Sunday, November 19, 2006

Rooney on fire again

Video Safari

Wayne Rooney banged home a double for Manchester United to edge out Sheffield United 2-1 at Bramall Lane.
Rooney struck in the 30th and 75th minutes to keep his side top of the Barclays Premiership after former Old Trafford winger Keith Gillespie had scored his first goal for the Blades to hand them an early lead.
The brace takes Rooney's tally to seven for United this season, and eight overall, after scoring for England in their 1-1 draw in Holland on Wednesday.
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: "They were two marvellous finishes.
"The first came from a run across the defender. He has caught him on the hop, off-guard, and it was a great strike.
"The second was terrific. Taking that kind of finish, when you are under pressure and you need to win, it makes it more special."

The victory sets United up for their top-of-the-table clash with reigning champions Chelsea next week, when Ferguson hopes to avoid controversy.
"It promises to be a fantastic game, one that everybody is looking forward to and the whole world will be watching," he said.
"But I saw the controversy coming from down there (Stamford Bridge) about the referee.
"I hope the game is not decided by a referee's decision because it could be a fantastic game. Let's hope that's the case."
Ferguson praised the all-round application of his side in particular as Neil Warnock's men defended resolutely throughout the game.
"They proved it was going to be difficult, but the important thing is we kept our patience, kept probing, and we made some good chances," remarked Ferguson.
"To be honest with you, I was hoping we would get a goal before half time because if we had gone in 1-0 down then it would have been a long road back.
"It would have made it more difficult for us because they would have been more entrenched, but the goal gave us that bit of patience to wait and wait.
"By doing that there was always the possibility that we would create the chance that mattered."
Fortunately for Ferguson, Cristiano Ronaldo's glaring miss just before full-time did not prove costly, with the Portugal international ballooning over the bar from just four yards after Ryan Giggs' cross.
Ferguson was able to see the funny side as he said: "He will not miss that again.
"It was an unusual miss. I think the ball bounced up a bit, but at the end of the day we can put it behind us."