Report by Dave Coleman

Not the win that we wanted but getting a draw away from home coming from behind against a decent team cant be a bad result. The first half was very like a season opener which in effect it almost was. I would say we were the slightly better team for most of the half. Few chances were made by either team our best being a first time attempt by Rashford that the goalkeeper managed to save De Gea style with his foot. Within a couple of minutes a poor defensive header by Shaw a flat footed piece of defending by Maguire and a weak attempt at a save by De Gea and we go 1-0 down. Yet another goalkeeping mistake a habit that De Gea needs to shake before he regains his status as one of the best in the world. He went some way to making amends with a save from a header a little later but lm sure he himself would expect to have made it. So half time 1-0 down and we hadnt really got going. The second half was dominated by us for certainly the first 35 minutes. We were better but struggling to break a typical Mourinho defence down for the first 15-20 mimutes of the half. But then Pogba and Greenwood came on for Fred and James and almost immediately the change was obvious. We were more effective and direct and had constant pressure. Mourinho closed up his defence with a couple of substitutions and it became a little more difficult but we still dominated. Pogba tricked his way into the penalty area down our right and was brought down to win us a penalty. Fernandes took the penalty and comfortably sent the goalkeeper the wrong way to equalise. I hoped we would then go on to win the match but to be fair Spurs did come a bit more into it. We did have 1 or 2 good efforts that could perhaps have won us the game but it wasnt to be. De Gea is still not the keeper he was, defensively l thought we got better as the game went on though l think Bailly for Lindelöf is the way to go. Midfield was workmanlike but not creative enough and gave away the ball a little too much. James Martial and Rashford all looked a little rusty though Martial and Rashford brought good saves from the keeper. Pogba and Greenwood made a big difference and maybe earned starting places for the next match. No doubt once again Fernandes was MOTM. Next match is home to Sheffield United in Premier League on Wednesday. Come on United. 🇾🇪