Sunderland 0 Manchester Utd 0:FAULTY PLUMBING deep inside Sunderland's supposedly state- of-the-art stadium allied to Manchester United's collective exhaustion ensured the "human factor" loomed large.
Long before a burst sewage pipe caused the ceiling in the away dressingroom to delay kick-off by collapsing, Alex Ferguson's charges were battling the sort of fatigue levels even Old Trafford's cutting-edge sports science staff cannot combat.
As the stench rose and United's personnel saw their ruined suits, shoes and washbags loaded into bin bags for immediate incineration - although one poor backroom boy had to clean the shinpads - the prospect of filling out multiple insurance forms was not their principal worry.
Champions League victory in Valencia on Wednesday night followed by a draining flight and long queues at Manchester airport's passport control were taking their toll. If Friday's subsequently lengthy drive north-east did not help, the four changes Ferguson made in order to refresh his tired team merely played into the hands of an improving Sunderland who look genuine top half of the table material.
"When you play in Europe midweek it's always hard so, if we wanted to beat United, this was the time," said Bolo Zenden, an influential figure on the left of Steve Bruce's five-man midfield. "We played United at the right time. They were fatigued and we pressured them, we dictated the game. It wouldn't have been a surprise if we'd won."
Ferguson's players might well have fared considerably better had they been flown direct to Durham-Tees Valley airport on Thursday and borrowed Middlesbrough's excellent, available for hire, training facilities on Friday. Instead the three-hour trans-Pennine motorway trip exacerbated the exhaustion, possibly contributing to a fourth successive away draw.
"There was a lot of travelling involved in getting back from Spain and then getting up here," said Edwin van der Sar. "Our offensive game wasn't really good enough."
The busier goalkeeper, he saw a Zenden shot strike the woodwork during a first half in which the otherwise excellent Steed Malbranque must be still ruing his decision to try to slip a shot under Van der Sar rather than lift it over him when unmarked.
It enabled the Dutchman to block with a knee, undoing all Malbranque's good work in collecting Lee Cattermole's fine pass and surging beyond Nemanja Vidic.
Michael Owen was offered a rare start for United but, utterly anonymous alongside Federico Macheda, he was replaced by Dimitar Berbatov at half-time.
Although United began in 4-4-2 guise here, Ferguson's enthusiasm for assorted lone striker formations have left Owen out of fashion. Perhaps a mooted January reunion with Gerard Houllier and Emile Heskey at Aston Villa can offer England's once most feared striker an Indian summer.
Although Berbatov's ability to play "between the lines" improved United, the elusive Bulgarian lacked proper service before spurning his one decent shooting chance.
Guardian Service
