From The Touchlines

ROONEY HITS BACK: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (left) jubilates after scoring United’s third goal in their 4-2 defeat of Everton.

A goalkeeping blunder, an own goal by Phil Neville and a goal by former Evertonian hitman Wayne Rooney paved the way for a comprehensive Manchester United victory over Everton, after what had seemed to be a straightforward route to victory for the home side.

Despite taking a two-goal lead at Goodison Park, David Moyes’ men were powerless to stop Manchester United from drawing level and then netting the winners, of which youngster Chris Eagles also had a share of the cake in the 4-2 win over their opponents.

The win comes as a big bonus to United, as news of Chelsea’s 2-2 draw against Bolton Wanderers filtered in, which means United have now opened up a five-point gap against the defending champions.

Both teams started with compounding injury problems, with Everton’s Andy Johnson out with injury and James McFadden as well as James Beattie passing late fitness tests. Tim Howard missed out due to his loan term conditions.

Needless to say, United’s top defenders were still on the sidelines.

Everton’s injury woes gave way for James Vaughan and just-returned Iain Turner to start.

As for United, Cristiano Ronaldo was surprisingly left on the bench as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer slipped into the Portuguese winger’s position on the right. But Ronaldo would have an impact on the match later on.

Everton began bright and early. With only two minutes on the clock, defender Joleon Lescott nearly put the Merseysiders ahead when his header grazed Edwin van der Sar’s crossbar on its way out.

They continued to keep possession for long periods after that with United unable to get the ball away from them.

And one of the attacks resulted in a freekick as Patrice Evra needlessly fouled Mikael Arteta. Up stepped Alan Stubbs and he nailed the freekick solidly into goal, albeit with a harrowing deflection by Michael Carrick.

Replays showed that van der Sar had had it covered, only for the former Spurs man to stick out a foot and deflect it into goal.

United almost took another blow moments later, when Solskjaer went down after getting a knock. Ronaldo was then sent to do his runs and warm up – but the Norwegian was back up.

But United fans would have been calling for Ronaldo to be brought on immediately, considering United were a goal down and their defence taking a battering from the Everton strikeforce.

It was only after 19 minutes United began to look like contenders for the title, when Rooney powered a drive that was put out by Everton keeper Turner, and subsequently had a header saved by Turner again.

Alan Smith could have levelled matters 24 minutes into the match, but after a nice interplay with Ryan Giggs, he still managed to drive the ball wide under no pressure from Stubbs.

Rooney tried a header from Carrick’s long ball five minutes later, but there was not enough power on it to cause any trouble for Turner, who seemed to be dealing with United’s attacks relatively easily.

Everton then put themselves through a lean spell in the United half, with the Devils unable to steer the ball out of the area, despite the fact that although Everton had most of the ball, they were not really threatening United’s goal.

But when they finally got out, Rooney failed to connect with a beautiful cross from Giggs, a mirror image to the chance he had against AC Milan in the Champions League semifinal first leg on Tuesday.

The half ended with a half chance by Giggs and Arteta, but, undoubtedly, Everton held the upper hand going into the break.

A medium speed, not-so-hot hairdryer session by Sir Alex Ferguson would have done the job at halftime, and it showed three minutes into the second half when both Rooney and Paul Scholes had their shots blocked by a stern Everton defence.

It was clear Everton were not going to allow any breach, but on the other end, Manuel Fernandes put the home side 2-0 up after 50 minutes, with a screamer that left United bewildered and wondering what to do.

Two minutes after getting the shocker, United were denied two good chances when Turner thwarted Rooney’s effort on goal, and saved Giggs’ freekick.

You would think by now, Ferguson would have brought on his star player. Sorry to disappoint you, but he didn’t.

Instead, he decided to take Evra off and replaced him with Kieran Richardson – a decision which showed that Ferguson was determined not to risk Ronaldo in light of the upcoming Champions League semifinal second leg in Italy.

Carrick, who was responsible for the first goal, tried to make amends after 57 minutes, but did not make much of a good effort as his shot spun wide.

Smith did not do very well either two minutes later when he sent his shot over the top.

But on the hour mark, things started to look a little brighter for United, when Giggs’ corner was poked home into the net by John O’Shea – but after Turner had done a terrible job by spilling it.

Over at the Bridge, Chelsea were being held by a patched up Bolton, and United knew if they could get one more goal back, it would be a real morale booster for them.

Rooney nearly did that two minutes later when he expertly got away from his marker and with the ball at his feet, drove a nice ball, only to see it saved by the onrushing Turner and the latter’s defender clearing the trash.

Finally, as if timed to perfection, Ferguson brought Ronaldo in place of Smith and moments later, fired a shot that was saved rather easily by Turner.

Solskjaer was also in with a chance a minute after, but a deliberate handball ruined everything for him as Everton continued to try and keep their defence water tight, as the Norwegian seemed to have been given too much space deep into Turner’s area.

Rooney had a copycat version of his earlier chance when he got away from his marker again, but this time his pass was a bit overweighted and the ball was easily dealt with by the Everton defence.

Three minutes later, the face of the game changed. And United have an old boy to thank for it.

Ronaldo was really making an impact after his introduction, and he powered a header from Carrick’s corner that was blocked by Turner’s splayed legs but did not completely douse the threat in the 67th minute.

