Rio Won't Dwell On Late Draw

Rio Ferdinand says Manchester United have to take a little of their own medicine after suffering the disappointment of Tottenham’s game-changing late intervention to secure a draw at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

Robin van Persie’s first-half goal was all that separated the teams with 90 minutes on the clock, but Clint Dempsey’s injury-time equaliser did to United what United have done to many opponents down the years.

Ferdinand had epitomised the Reds' resolute defending in the second half, with bodies thrown in front of shots and last-ditch tackles applied as Tottenham threw everything at the visitors. Yet while the initial reaction to such a late concession was one of acute frustration, on reflection Rio is sanguine about a hard-earned point.

“The way the game panned out was disappointing,” he told MUTV. “We defended for our lives as a team and got a really good goal through Robin, so it's disappointing in that sense. But we've done that [scored late] to so many other teams in the past that sometimes you just have to take that on the chin.

“As soon as I got off the pitch and got in the changing room I thought back to how many times we've done that to other teams and you've got to accept it every now and again, especially if you don't lose the game. It's a difficult place to come and you just have to dust yourselves down and say, 'okay, we'll take that point’.”

United remain in a commanding position in the league table and a point at White Hart Lane may yet prove to be a valuable one considering the quality of Andre Villas-Boas’ side.

“We're in a good position but nothing is won yet and no medals are given out now,” Rio added. “You've just got to keep chalking off the games and picking up as many points as you can.

"You want to get the difficult games out of the way and this is one of them. I think a lot of teams will drop points here.”