Blog: Pride in defeat

To say that football can be a cruel game is a vast understatement after the dramatic events of Sunday afternoon.

Like most United fans, I travelled to the Stadium of Light not expecting any twist in the title race but still, as always, just delighted at the prospect of seeing the Reds play. I made my mind up beforehand to enjoy the match regardless and it's impossible not to when you're seeing Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes still parading their talents well into their late 30s.

A couple of moments from Giggs in the build-up to a miss by Wayne Rooney in the first half were sublime, giving his markers the eyes before passing in the opposite direction and then taking the ball out of the air to caress it with the guile of a ballerina in a short spell that summed up his enduring genius.

The fact that my phone was not working on Wearside, presumably as everybody tried to access the data networks, meant I was in the dark with developments back in Manchester. The home fans cheered Pablo Zabaleta's goal and the scoreboard displayed the half-time scores from around the country. And then word went around that Joey Barton had been sent off against his former club. Game over. City would win comfortably from this point and it would be folly to think otherwise.

Yet Mark Hughes' QPR did the impossible. The away end erupted twice but still it was difficult to imagine City would not prevail. Time passed and the matter in hand was not concluded with Sunderland only a goal adrift, although the Reds saw out the closing stages with supreme professionalism and David De Gea was rarely troubled.

In the final seconds, rumour had it that City had equalised to make it 2-2. To be honest, I was actually quite pleased. I'd presumed the Blues would have levelled before then - there was no great reason for Sunderland's supporters to be so vocal about that - and it at least meant there was a real chance of glory.

That was because Djibril Cisse's effort seemed to come so early into the second half that the City game appeared to have restarted earlier than our match. So, when the final whistle shrilled soon afterwards, the Etihad fixture would surely be finished too? Of course, the whole furore surrounding Barton meant otherwise and there was a surreal period when we were all in suspended animation.

Normally, thanks to modern technology, I can track everything going on in the football world. Of course, it's my job to do so and I do more than just watch and scrutinise every kick made by United (at every level I can). I follow all the rumours, whispers, reports, rumours and downright lies on the transfer front to keep The Gossip up to date on the site. I enjoy reading fans' thoughts on messageboards and Twitter and all the discourse that surrounds our great club. United envelope my every waking hour and, judging by this morning, my sleeping ones too.

Now, with a 20th title up for grabs, I was stood staring and waiting for crucial information. To be honest, I'd never believed it would be a day of jubilation. But I saw a couple of Reds jumping up and down wildly, clearly celebrating a minute or so after the end of the game. Did they know something I didn't know? Was it all over in Manchester? Finally, I allowed the emotion to shoot through my body. The rest of the away end will follow suit any second and the most unlikely, the sweetest of league successes is ours.

That feeling lasted less than a minute. Instead of the United fans rejoicing, it was the home supporters on either side of them. City had scored. Heartbreaking. This wasn't a rollercoaster of emotions. It was the Big Dipper.

Yet the pain still subsided quite quickly. Sir Alex appeared to instruct the players to salute the fans and there was dignity from all concerned with Manchester United. The Sunderland contingent close to the away end decided to indulge in a 'Poznan' celebration to mock those who had travelled and been fortunate to get a ticket considering the meagre allocation available. It was to be expected - Swansea's supporters heartily cheered City's strikes at Newcastle before kick-off at Old Trafford last week and even chanted Roberto Mancini's name. The same Mancini who derided both Sunderland and Swansea's chances, writing them off as cannon-fodder and 'easy' opponents for United in the final two games.

I may be wrong but there appeared to be no furious response from the Reds, no major strop at having glory cruelly snatched away at the last moment and being tormented and teased. Just stunned disbelief. In fact, leaving the ground there were still chants of defiance and pride at supporting Manchester United. And that became the overriding feeling: pride. This was not the time for tears or recrimination.

Manchester City won both derbies and the table does not lie. They deserved to win the title even though, after finally forcing myself to watch the Match of the Day highlights, it seemed clear to me QPR's resistance crumbled when they appeared to realise they were safe regardless of the outcome. The whole league campaign may have been different, it would certainly have felt different, if the matches restarted for the second half in another order.

Nevertheless, this United side secured 89 points despite the well-documented injuries. City were only able to beat us on goal difference with two injury-time goals in the most dramatic of finales. Seeing Scholes and Giggs out on the pitch, the red they bleed is Manchester United. They love the club, just as we all do. There are plenty of others too who know what it means to represent the world's greatest football team and the best news any fan can have is that Sir Alex is already geared up for the challenge posed by City's threat of dominance.

Yaya Toure was talking of conquering the world with the Blues before a first title was sealed. What he will have learned from Sunday is that United will always fight to the end and we are not going away. Roll on next season.