Kevin McCarra

at Old Trafford

It was an afternoon of cancellations that left observers wishing there had been a postponement. An unfulfilling match would only have assumed a firm character if the referee Paul Durkin had listened to Alan Shearer's justified claims for a penalty or allowed a Mikael Silvestre goal for Manchester United that was on the borderline of legality.

An unsatisfactory occasion had charm for the visitors in any case. Newcastle United ought to have been riled into action as they skimmed through the match programme. In his column Alex Ferguson recalled the 5-3 and 6-2 wins in this fixture last season and predicted his opposite number would still have hailed those occasions as "great goalscoring spectacles".

References to Bobby Robson's idealism create a certain ambivalence. Streetwise figures will think these compliments earmark Newcastle as suckers. They took great care not to be the fall guys here, however, and United, after two taxing away games in the last week, were not permitted to coast.

The visitors avoided being as porous in midfield as they often are and Ferguson's side, beginning with only Ruud van Nistelrooy in outright attack, were not their usual irresistible selves. There was a semi-superstitious expectation of a last-minute winner from them but they wilted as the clock ticked down.

Soon the Old Trafford regulars were on their way home, rationalising the disappointment into an acceptance that they top the Premiership by dint of the point gleaned here. It will take more fixtures before they can tell whether they ought to be concerned by some of the events laid before them.

United began with the relatively new formation that smacks of continental aspirations. It allows for plenty of players to group behind the ball and thereby keep the side watertight, but the attacking enterprise then depends totally on the subtlety and sharpness with which individuals break out from deep positions.

Ferguson's team were highly unsuccessful in that capacity. Ryan Giggs went off with a back strain, Kleberson had more industry than imagination and Paul Scholes made a commonplace contribution. The introduction of Diego Forlan showed the United manager endeavouring to return his side to an old-fashioned approach.

After scoring in four consecutive games in the autumn, though, the Uruguayan is starting to be seen, yet again, as the kind of person whom Ferguson might employ as a makeweight in the transfer market. This, in any case, was definitely a game to bring signings back to the top of the agenda.

The dependence on van Nistelrooy cannot be reduced to acceptable levels by scoring contributions from midfielders. Ferguson requires another forward and the overtures for Fulham's Louis Saha are unlikely to come to a halt just because Chris Coleman considers them a breach of etiquette.

Van Nistelrooy was burdened by weariness, with the debilitation aggravated by the attentions of Jonathan Woodgate. The centre-half was the most consistent player on the pitch, presenting himself as a very attractive replacement for Rio Ferdinand at Euro 2004.

After 26 minutes came the decision which seemed to galvanise the away fans. Gary Neville was short with a pass-back and Shearer happily moved on to the ball and let the charging goalkeeper, Tim Howard, kick him on the shin as he tried to challenge.

The Newcastle forward underlined the offence by hitting the turf emphatically, but the unsighted referee declined to blow his whistle.

United were by far the more tantalised side here and Jermaine Jenas, with an athletic leap, was to head a Laurent Robert corner against the bar in the 57th minute. It is not long since the team were being castigated by the chairman Freddy Shepherd for their pallid efforts but the Old Trafford display continued the pleasing series of results that have followed those sharp words.

There was sustained concentration from midfielders, such as Gary Speed, who declined to leave any of United's better footballers unattended. The home team found more energy during a second-half spell, but there was a certain crudeness about their work and both Neville brothers were booked.

United could have contrived a win nonetheless. Referee Durkin declined to let a Silvestre goal stand in the 66th minute, following a corner, because he saw the Frenchman place a hand on Andy O'Brien's shoulder well before the ball was hooked into the net. That contact had merely been one element in the usual jostling at set-pieces.

The referee cannot be said to have been absolutely wrong, but on another day that sort of goalmouth exchange might have been ignored.

Although the players could not present us with a riveting game, Durkin's various rulings at least delivered a just result.

Guardian Service