The Everton defence would come to rue that as a mad scramble right in front goal resulted in a panicky Neville putting the ball into his own net, and it sent United – backroom staff and players alike – into a frenzy.

But obviously, the most relieved person would have been Carrick.

With the game now set at 2-2, Moyes made an offensive switch by bringing on James Beattie and James McFadden for Vaughan and Leon Osman respectively, in hopes of spurring his team to get back the lead they held for much of the match.

A series of half-chances from Arteta and Ronaldo followed, but old boy Rooney would be the one to silence the Park fans with only 11 minutes to go.

But the opportunity began with a simple pass from Ronaldo to goalscorer O’Shea down the right, and the problem started there when Lee Carsley did not manage to get any distance whatsoever with his headed clearance.

However, he was more horrified when Rooney was the recipient of the failed clearance, and, despite a desperate effort by Tony Hibbert to stop Rooney, the England forward placed a shot in the far corner of Turner’s goal.

Audaciously, Rooney then taunted the Everton fans behind the goal and lifted his arms in celebration, as the rest of his teammates ran towards him and stuck to him like glue.

On the touchlines, the United bench were up and punching the air in glee as United now knew they were going to get all three points.

This, considering the fact that Chelsea were still not able to break down the Bolton defence for the winning goal.

Rooney nearly had a brace five minutes later, but Turner held his shot well.

Ronaldo then had, ultimately, the best chance of the match when he beat the offside trap and sprinted towards goal.

One-on-one with Turner, however, Ronaldo was embarassingly only able to send a shot into Turner’s body, and the Portuguese winger was really, really unhappy with himself, long even after the ball had been cleared.

Turner again came out on top on 90 minutes when he blocked Ronaldo’s shot, but he was unable to prevent a fourth United goal from going in.

Chris Eagles repaid Ferguson’s faith in him when he latched onto Rooney’s lofted pass and, despite stumbling a little, the youngster picked his spot and brilliantly shot beyond Turner and into the net.

Solskjaer would have been proud of his successor, but more importantly, United had taken a giant step towards wrenching the title away from Chelsea, who had, by the way, drawn their match against Bolton.

Of course, United have Bolton to thank for the little “favour”.

I’M SO PROUD OF YOU: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (second from right) jubilantly moves to hug his players Michael Carrick and Cristiano Ronaldo as Everton’s Mikael Arteta walks off dejectedly after his side lost a thrilling encounter at home.

IT’S GOING IN: AC Milan’s goalkeeper Dida tries in vain to stop Cristiano Ronaldo’s header for the opening goal from going in, although Gabriel Heinze made sure he didn’t get anywhere near the ball in their Champions League semifinal encounter at Old Trafford. United won 3-2.

It took a last-gasp winner from Wayne Rooney to give Manchester United a slight edge over AC Milan, edging out the Italian champions 3-2 in their first leg Champions League semifinal encounter at Old Trafford.

Newly crowned PFA Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo had earlier given United a first-half lead, before Milan’s Kaka nailed two in 15 minutes in the first half to give Milan the slightest of advantage.

But as it turned out, Rooney was the toast of Old Trafford as he made the playing field level in the second half, before shocking the Red Devils of Italy with a well-taken goal.

United had begun the match without three of their first-team defenders – Gary Neville, Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, and Sir Alex Ferguson opted to play his players in a 4-3-3 position with Rooney, Ronaldo and Ryan Giggs upfront.

Alan Smith was left on the bench together with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. In fact, there was no substitution on the part of United to speak of.

United began bright an early, when after five minutes Darren Fletcher placed the perfect throughball to Rooney, but only for the latter’s shot to be deflected over the bar by Italian World Cup winner Alessandro Nesta with a sliding tackle.

It only took the resulting corner, and as United had done numerous times, converted an early chance when Ronaldo’s header was deflected by Dida, and though the Brazilian tried to stop it, could only parry the ball into his own net.

Ronaldo struck wide three minutes later, before having a header on target after 10 minutes.

Milan seemed to get a wake up call then as they held on to possession well to try and find a quick equaliser, with Kaka having his shot saved by Edwin van der Sar a minute after.

Ronaldo soon showed what he was made of when he bamboozled through the Milan defence marshalled by team skipper Paolo Maldini, but found himself wanting as the Milan backline was alert to his tricks.

However, the Milan defence was put to a stern test moments later, when United were allowed to place passes deep in the Milan half.

But with a really telling pass from Giggs, Michael Carrick tried his luck with a little luck on goal, though Dida was equal to the task of smothering Carrick’s miscued effort.

The resulting corner was dealt with easily by Milan.

Milan then gave their defenders a break when the strikeforce, headed by Kaka, went on the offensive again to level matters at the Theater of Dreams, but the attack yielded nothing in return.

But halfway through the second half, the score changed.

Three-times Champions League winner Clarence Seedorf, who had been inspirational in Milan’s last win over Bayern Munich, placed a perfect pass which Kaka latched on with ease.

PARITY RESTORED: AC Milan’s Kaka (right) celebrates the equalising goal against Manchester United in their Champions League first leg semifinal encounter at Old Trafford. United won 3-2.

And with stand-in centreback Gabriel Heinze hot on his heels, Kaka still managed to strike the ball past van der Sar into the far corner of the net to make it 1-1 and one precious away goal.

