Ferguson hails ´massive result´

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson hailed his side’s win over West Brom on Saturday as ‘massive’ for the club’s title hopes.

Despite the hosts having 18 shots on goal to Manchester United’s five at The Hawthorns, the visitors emerged with a gutsy 2-1 victory thanks to goals from Wayne Rooney and Javier Hernandez.

The visitors were lucky – Peter Odemwingie missed a second-half penalty and Gary Neville was fortunate to avoid being sent off – and Ferguson could not hide his delight post-match.

“It was a really tough game, with a greasy pitch, they had three midfield players in there, plenty of shots at goal, but they are a good footballing team and they proved that today,” Ferguson told SkySports.

“It is a massive result for us today, a lot of games you have to battle and we had to do that today. As I said, of all the times we have won leagues in the past we have had performances like this where they have battled all the way.”

Ferguson admitted West Brom should have had another penalty, after his defender Gary Neville brought down Graham Dorrans with the Scottish midfielder clear on goal.

“Gary was lucky to stay on,” said Ferguson. “It was a penalty. At first I thought he had got a touch but when I saw it again, he was lucky.”

West Brom manager Roberto di Matteo agreed Neville should have been sent off, but was disappointed with his side’s failure to convert their dominance into a victory as the Baggies slipped to 14th on the table.

“We lost points again today, and that has been a little bit the story of the last few weeks that we come off with good performances but no points and we need to change this,” Di Matteo said.

“My view, and from what I watched, it was a clear penalty and sending off, and it completely changes the game.”

“We have to win games and pick up points, and not just play well, but at the moment it is not going for us.”