Ferguson unhappy after United are held

Manchester United wasted the chance to close on the Premier League leaders when a sloppy second half cost them in a 1-1 draw at Everton on Saturday.

Midfielder Darren Fletcher put the champions in front on 22 minutes and the Old Trafford side should have had the points in the bag before halftime but a second-half header by Marouane Fellaini gave Everton a deserved point.

United remain five points behind leaders Chelsea and Liverpool who face each other in the weekend's big fixture at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

In the other early kickoff Sunderland beat Newcastle United at the Stadium of Light -- Kieran Richardson's thunderous free-kick 15 minutes from time earning Sunderland a first home victory against their north east rivals for 28 years.

The end of the match which left Newcastle second from bottom was marred by skirmishes between the rivals sets of fans and riot police were brought in to control the situation.

Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was critical of his side's second-half display, although he also accused the referee Alan Wiley of failing to protect his players.

"We didn't deserve much at the end and it was a case of hanging on," Ferguson told Sky Sports. "They unsettled us in the second half and we started to give the ball away."

NO PROTECTION

United striker Wayne Rooney, hoping to score his 100th goal in club football against his former side, was booked and later substituted after infuriating Everton fans by kissing the United badge on his shirt in front of them.

"The referee booked him for nothing and then the Everton fans were egging him on," Ferguson said. "I don't think he protected our players. Somebody will get a bad injury one day."

The first half was all United with Ryan Giggs and Cristiano Ronaldo causing problems for Everton's defence. It was a Giggs pass that allowed Fletcher to take the ball away from Joleon Lescott and shoot past Tim Howard.

Former United keeper Howard denied Ronaldo, Nemanja Vidic and Giggs in quick succession while Rooney was denied just before halftime.

Everton got their unexpected equaliser after 63 minutes when Fellaini showed tremendous strength to head a cross from former United player Phil Neville past Edwin van der Sar.

United defender Rio Ferdinand was lucky to get away with a mistake minutes later when his slip allowed in Ayegbeni Yakubu but van der Sar turned his shot against the post.