Five minutes later, Giggs squandered a good chance to restore the lead when he headed just over the bar from Fletcher’s cross.

It was the same story for Rooney on the half-hour mark, when he failed to connect with a deep Giggs low cross.

Ronaldo then had another shot on target when, instead of power, opted for precision, and made Dida look uncomfortable before the latter pushed the shot away.

The crisis in United’s defence, however, was really showing.

A mix up between Heinze and Patrice Evra paved the way for Kaka, who produced a clean strike into the net after a one-on-one with van der Sar (below) after 38 minutes.

It would seem like Milan were starting to get a foothold of the match.

And so it was when playmaker Kaka then brought out a fine save from van der Sar, as the former’s stinging drive from way out was too hot to handle.

Nesta followed up with a header from the resulting corner, but it was just over the bar.

United’s problems in defence took another blow when Evra, already on a yellow card from previous matches, made a tackle on Massimo Oddo, which the referee deemed it fit to flash a yellow card in his face.

This means United will have FOUR first-team defenders missing from the return leg at the San Siro, and will entirely have to rely on a not-always-so convincing United makeshift defence.

Evra was really walking on thin ice after that with a professional foul on Gennaro Gattuso just before the break, and left the latter not particularly amused.

Gattuso had to leave the pitch temporarily for treatment, but was back on soon enough.

The ensuing freekick by Andrea Pirlo was wayward.

While Carlo Ancelotti was overtly the happier manager at the break, Ferguson was not about to press the panic button just yet, although his players would have gotten an earful from him in the dressing room.

Well, Ferguson’s hairdryer sessions are, to say the least, critically-acclaimed.

OK, joke’s over. Now back to business.

Milan made an unusual switch at halftime when Ancelotti chose to rest Maldini and brought on Daniele Bonera in his place. Ancelotti would subsequently make more changes in his defence throughout the second half.

The pep talk by Fergie at halftime seemed to work on the United players, with Carrick striking agonisingly wide three minutes on.

But there was a stoppage five minutes later, when Gattuso had to be taken off after he had apparently failed to shake off the knock caused by Evra.

Cristian Brocchi came on to take his spot.

Kaka picked up where he left off in the first half when he beat the offside trap to latch onto the ball, but was found wanting as his drive from a relatively tight angle rolled harmlessly wide.

The Brazilian playmaker then started a beautiful move four minutes later, but this time Wes Brown stopped him in his tracks with a good tackle.

But two minutes later, it was game on again.

Rooney, upon receiving a lofted pass down the middle and surrounded by buzzing Milan defenders, managed to steer himself away from them with a fine first touch.

Even an onrushing Dida could not prevent the England forward from shooting just right, and though the retired Brazilian got a hand to it (below), could not stop it from going into goal.

It was THE goal United had been waiting for to spur them on to try and find the winner, as Rooney urged his teammates on to not give up (above).

Subsequently United had a good spell in the Milan half, fraying a few nerves along the way, but not being as lethal as they were against AS Roma.

Fletcher was possibly having the best match since the tie against Roma, when he fired a shot into the path of Dida after 69 minutes, who only just managed to push the midfielder’s strike out.

A series of freekicks for United in an oh-so-wonderful position saw Giggs striking the ball just off the far post, and another was easily saved by Dida, all in the space of four minutes.

Milan were feeling the heat of a much changed United side, with Kaka piling his fouls more than creating chances.

On both ends, John O’Shea and Andrea Pirlo produced relatively easy saves for the shot stoppers on the night with 15 minutes to go.

Rooney struck wide four minutes later, before fellow teammates Ronaldo and Fletcher nearly nailed the winner for the Red Devils of England.

YOU WANT A PIECE OF ME?: Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs and AC Milan’s Kaka locked horns as the second half steamed into action. Both players were yellow carded.

After Ancelotti made his final substitution by bringing on Yoann Gourcuff for the inefficient Alberto Gilardino, it would seem the Milan manager was happy to take this scoreline with him back to Italy.

But just when anybody thought the match was heading for a draw, Giggs again produced another scintillating display when he stole the ball from substitute Brocchi in his own half, before managing a run down the right flank and placing an inch-perfect pass to Rooney.

And before anyone knew anything, Rooney struck with the killer touch a minute into injury time with a first-time taken fierce drive that was well beyond the reach of Dida (below).

Old Trafford erupted like never before; Fergie was, undoubtedly, delighted.

With the most slender of advantages, United are just a little ahead of their Italian counterparts going into the second leg at the San Siro.

But a psychological blow was, inadvertently, delivered in Milan’s face.

However, it’s all still to play for in the return match next week as United go in search of their second treble.

Manchester United went six points clear of Chelsea yesterday when they overcame a determined but somehow ineffective Sheffield United 2-0 in an English Premiership match.

Early goals in either half by Michael Carrick and Wayne Rooney sealed a precious victory for the Red Devils, who had lost their last Premiership match to Portsmouth.

The win takes them six points clear at the top, at least for a whole day before Chelsea take on West Ham United at Upton Park.

While Neil Warnock made five changes from the side that thrashed West Ham 3-0 over the weekend, United manager Sir Alex Ferguson took the opportunity to rest keeper Edwin van der Sar, who had a really tough time against Watford in the FA Cup semifinals.

