LONDON, Sept 4: Manchester United struggled to convert their domination into goals as they laboured to a 1-0 premier league win over Middlesbrough at Old Trafford courtesy of a disputed penalty by Ruud van Nistelrooy on Tuesday.

But the evening ended on a sour note for United with the news that England captain David Beckham would miss Satuday’s friendly against Portugal after pulling up with a calf injury.

It was United’s second win from four league games and avenged two defeats by Boro last season, including a 1-0 loss at Old Trafford.

The result lifted them into fourth place in the league, two points behind early season pace setters Tottenham Hotspur.

United welcomed back keeper Fabien Barthez and midfielder Paul Scholes from injury but they missed the urgency of skipper Roy Keane, who has been sidelined for three months with a hip problem needing surgery and faces bans over disciplinary issues.

“We made it difficult for ourselves,” United manager Sir Alex Ferguson admitted. “We should have finished them off but they kept fighting, fighting, fighting.—Reuters