Published 4/21/2007 2:24:43 PM by staff from afp

Mark Viduka blew the Premiership title race wide open when he denied Manchester United the chance to open up a six-point lead at the head of the table, by striking the goal that earned Middlesbrough a point at Old Trafford.

With second-placed Chelsea due to face Newcastle United 24 hours later, Sir Alex Ferguson's side were anxious to extend their advantage over the London club.  But United missed out on maximum points after being held to a 1-1 draw by a spirited Boro, and Jose Mourinho's side can close the gap at the top to a solitary point with the two contenders still to meet at Stamford Bridge on May 9.

And the sight of Rio Ferdinand limping off at half-time capped a miserable afternoon for United that could ultimately have a major effect on their hopes of silverware this season.  United were clearly desperate to get their domestic business out of the way as quickly as possible before next week's Champions League semi-final with AC Milan.

And everything appeared to be going perfectly to plan when a routine long ball caught the Boro back-four flat-footed and allowed Kieran Richardson to fire his side ahead after just three minutes. The move spoke volumes about Paul Scholes's value to Sir Alex Ferguson's side with the midfielder intercepting a loose pass before picking out Rooney's run beyond the visitors defence with an inch-perfect 50-yard ball.

Rooney's run was timed to perfection and after coolly rounding advancing keeper Mark Schwarzer, the England striker allowed Richardson to nip in and slot the ball into the empty net.  That should have provided the platform for a routine victory, particularly with Boro struggling to carve out a chance of note during the opening period.  United, though, were also unable to get a clear sight of Schwarzer's goal despite the early confidence-booster and Cristiano Ronaldo's trickery for once lacked end product.

There still seemed little chance Boro would find a way back into it until the first half moved into added time and - with Ferdinand clearly struggling - England winger Stewart Downing worked his way to the by-line and pulled back a superb cross towards Viduka at the near post.

The opening was still little more than a half-chance but the Australian striker muscled his way in front of Wes Brown to direct an excellent header past Edwin van der Sar.  With United still reeling, Viduka should have doubled the lead three minutes after the interval when he again beat Brown to set up a one on one opportunity that Van der Sar did well to save.  And with the home side still unable to find anything like their normal fluency, Lee Cattermole flashed a curling shot past Van der Sar's right hand post midway through the second half.

With tension mounting around the stadium, the home side laid siege to the Boro goal in the final 20 minutes but apart from a disallowed effort from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, United's finishing was anything but title quality.

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