Tomas Kuszczak featured in goal, with Darren Fletcher again slotted in at rightback and Gabriel Heinze partnering Wes Brown in central defence, in light of a groin injury suffered by Rio Ferdinand in the match against Watford.

Ryan Giggs featured in his 500th league appearance for the Devils, and was set to mesmerize the Blades with his youthful runs.

But three minutes into the match, it was Sheffield who created the first chance through Michael Tonge, when his freekick was well saved by Kuszczak.

The initial foul had been committed by Paul Scholes on Luton Shelton.

A minute later, however, United showed what they knew best – creating their first chance and converting it.

Portuguese stalwart Cristiano Ronaldo again toyed with the Sheffield defenders, and spotting Carrick down the middle, he played the perfect throughball to the latter, who picked it up brilliantly to score, despite being closed down rapidly by Paddy Kenny.

It was Carrick’s third goal in three matches, since scoring a double against AS Roma in the 7-1 mauling of the Italian giants.

Carrick turned in an assist after five minutes, with a neatly placed cross which landed at the feet of Rooney.

In spite of all Rooney’s efforts, Carrick’s assist was not going to count as the former’s shot was sublimely blocked by Blades keeper Kenny.

The follow-up by Scholes was just over the crossbar.

Five minutes later, Ronaldo was on the prowl again. This time he placed a pass to Alan Smith who was on the overlap on the left, but Smith’s ball into the area was quickly cleared out for a corner by Blades skipper Chris Morgan.

Tonge then had another shot on target after 12 minutes, before Giggs showed he had still much to offer with a run down the left Ronaldo would have been proud of.

However, Giggs only had the advertisement boards for company as he was forced into a tight angle.

Luton Shelton then had his chance to score after getting ahead of his marker, but failed to pulled the trigger in time as the ball was cleared to safety.

But a subsequent follow-up by Blades winger Colin Kazim-Richards on the left only seconds later resulted in a wild challenge by the former on just-returned Patrice Evra.

The challenge obviously did not leave Evra bemused, as Evra suffered a knock and was subsequently taken off and replaced by Kieran Richardson, who came in at leftback.

Smith then had a piece of him taken away by his former Leeds teammate Matthew Kilgallon, in a challenge that resulted in the forward’s pants being ripped on the left side at the back.

But it was back to real action after that, with Giggs again looking for the second goal that would secure the tie before the break.

He again showed his finesse when he went past Sheffield defenders with relative ease, only to see his shot saved after 27 minutes.

With the amount of possession they had, it came as a surprise that United were not able to blast in goals as they wished.

Rooney had another opportunity to put the ball into the back of the net, but his shot was blocked after some fine passing.

United then wasted another chance five minutes later when both Rooney and Ronaldo tried their best to score, oblivious to the fact that Carrick, at the edge of the area, was unmarked and frenetically waving his arms for the ball.

Giggs then showed his prowess again a minute later, when his pinpoint cross found the head of Rooney, whose header was saved by Kenny.

After 35 minutes, there was a moment of controversy when Rooney, in trying to retrieve Paul Scholes’ cross, seemed to have been hauled down in the box by Blades centreback Robert Kozluk.

But Rob Styles saw that the ball had hit Rooney’s hand and therefore, no penalty was given, much to the England forward’s chagrin.

Sheffield then turned the momentum on their side when Kazim-Richards, constantly getting boos from the Old Trafford crowd for his earlier challenge on Evra, sent Shelton clear a little to the right.

But it was a bit too wide for Shelton as he only managed to put the ball into the side netting.

A minute from the break, Ronaldo almost connected with Giggs’ freekick into the area, but the ball flew straight into Kenny’s hands.

Shelton subsequently showed signs of sharpness when he beat Wes Brown to the ball and played in a cross that flew past everyone in the box, including Kuszczak.

After the break, Shelton picked up where he left off and skipped past Brown down the left, but could not make much headway as Heinze was there to clear the ball.

But as they did in the first half, United converted their early chance five minutes into the second half , when Rooney expertly picked Giggs’ cross, and with a nice control using his right foot, drove the ball past Kenny for a 2-0 lead.

It was Rooney’s 13th goal in the Premier League and his 20th goal of the season, and now he is only one behind Ronaldo.

Shelton again skipped past Brown to latch on to Kilgallon’s pass after the latter had bamboozled his way down the middle.

But a lack of composure caused Shelton to blast the ball way over Kuszczak’s goal three minutes later.

Former United player Danny Webber then nearly outdid himself when, upon picking a pass, turned brilliantly in the box, with Heinze close behind him.

But there was only disappoinment for him as the ball went horribly wide after 55 minutes.

On the hour mark, Giggs nearly put his name on the scoresheet when his pass to Smith from the right was immediately palmed away.

On the other end, it was Kuszczak’s turn to prevent Shelton from pulling one back for the Blades.

The momentum kept shifting and a minute later, Smith had a shot saved by Kenny.

In a flurry of activity, Rooney sent Ronaldo clear forward, but the winger could only look on in disbelief as Kenny managed to squeeze out his shot for a corner.

Ronaldo then cleverly went past the Sheffield backline, but only to see his marker Derek Geary slide in to prevent a shot on target.

