Robin van Persie was once again the hero for Manchester United with a last-gasp equaliser in Saturday’s third round FA Cup 2-2 draw with West Ham prompting boss Sir Alex Ferguson to lavish more praise on the Dutchman.
The former Arsenal man has been in exceptional form since his move to Old Trafford and Ferguson was full of admiration after another important goal kept United in the FA Cup.
“He’s at a mature age now. He’s brought that maturity to our front line,’’ the Scot said. “And his performance after coming on was tremendous,” Ferguson told reporters.
He added he never thought the game had got away from his players after James Collins’ double.
“You never do that with our team,Ferguson said. “When you’re 2-1 down with a couple of minutes left you just hope you get a break, but the manner of goal - the pass from Ryan Giggs and first touch from Robin van Persie and his finish - is absolutely world class, absolutely fantastic.
Ferguson added: We have had some terrible draws over the years and been knocked out early and we don’t enjoy that.
“We missed some good chances and I thought it wasn’t going to be our day.”