by Gavin Willacy at Old Trafford THIS was no War of the Roses. It was a cavalry charge that rode roughshod over unarmed peasants. When the Uniteds from either end of the M62 come together, you can expect noise, passion, effort, anger and drama. You got it at Old Trafford on Bank Holiday Monday but, with Arsenal recovering from their title celebrations in the capital and Man City coming to terms with the unthinkable, it was Manchester's turn to salvage some pride from the season. Alex Ferguson's team provided it with a rampant win over a sad Leeds. For nearly half an hour, the visiting fans taunted the Reds with chants about their trophy-less season while their heroes in yellow and blue stretched Manchester's defence to the limit. But it soon became apparent that Leeds, while full of honest running, had come for a draw Jimmy Hasselbaink was their sole forward. And a point was unlikely once Ryan Giggs had headed the Reds ahead after only six minutes for his 50th League goal after superb work down the right by Gary Neville. On 18 minutes, Harry Kewell broke down the left and his cross by-passed Hasselbaink to the on-rushing Lee Bowyer. As he tried to overcome the covering Dennis Irwin, he was called up for fouling the Irishman and Leeds missed out on a golden chance to equalise. They continued to press against a nervous United side but with little support for Hasselbaink as he chased clearances on the break, their plans were doomed. Ferguson's dethroned champions doubled their lead on 29 minutes when Ian Harte climbed over Teddy Sheringham to concede a needless penalty, which Irwin rolled in. Manchester United were back to their best, attacking en masse and swamping Leeds. They defended in packs, hunting down the hopeful Hasselbaink, and poured forward with the awesome speed and confidence of the team that swept through Europe as far as the last eight back in winter, the midfield revelling in the acres of free space Leeds granted them. The points were won on 58 minutes, when David Beckham, in charge of the right flank, finished with training ground aplomb when Harte's half-hit header went to him ten yards out. That signalled an emotional double substitution: on came veteran Brian McClair for what could yet be his last home appearance, and 18-year-old Wes Brown made his debut alongside Gary Pallister. Within three minutes Brown sold a dummy to Gunnar Halle, booked early on for a bad tackle on Irwin, and the Norwegian clattered through the England Under-18 international and was correctly sent-off. The home fans were delirious with the final half hour's exhibition football by free-flowing United. Man of the Match Ryan Giggs, surely playing the best football of his life after such a long lay-off that probably cost United the title, Andy Cole and both Neville brothers took hapless Leeds to pieces, while the supreme Paul Scholes should have capped an mature performance in the hole but blasted over from six yards. There were no trophies for once at the final home game of Man United's season but the reception from the Old Trafford fans was strangely stronger and more heart-felt than usual. Perhaps they have been spoilt by success and have come to expect it. Their millionaire heroes appear more human through this season's failure but the way they crushed their Yorkshire rivals was straight out of the 'Champions of Europe' textbook. That dream never materialised but they've got more points now than it took they managed in winning the title last year and, on this performance, they are as good a bet as anyone again next season.

WE'LL BE BACK, VOWS GIGGS   RYAN GIGGS, Manchester United's Man of the Match in their rampant 3-0 win over Leeds on Monday, thinks that United will bounce back from the disappointment of a rare trophy-less season and be back to their best next term. "You've got to earn the championship and we've done so well over the last seven years to contest it every season, finishing first or second," said Giggs, who scored his 50th League goal with a header to set United on their way to victory. "We are disappointed this time not to win it but it was a great achievement to be involved in the chase year after year like we have. Now we've got to bounce back and challenge again next season. After we lost the title to Blackburn we bounced straight back and won it the next year and we've got to do that again." Record Manchester United signing Jaap Stam is certain he will help them bring the Premiership trophy back to Old Trafford next season. The Holland defender, who is due to complete his £10.5m transfer from PSV Eindhoven after a medical today, revealed that winning the title is his main aim, although he is also hungry for success in the Champions' League. ''It's a shame that Manchester United have not won the title this year, but they will win it next year,'' he said. ''I'm looking forward to winning prizes in England and Europe.'' 25-year-old Stam, who supported United as a boy, was at Old Trafford to watch his new team-mates and he admitted he was impressed by what he saw on and off the pitch. ''I've never been to Old Trafford before and this is my first time here,'' he said between signing autographs for his new fans. ''I've only ever seen it on TV before and I must say as a venue it is fantastic. There's a great atmosphere and the crowd are great.'' Leeds manager George Graham put his side's defeat into perspective. "I'm very disappointed - it was our worse performance of the season," he said. "But we have almost qualified for Europe and if you'd said at the start of the season that we would finish in the top five and get into the UEFA Cup I'd have been delighted. "You've got to get the balance right. We've had a great season but been well beaten by one of the best teams in Europe."

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