A needless tussle ensued after that between Ronaldo and Morgan, with Morgan allegedly pulling Ronaldo’s jersey and Ronaldo, on the other hand, trying to free himself from Morgan’s grip.

Styles had nothing of their little brouhaha and booked both of them.

Replays after that showed Ronaldo gesturing to Morgan, asking him, “You want my shirt?”

It was back to business two minutes later after one too many distractions to an otherwise smooth flowing match.

Giggs again went in search of that all-elusive goal that would stamp a pretty mark on a big occasion he was celebrating, but Kenny yet again stopped him in his tracks when he saved Giggs’ shot with his legs.

Another moment of controversy surfaced moments later, when Shelton seemed to have been brought down in the box by Heinze.

Shelton had earlier headed the ball forward to get ahead of the Argentine defender, but the speedy Heinze made a legal check in the box, with Shelton already one-on-one with Kuszczak.

But Styles only indicated a goal kick, which, undoubtedly, irritated Warnock and the rest of the travelling fans.

The match then proceeded smoothly for a good six minutes without any stoppage, with United contented enough to casually pass the ball around and the Blades not making much headway in front of United’s goal.

When the ball finally went out, Warnock took off Kazim-Richards and brought on former United midfielder Keith Gillespie, who had scored against his former team in the return match at Bramall Lane earlier this season.

Warnock then made another switch by bringing on Chris Armstrong for Kozluk, to try and spur his team to find a goal.

But it was Ronaldo yet again tormenting the Blades goal, with Ronaldo striking one straight into the arms of Kenny, after he had, again, beaten the defenders.

Ten minutes from time, there was to be no celebration for Giggs as he was taken off and replaced with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The Welshman looked rather displeased, but with a fixture congestion over the next two weeks, Ferguson was looking to ensure all his players were fresh and not suffer any burnout.

Action was still rife on the pitch though, with Tonge rattling the United bar with only two minutes to go.

But that was only as much as it got as United ended the match the clear winners. Warnock, however, was still not happy over the penalty which was not awarded.

The win means United are back on track to win the Premiership title and to score an unprecedented second treble.

Even as we try to make sense of what happened in Virginia Tech and mourn with those who have lost loved ones, let us also not forget the other incidents that have not only shaken this place called America, but also sent shockwaves around the world. A moment’s silence for the lives that were lost to gun violence.

1. August 1, 1966 - University of Texas student Charles Joseph Whitman, 25, known as the “Texas Tower Sniper”, shot and killed 15 people, and wounded 31 others from the university’s 27-storey tower in a mass killing before he was shot dead by Austin police. He had killed his mother and his wife the night before.
2. March 24, 1998 – Two armed middle school boys – Mitchell Johnson, 22 (then 13)and Andrew Golden, 20 (then 11) – shot and killed four female students and teacher, plus wounding nine other students and another teacher in Craighead County, Arkansas, near northwestern Jonesboro. On the morning of the massacre, the boys, both dressed in army-style camouflaged clothes, stole a van from Johnson’s home, and after loading it with camping supplies, food, and seven weapons (two semi-automatic rifles, one bolt-action rifle and four handguns) which had been stolen from Golden’s grandfather’s house. Both were charged with murder, the youngest ever in America’s history. But because of their ages, they were spared capital punishment. In August 1998, they were both sentenced to confinement until they reached the age of 21, the maximum sentence available under Arkansas law. They would have served until only 18 had federal authorities not added additional confinement for weapons charges. Mitchell Johnson was released from custody on August 11, 2005, his 21st birthday. Andrew Golden will follow on May 25, 2007. The two will have “clean slates” with no legal restrictions placed upon them and clean criminal records. Many members of the Jonesboro community have since expressed outrage, citing the facts that they will not be placed under any supervision and will be able to legally purchase firearms (Source: Wikipedia)
3. April 20, 1999 – Just over a year after the Jonesboro massacre, Americans were shocked into disbelief as another wave of shootings shattered their peace and quiet – this time Columbine High School in Jefferson County, Colorado. In this particular incident, two teenage students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, carried out a shooting rampage, killing twelve students and a teacher, as well as wounding twenty-four others, before committing suicide. It is the third-deadliest school shooting in United States history, after the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and the 1966 University of Texas massacre. They shot and killed 13 students and teachers, as well as injuring 24 others, before eventually taking their own lives. They were apparently part of a cult known as the Trenchcoat Mafia.
4. October 2, 2006 – Five girls, aged between six and 13, studying in an Amish school in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, were shot dead by Charles Roberts IV, who later committed suicide. But one thing stood out of this incident. The Amish were not vindictive towards Roberts or pointed fingers at anyone. They, instead, attended his funeral. To them, vengeance and revenge are to be left to God.
5. April 16, 2007 – Just four days before the eighth anniversary of the Columbine shootings, America yet again bore witness to another carnage - this time in the Virginia Tech campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. Thirty-three students and lecturers perished in this latest round of shootings, including the gunman himself, which Virginia state police have identified as 23-year-old Korean-American student Cho Seung-hui. This incident sent reverberations around the globe, with world leaders expressing their shock and condolences over an unthinkable act such as this. The latest round of shootings has yet again sparked the debate over gun laws.

This song, by Boyz-II-Men, is a dedication to those who have lost their loved ones. Hopefully, with God’s help, they can pick up the remnants and start over again, no matter how difficult. My heart goes out to you. God bless.

