Saturday 4 April 2015 18:33, UK
Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood bemoaned the timing of Manchester United’s goals as they slipped to a 3-1 defeat at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Ander Herrera fired the hosts in front shortly before half-time and Wayne Rooney’s stunning strike made it 2-0 after 79 minutes. Christian Benteke pulled one back moments later, but Herrera’s second goal then sealed the result in second-half stoppage time.
The visitors created very few chances as Louis van Gaal’s men dominated possession, but Sherwood felt his side were in the game before the late goals in either half.
“It is never a good time to concede a goal but that one seemed to knock the stuffing out of us before half-time,” he said.
“But we didn’t panic and we tried to keep ourselves in the game, and I think we did that right up until injury-time, when the third goal kills us.”
United’s third came when Rooney won possession from a drop ball after referee Roger East stopped play for an injury to Phil Jones, and Sherwood was surprised his side were not allowed to have the ball back after the stoppage.
“We’re disappointed we didn’t get the ball back from the drop ball," he added. "We thought we were in possession of it. The referee stopped it and they have scored from that.
“It has just gone against us. I’m not saying it is the reason we lost the game here today. I thought United played very well – they are a good side – but it was disappointing. We were in the game.
“I was just hoping we might get that one chance, one free-kick, one corner towards the end and our luck might turn, but it wasn’t to be.”
Villa sit 16th in the Premier League, three points clear of 18th-placed QPR, who they meet on Tuesday night in a crucial encounter.
QPR picked up a morale-boosting 4-1 victory at West Brom on Saturday – only their second away win of the season – and Sherwood knows the importance of the fixture.
“We knew it was going to be tough [to stay up],” he said. “It’s a great result for QPR and we’re aiming to put six points between us and them by the end of that game on Tuesday night.”
