Newcastle United 0 // Manchester United 0
NEWCASTLE // Manchester United's title challenge has been built on an ability to overcome all-comers at Old Trafford and a habit of picking up points without always convincing on their travels.
It has proved invaluable. If their away record is far from outstanding, it is nevertheless a reason why they awake this morning with a seven-point lead at the summit of the Premier League.
A hard-fought draw served purposes for both teams, nudging Sir Alex Ferguson's team nearer to an historic 19th title and enabling Newcastle to reach the 40-point barrier.
The two clubs' suffix was apt - they were united in effort as well as in a share of the spoils.
For Manchester United, this is a rare occasion when they have failed to score in successive games but stalemate is rarely as inappropriate a term. This was fresh and frenetic, endearingly open if ultimately inconclusive.
The visitors' clean sheet owed much to the defiance of Nemanja Vidic, especially in a first half they spent largely on the defensive. They were troubled on Tyneside as Newcastle attacked them with verve, the Magpies deploying an age-old approach designed to endear them to the St James' Park crowd.
At a club where wingers tend to be cherished, Newcastle played with width and using the contrasting styles on either flank, with Joey Barton's measured crossing an antidote to Jonas Gutierrez's manic dribbling.
Pressure was not converted into chances, however, until the stroke of half-time when Barton picked out an unmarked Peter Lovenkrands, who headed wastefully wide.
While they played on the front foot, the league leaders had clear-cut opportunities on the counter attack.
Ferguson had recalled his first-choice strikers, with Javier Hernandez a substitute in Saturday's FA Cup defeat to Manchester City while Wayne Rooney returned from a two-match suspension.
Each proved capable of breaking at pace. Tim Krul made a point-blank block to thwart the Mexican, who had been supplied by his fellow forward, while the Englishman bulldozed his way through and then blazed over.
Hernandez's pace meant he posed a permanent threat. When he dragged Newcastle deeper, it fashioned space for others.
So it was for the best chance of the game, Patrice Evra cutting the ball back from the byline for Ryan Giggs. Having ghosted into the space, the veteran, to his own disbelief, sent his shot bobbling just wide.
Nani and Rooney were off target, too, as they finished much the stronger with Hernandez cautioned for simulation when Danny Simpson's challenge could have produced a penalty.
The latter stages were also notable for two brief cameos. Michael Owen, relegated with Newcastle in 2009, emerged to jeers from the home crowd.
The hosts, meanwhile, gave a belated debut for Stephen Ireland, signed on loan in January, and the former City midfielder's first meaningful contribution was a volley that narrowly missed Edwin van der Sar's near post.
While Mancunian one-upmanship may be restricted to Wembley, Newcastle held their own. They are all but safe now which ranks as an achievement for any promoted club, even one as big as them.
sports@thenational.ae
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The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
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more from Janine di Giovanni
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