It’s So Hard To Say Goodbye To Yesterday

How do I say goodbye to what we had?
The good times that made us laugh
Outweigh the bad.

I thought we’d get to see forever
But forever’s gone away
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

I don’t know where this road
Is going to lead
All I know is where we’ve been
And what we’ve been through.

If we get to see tomorrow
I hope it’s worth all the wait
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And I’ll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

And I’ll take with me the memories
To be my sunshine after the rain
It’s so hard to say goodbye to yesterday.

FIRST BLOOD: Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney (second from right) is congratulated by his teammates after opening the scoring against Watford in the FA Cup semifinal at Villa Park. United won 4-1.

Manchester United are heading to the new Wembley stadium on May 19 after ruthlessly disposing off Watford 4-1 at Villa Park, thanks to goals by Wayne Rooney, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kieran Richardson.

Rooney was on the double, with Ronaldo converting his chance and substitute Richardson shrugging off a bad patch against Portsmouth to score against table proppers Watford.

Apart from the defence, United began with the strongest possible side, with Paul Scholes returning after being suspended for the tie against AS Roma. In the absence of Louis Saha, Alan Smith was placed upfront alongside Rooney in a 4-4-2 formation.

Patrice Evra, the scorer of the seventh goal in the 7-1 rout of Roma, featured at rightback with Gary Neville still out for at least another two weeks and John O’Shea out with injury.

With Adrian Boothroyd’s team almost certain to return to the Championship come season end, his men came out with all the desire needed to at least salvage a forgettable and almost predictable season.

But they were on the backfoot after only seven minutes when Rooney, upon receiving Michael Carrick’s pass, cut in behind the defence to score a brilliant goal beyond the reach of Watford No. 2 Richard Lee, who featured in the place of ineligible Ben Foster.

The first five minutes being relatively tenacious, the chance was the first real one from either side, and United looked like they were really going to give Watford the Roman experience.

Rooney nearly doubled his tally four minutes later, when he nearly latched onto a pass by Smith. But Lee was quick to save at his feet before he pulled the trigger.

That sparked Watford into action and their American defender Jay Demerit nearly caused a raucus in the United box when his telling header was just deflected out after 18 minutes.

United also went on the offensive, with Scholes and Giggs both being denied in the space of a minute.

But a subsequent healthy spell for Watford in the United half put the United backline and Dutch keeper Edwin van der Sar right on the edge, with the keeper just managing to keep the Watford offensive with a less than confident display after 25 minutes.

In the process, van der Sar was first kicked in the face by a Watford forward, and then a clash with his defender Wes Brown and another Watford man which left him with a bruised nose, most certainly broken.

But it was not as serious as the injury he suffered against Tottenham Hotspur in a Premiership match sometime back, as he carried on his duties in front of goal without worries.

Watford’s onslaught paid off a minute later, when Hameur Bouazza (below) neatly caught Tommy Smith’s cross and bicycle-kicked it into goal, that somehow came off the underside of the bar.

The party, however, was shortlived just two minutes later, when some neat passing resulted in Rooney collecting the ball down the right flank and placing a very deep cross which was poked into the net by Ronaldo, his 21st goal of the season and restoring United’s slender lead.

But Watford were determined not to sit back and get steamrolled, and were almost levelled when Gavin Mahon’s strike took a deflection on its way, surely, to goal.

But van der Sar, nervy at times, brilliantly parried the strike away to ensure United did not surrender their lead again.

Damien Francis had his chance as well, but he put his header wide after 35 minutes.

But for United, things were just about to get a bit sticky for them.

Five minutes from the break, Rio Ferdinand had to be taken off with a suspected groin problem, adding to the long list of injuries befalling the United defence.

Darren Fletcher came on in his place and filled in at rightback with Evra switching to his more natural position on the left and Gabriel Heinze dropping into central defence.

It was an entirely makeshift defence, but there was nothing makeshift of the United offence as the usual suspects threatened to kill off the tie with just a minute of the half to go.

Rooney nearly got his second of the encounter when he brought out a fine save from Lee, after some sleek passing on the right.

Fletcher nearly got a goal as well, when his header narrowly went wide right on 45 minutes.

Watford had been attacking the fragile United backline before the break, and it was business as usual for them after the restart, after Bouazza just missing the target with a nice half volley after 49 minutes.

Six minutes later, Bouazza was at it again as he forced van der Sar into a fine save.

On the other end, Scholes nearly latched onto Smith’s pass into the box.

Watford were proving themselves to be quite a nuisance to United with their attacking display and strong possession, but they found themselves two goals down just over 10 minutes later, no thanks to Rooney.

Smith’s pass from the right is, this time, put into the net from close range by the England forward to make it 3-1 for United.

Watford piled on the pressure on United after that, with van der Sar getting a real battering at the hands of the Watford offence, and nearly suffered injured ribs.

But four minutes later, United created another wonderful chance when Smith found himself in a good position to score.

Instead, he chose to pass the ball to Rooney in a crowded box, and the latter could only managed a tame shot that was easily saved by Lee.

Giggs had his shot on goal blocked five minutes later, with United really going all out to seal the tie.

Ronaldo was subsequently taken off and was replaced with Kieran Richardson, who was responsible for allowing Portsmouth to score against them in the last Premiership match.

