'They don't give up': Erik ten Hag pleased Manchester United showed will to win


Steve Luckings
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Erik ten Hag said he was concerned by Manchester United's profligacy in front of goal but praised his players' self-belief in securing a late win over Europa League minnows Omonia Nicosia on Thursday.

United had 34 shots and dominated possession in the Group E encounter but were unable to break the deadlock until substitute Scott McTominay scored in the 93rd minute.

"I would say the performance till the box was good, but then the finishing of course was not that good. Let's hope that we have saved the goals for the coming week," Ten Hag told reporters.

He said his team have enough creativity to win matches but that some of his players just had an off-night in front of goal.

"What the good thing is, and I have to credit the team for that, they keep going and they don't give up," he added. "They keep believing [that they could] score and in the end, they got rewarded. And that is the way you have to do it.

"I had unluckily many more nights where you play well, you create chances but you don’t net. Football is about scoring goals and avoiding them."

Marcus Rashford had 10 of the hosts’ 32 shots on a night when Omonia goalkeeper Uzoho incredibly made 12 saves.

Fabiano impressed between the sticks last Thursday as the Cypriot side lost 3-2 at home to United, but a shoulder injury meant the Nigeria international started against the side he supports.

Man United ratings v Omonia

Uzoho admitted it was the performance of his life and the delighted goalkeeper even asked for a photo with Ten Hag before United’s press conference.

“I said well done [to him],” the Dutchman said.

“He had many, many saves, so many clear goals were not in, so we kept them in the game.

“I would say the performance until the box was good but then the finishing was not that good tonight. Let’s hope that we save the goals for the coming week.”

Omnia boss Neil Lennon said of Uzoho: “He was outstanding. He was inspired and when you play a team with this calibre with a team of our calibre you need your goalkeeper to play well and he was just world-class tonight. I’m so happy for him."

Group leaders Real Sociedad have sealed their spot in the next round while United are six points ahead of Sheriff Tiraspol, with Omonia bottom after losing all four of their games.

United host Sheriff on October 27 before finishing their group campaign with a trip to Spain to face Real Sociedad on November 3.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Why it pays to compare

A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.

Route 1: bank transfer

The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.

Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount

Total received: €4,670.30 

Route 2: online platform

The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.

Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction

Total received: €4,756

The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.

Updated: October 14, 2022, 10:23 AM`