Van Gaal: Victory Rewarded Fighting Spirit

Louis van Gaal felt two sides to Manchester United's game yielded three much-needed points against West Ham - with the steel of the second half ensuring the silk of the first was fruitful.

In a first half which echoed the corresponding period at Leicester City, the Reds went 2-0 up through strikes from Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie only to have the lead halved for the break when Diafro Sakho beat David De Gea with a headed goal. But unlike last weekend, United successfully weathered an opposition storm after the interval and held onto the advantage to finish as victors - despite having captain Rooney sent off with more than 30 minutes left to play.

"After the red card, we had to fight for the victory and I have said to the lads you have been rewarded today because you fought until the end - and more than that," a delighted van Gaal told MUTV.

Rooney was dismissed by referee Lee Mason for kicking out at Stewart Downing as the West Ham midfielder threatened to sprint away from him with the ball. It was a straight red card and as such, it caused incredulity and anger in the crowd.

"I could imagine why he did it," said van Gaal, when asked if he was disappointed by Rooney's challenge. "But I think you have to do it more friendly and that is the only thing that I can say.

"You can ask if that is a red card. I think you see what you want to see and I believe he [the referee] could have given a red card. In professional football, you make these faults, but I also saw them from West Ham. They weren’t punished like Wayne."

Van Gaal felt there was one such unpunished misdemeanour in the lead-up to Sakho's goal, saying: "We had a goal against us from a corner but you have to ask if the West Ham attacker was making a foul because he was in David De Gea's five-metre area (six-yard box).

"Okay, so he didn't hit De Gea the first time but, the second time, he hit De Gea and that's why he was on the ground. That's a pity because we played such a good first half. I think we played very well."

The aforementioned home fans eventually recovered from the shock of seeing their skipper trudge off to play a big, vociferous part in helping the Reds to see out the victory - a factor duly acknowledged by the manager.

"The crowd is always incredible, it’s unbelievable the way they supported us," he said, before adding with a smile: "I’m happy because of the result, we needed it after that extraordinary loss at Leicester, when we also played very well in the first half. We have to do that for 90 minutes!”