Watford also made a substitution then by bringing on their talismanic striker Marlon King, who had been missing the entire season due to injury, to replace an ineffective Hungarian marksman Tamas Priskin.

But it was Sir Alex Ferguson’s tinkering that worked to perfection. 

Richardson put the ghost of Pompey’s past behind him when, after receiving Smith’s pass on the left, beat the offside trap to score from an angle and virtually seal United’s entry into the final.

THAT’S THE FOURTH: Manchester United’s Kieran Richardson (centre) leaps in delight after scoring United’s fourth goal in the 4-1 thrashing of Watford in the English FA Cup semifinal at Villa Park.

Norwegian striker Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was brought on to replace Giggs with seven minutes to go and with the tie almost certainly in the bag and with an eye on the next Premiership match at home to Sheffield United on Tuesday night.

Action was still packed at the tailend of the match with both sides crying foul over unawarded penalties – Heinze with a suspected handball on one end and Fletcher allegedly brought down by defender Clarke Carlisle.

But Howard Webb was not about to be generous.

Rooney, in search of his hat-trick, shot wide after 90 minutes, with his strike partner also having a go at the Watford goal.

But there were no more goals to speak off, only half-chances that could have gone either way. Rooney, Smith and Solskjaer were all guilty of not at least scoring one at the end of the match, but the United fans were already thinking about Wembley.

At the final whistle, the score stood at 4-1, with the performance just short of their fantastic rout over their Italian rivals over the week, but just as ruthless.

A shake of hands between Fergie and Boothroyd at the end of the fixture signalled two different things.

For Watford, their season is just as good as over. For United, the journey towards attaining the treble has just begun.

Prior to the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals between Italian giants AS Roma and English leaders Manchester United last week, Roma’s 30-year-old marksman and World Cup winner Francesco Totti sounded this warning to Sir Alex Ferguson and his troop:

“Ferguson, you will learn who Totti is,” the striker promised during an interview with Sky Sports. “He will see personally. I hope to make him remember my name.”

And even though he expects to be man-marked when the teams meet in Rome on Wednesday, Totti says it’s a situation he’s grown accustomed to.

“So they are going to put me in a cage? Opponents always make a cage for me. When I grow up I won’t be a footballer but I will work at the zoo with all the cages people have made for me.”

OK, he has every right to say what whatever he wants. After all, he said that Ferguson had failed to name him as the man to watch in their quarterfinal encounter. He had every reason to feel unflattered that Ferguson seems to have, at that point, underestimated.

Simply put, Totti could have been forgiven for feeling as though he was not a dangerman in the eyes of Ferguson. 

Ferguson had, instead, named his teammates Daniele de Rossi and Alessandro Mancini.

So, one week and two legs later, Totti had this to say when queried by the media:

‘It is the saddest night of my sporting career,’ admitted Totti.

‘I had never conceded seven goals in a Champions League match before. Each shot they took, they found the target.’

‘We have conceded three goals in nine minutes,’ continued Totti. ‘We tried to react but in those conditions it was really difficult.’

‘Unfortunately, we have come across a better team.’

THE LAST LAUGH: Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson (left) and his assistant Carlos Queiroz grinning broadly after United’s scintillating 7-1 win over AS Roma.

What prompted Totti to say this was that, just moments before, he and his teammates bore witness to one of the most sensational victories.

Unfortunately though, the Romans were on the receiving end of a 7-1 mauling at the hands of a resurgent Manchester United.

Totti, visibly shell-shocked and disappointed, had to concede that United were miles ahead of them, and did really well in turning a 1-2 deficit into a 8-3 aggregate victory..

What’s more, he even admitted that Portuguese stalwart Cristiano Ronaldo was way better than he was.

Speaking of which, he probably came to realise he was not the hitman or the talismanic striker he had wished to be.

Though he had threatened many times in both legs to score against United, he never did. In fact, his teammates de Rossi (*aha*), Taddei and Mirko Vucinic have the bragging rights of scoring against United, albeit very little.

Ferguson got his guesses right.

Definitely a very humbling moment for Totti.

Look who’s talking now. Even the Italian newspapers are raving about the United win.

NO.1: Manchester United’s Michael Carrick draws first blood when he lobs the ball beyond AS Roma keeper Alexander Doni for United’s first goal in the sensational 7-1 drubbing of the Italian team.

AS Roma could have sworn they were playing a different team from a week ago, when they were soundly beaten by a resurgent Manchester United side 7-1 – yes, S-E-V-E-N – in the UEFA Champions League quarter final second leg.

The win means United go through on a 8-3 on aggregate – turning a seemingly helpless 2-1 deficit into a scintillating win.

All the sweeter, it was in front of the Old Trafford faithful, who were treated to a night of a superb performance by United that left Roma utterly humiliated.

The Red Devils began the match with four key players missing, most notably Paul Scholes, who was suspended because of his sending off in the preceding leg in Stadio Olimpico last week.

Right from the whistle though, United went barging into the Roma half, looking to get on the scoreboard before Roma could blink an eye.

But it was Roma skipper Francesco Totti who notched the first real chance of the match after six minutes, when he lashed in a drive that just whisked off the far post.

With virtually their first chance of the match six minutes later, Michael Carrick put the home side ahead with a beautiful lob past a rooted Alexander Doni, who was hopelessly out of position.

