16/04/2011 19:33, Report by Adam Marshall
Edwin van der Sar felt United just ran out of luck after going down to a derby defeat to City at Wembley.
The Dutchman believed the Reds were not at their best on the sapping surface and admitted the team felt a little tired in the closing stages. However, he hopes for an improved showing at St James' Park on Tuesday and that Liverpool do us a favour on Sunday at Arsenal.
"We started a bit slow but had two chances in quick succession," he told MUTV. "If one of those goes in, maybe it's a different game and they would have to chase us.
"In the second half, when they scored, we went to 10 men, one man down, and it was hard to chase and try to get the equaliser. We had some half-chances or possibilities to get the ball into the box but nothing really materialised. We were hoping for that famous injury-time goal again but I think our luck ran out a little bit.
"You never know, it's always nicer when you score first but that didn't happen and the goal we conceded was a bit scrappy. It's not the way we normally defend so we have to do something to take the blame - all the players who have been on the pitch. Nobody really performed to their standard I think. So we need to make sure we do better on Tuesday."
In terms of City being organised during the closing stages, the Dutchman felt the Reds were starting to feel tired on the Wembley pitch.
"It's normal, of course City tried to be organised and strong," he said. "They put Shaun Wright-Phillips on near the end for more pace up front. We had a go in the last 20 minutes but just maybe we were a bit tired also in the end. We have played quite a big amount of games in the last three or four weeks. It's easier to defend something than to make a goal."
The match on Newcastle is another test of the Reds' mettle as the side look to bounce back from Saturday's disappointment.
"It depends on the result of course," van der Sar replied when asked if it's useful to have a match coming up so quickly. "We have got two days to recover from this game then, on Tuesday, it's an important game.
"First we have to watch our friends from up north playing against Arsenal and let's hope they make it a nice game.
"As a player, we don't really think about that [the Double]. We know which games are coming and we're going to focus on them and hopefully we manage to get the other two [trophies]."
Credit: Manchester United (www.manutd.com)
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