Silvestre keeps Man U in race

Victory at Old Trafford moved Manchester United on to 58 points, with champions Arsenal on 63 and Newcastle stuck on 55. United manager Alex Ferguson, whose men shrugged off Sunday’s League Cup final defeat to Liverpool, told Sky Sports: ‘‘Today was a gritty performance, we carved out a result through determination and resilience.’’

As for the title race, he said: ‘‘We’re still in there. You’ve got to hope that Arsenal do drop points and if they do then it’s up to us to take advantage. Hopefully we can keep going and make a real race of it.’’ Silvestre stooped to head home a quickly-taken free kick by David Beckham in the 79th minute, catching the entire Leeds defence out of position and giving goalkeeper Paul Robinson no chance.

United had taken a 20th minute lead through an own goal from Leeds’ South African defender Lucas Radebe, as he tried to intercept another Beckham cross, but they failed to make their near-total domination pay and were punished for slack marking by Mark Viduka’s equaliser in the 64th minute.

United responded by piling on the pressure and the win means Ferguson’s men are still set to challenge Arsenal for title honours, while Newcastle have to aim for a Champions League place.

Newcastle, whose strikers Alan Shearer and Craig Bellamy failed to make any headway at the Riverside, were condemned to their first defeat in nine league games when Geremi headed home a cross from French defender Franck Queudrue in the 62nd minute.

Boro manager Steve McClaren, whose team moved up to 11th in the table, told Sky Sports: ‘‘It was a great goal, I thought we deserved it and that we deserved the win tonight. We defended well, we were organised, we were strong, we were solid and we passed the ball well…we looked a bloody good team,’’ McClaren said. ‘‘And we won tonight against a team who are third and unbeaten (in the league) this year.’’

Boro could also celebrate a first start this season for Brazil midfielder Juninho, who came on as a substitute to score the equaliser in last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Everton after a six-month injury absence. (Reuters)