United slip offers Blues hope
Mark Viduka earner 'Boro a point at Old Trafford
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Saturday, 21, Apr 2007 07:47
A dogged defensive display from Middlesbrough earned them a 1-1 against Manchester United, while also threatening to blow open the title race.
The result leaves Manchester United four points clear of second-placed Chelsea with Jose Mourinho's men playing their game in hand away to Newcastle tomorrow.
It had seemed that United were set to heap pressure on the Blues when they opened the scoring after just two minutes.
Kieran Richardson profited from excellent work from Wayne Rooney and Paul Scholes to seemingly set the leaders on their way to a six-point cushion.
After succumbing to five defeats in their last six games there seemed little chance of 'Boro fighting back, but they refused to conform to expectations of an uninterested mid-table side as they pushed their way back into the game.
Mark Viduka was a constant threat to the patched-up Manchester United defence and the burly Australian levelled the game on the stroke of half-time as he fought his way in front of Wes Brown and buried a diving header.
The former Leeds forward could have had a second when his powerful strike was beaten away by Edwin Van der Sar and his team-mates were soon following his excellent example.
Lee Cattermole sent an effort fizzing past the Dutchman's post and although Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ryan Giggs were ushered on off the bench, the hosts could find no way through.
Gareth Southgate might even have been celebrating a famous win had the referee looked more severely on John O'Shea's challenge on Lee Dong-Gook as the final whistle neared.