Blackburn manager Graeme Souness was left fuming last night after a quick free-kick cost his side a victory over Premiership champions Manchester United. David Beckham levelled the scores at 2-2 in last night's clash between the two clubs at Ewood Park after he spotted goalkeeper Brad Friedel off his line.
The England captain chipped the ball over the keeper's head after United were awarded a free-kick just outside the area following a crunching tackle by Craig Short on Dwight Yorke, which earned the Blackburn player a red card. Referee Alan Wiley allowed the goal to stand much to the disgust of Souness who believes Short had not even left the field before Beckham took fired home his cheeky free-kick, and that Wiley had not whistled to signal the kick could be taken.
"All night the referee's been saying `wait until I blow my whistle'. You have to say it was great play by David Beckham but it's inconsistency. David Seaman was saying the same thing last night. It was a frustrating way to lose our lead. It sticks in your throat," said the former Liverpool manager.
However, Souness was not the only one who was upset with last night's result. Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson, although delighted with Beckham's quick-thinking, was angry that his team did not win the tie. "It was an absolute throwaway. We are sitting here wondering how we dropped those points," said the exasperated Scot.
"When you are down 1-0 at half-time and getting an absolute doing you are going to come out and do something emotionally and physically and I spoke about that at half-time and said we can't allow this to happen. We didn't react at all to it. Carelessness, slackness, it was unbelievable. For 15 minutes we deserved what we got and were punished for playing without common sense and from a position of great control we were scrambling to get a point towards the end," he added.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