But the chance had been created by none other than Portuguese stalwart Cristiano Ronaldo, who mesmerized two defenders with his fancy footwork before picking out an unmarked Carrick running down the middle.

With just two touches, Carrick put the ball into the net and sent the United crowd into a frenzy.

Three minutes after, United were pounding on the Roma goal; this time Ronaldo looking to score his first Champions League goal. But his shot was saved by a flushed Doni.

No sooner was Doni trying to get his footing, he found himself picking the ball out of his net 17 minutes into the match.

This time, a rejuvenated Alan Smith was the predator.

TAKE THAT!: Manchester United’s Alan Smith capped off an amazing comeback from a 14-month injury layoff with United’s second goal in the 7-1 drubbing of AS Roma.

Carrick was instrumental in the set up; with an eagle-eye view he spotted Gabriel Heinze on the left flank. The latter then played the ball into the path of Ryan Giggs, who made a deft pass to Smith.

With Christian Chivu failing to intercept Giggs’ pass, Smith coolly stabbed the ball past Doni, and sent the whole crowd to their feet. Even Sir Alex Ferguson was on his feet.

With the goal, Smith completed a stunning comeback from a horrific injury last season against Liverpool in the FA Cup fifth round.

It was Wayne Rooney next on the scoresheet when he finished off a brilliant pass by Giggs down the right from close range. The Roma defence was completely flustered.

Roma were barely able to get a foothold in the match, with Philippe Mexes managing a half-chance after 26 minutes.

Ronaldo threatened the Roma goal again on the half hour mark, when his power strike from 20 yards out just went wide.

Ronaldo then had his powerful freekick saved by Doni 12 minutes later, but Carrick came very close to doubling his tally for the night three minutes from the break, when he saw his pinpoint header blocked by Doni, and the subsequent rebound going wide.

While their closest challengers in the Premiership Chelsea were a goal down against Valencia in the other quarter final fixture at the Estadio Mestalla through a Fernando Morientes goal, United got their fourth with a just a minute of the half remaining.

Ronaldo capped off a fine run and a short one-two with Giggs to shoot past two defenders into the corner of the net, and then reeled away with sheer delight as United virtually sealed their spot in the semi finals of the competition.

In the first minute of injury time, United keeper Edwin van der Sar was called into action when a Totti shot flew straight into his arms. He had been a relative spectator til then.

Two minutes after the restart, United were up and running again. This time, Rooney frayed a few Roman nerves when his shot was just tipped over the bar by Doni.

But goal no. 5 came two minutes after that, with Ronaldo finishing off a fine move by Giggs by knocking in the ball from close range.

Mirko Vucinic, Roma’s hero in the first leg with the winner, could only manage a tame shot that was scooped up easily by van der Sar seven minutes after.

By this time, over in the Estadio Mestalla, Chelsea had drawn themselves back into contention when Andriy Shevchenko scored from close range after 52 minutes.

Chelsea and Valencia were neck-and-neck in Spain, but back at the Theater of Dreams, the nightmare just got worst for Roma.

Carrick, arguably the best player on the pitch, doubled his tally and notched up United’s sixth of the night when he steered the ball high into the top corner, with Doni expertly beaten.

The atmosphere was almost unbelievable with both sets of fans utterly shellshocked.

Giggs was subsequently replaced with Norwegian veteran Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who is no stranger himself to Champions League drama of this stature.

In fact, he stole the winner against Bayern Munich in the 1999 Champions League final, and ensured United won the treble.

Smith and Solskjaer both had shots just over the bar within the space of five minutes midway into the second half.

Italian World Cup winner Daniele de Rossi then ensured United did not keep a clean sheet with a nicely taken right-footed shot after 69 minutes.

With the FA Cup semi final against Watford coming up over the weekend, Ferguson opted to take out Carrick, who had been the driving force behind the Devils in the absence of maestro Scholes. Kieran Richardson came on in his place.

Richardson also looked to get into the thick of the action when he saw his shot smothered by a determined Doni with 15 minutes of misery remaining for Roma and their travelling fans.

Alessandro Mancini, who had been very quiet throughout the match (wait, all the Roma players were very quiet throughout the match), then placed a shot that was, as usual, a textbook save for van der Sar.

Another Roma player, the shorter David Pizarro also tried his luck, but came up, literally, short.

United then sprang back to action, with Ronaldo’s pass deep into the box eluding everybody. But the seventh wonder was about to hit Roma in the face really hard.

Patrice Evra, who had replaced John O’Shea earlier in the second half, joined in with a goal of his own when, after receiving Solskjaer’s pass, placed a low shot that caught the inside off the post into the net.

“Manchester Utd 7 AS Roma 1″, read the scoreboard in bright red with seven minutes to go.

A flurry of substitutions by the Romans followed, which did nothing much except to prolong the misery of what had been a disastrous outing for the Eternal City giants.

Ronaldo had virtually the final say of the match, when he forced Doni into a save a minute into injury time.

JUST PLAIN HORRIBLE: AS Roma’s Alexander Doni sits on the pitch in disbelief after Manchester United’s sensational 7-1 win, which saw him picking the ball out of his net most of the time.

The damage, needless to say, had been done a long time ago. Portsmouth are history.

Slump? What slump?