Carrick happy to pay up

MICHAEL Carrick was ready to pay any fine Sir Alex Ferguson imposed on him after vacating the Manchester United midfield to score his first Barclays Premier League goal for almost two years.

Carrick sealed yesterday’s 2–0 win at QPR with a 30–yard run and 20–yard shot ending a top–flight goal drought which went back all the way to December 2009.

United boss Ferguson feigned anger after the game that Carrick had been so adventurous, saying: “He’s supposed to sit in the middle of the pitch — I maybe have to fine him.”

Carrick also saw the funny side, admitting: “I’m happy to pay it if I score goals like that.”

The 29–year–old added: “The last time I scored a goal from inside my own half was probably when I was playing under–12s! It just seemed to open up for me and I kept on going and going and thought: ‘Why not?’. It was great to see it go in.”

The goal was a relief for Carrick and his team–mates after United squandered a glut of gilt–edged opportunities to add to Wayne Rooney’s 53rd–second opener.

Carrick was partnered again by Phil Jones, who missed several chances to score himself as he continued his transformation from defender into makeshift midfielder.

Ferguson was also delighted to be able to name the fit–again Javier Hernandez and Dimitar Berbatov on the bench, especially the former, who became the latest United player to make a surprise recovery having seemingly been ruled out for several weeks.

Ferguson, who was expecting more injured players back soon, said: “It’s good to have those two players back and Rafael’s training now.

“He just needs a game maybe in the reserve team. It’s getting a little bit better. Obviously we’d like to have Anderson and (Tom) Cleverley back, of course, and a couple of others. But, in the main, we’re pleased with what we've got at the moment.”