reflexes.

The midfield worked tirelessly, alternating between aiding the besieged defence and the isolated Ruud van Nistelrooy, who battled all afternoon as United strived to build on Paul Scholes' first-half opener.

And when Ruud hooked home the second goal - almost at the expense of his fertility after crashing into the post - one look around the stadium yielded unbridled joy in every corner. (OK, so East Stand Tier 2 and the adjoining corner of the South Stand seemed a bit subdued but we'll forget about them.)

Cristiano Ronaldo, whose measured cross put the goal on a plate for Van Nistelrooy, put in a performance of perpetual motion and bagged his second goal for the club to send Old Trafford into further rapture.

Ruud's second was bookended by two City goals which denied the defence a confidence-boosting clean sheet, but ultimately they counted for nothing as United put in a matchwinning performance which smacked of hurt pride.

So all hail the ten red heroes. The team may yet end up without a trophy at the end of the season, but they have once again reaffirmed the faith which some United fans take for granted, and reminded us why we are proud to be Red.

(from manutd.com)