WAYNE ROONEY admitted the fear of incurring Alex Ferguson’s wrath had been the catalyst for his match-winning performance in the 3-1 defeat of Hull City that saw Manchester United close the gap on Chelsea at the top of the Premier League. Rooney opened the scoring but was then guilty of a misjudged back-pass that led to Craig Fagan making it 1-1 just before the hour.
The England international’s instinctive reaction was to put his head in his hands and look across to Ferguson in the dug-out but the striker redeemed himself by forcing Andy Dawson into putting into his own net and then brilliantly set up Dimitar Berbatov for the final goal.
“It’s a relief,” Rooney said. “When they got their equaliser it was a mistake by myself. It’s the first time that’s ever happened to me and it’s not a nice feeling. I didn’t want to let the lads down though I was more worried about what the manager might say. But thankfully we got the win, which I’m pleased about because the manager would not have been too pleased.”
Rooney now has 13 league goals for the season, making him the joint leading scorer with Didier Drogba and Jermain Defoe, but it was the way the striker responded to his error that most impressed Ferguson. “He was a threat all game; his penetration behind their back line was very good,” the United manager said. “Yes, he made a mistake with a wayward ball for their goal but that was his one bad moment and otherwise I thought he was exceptional. He’s a natural winner and he’s always got that determination to do well. He would have been sicker than anyone that he made a mistake but he rectified it in a nice way.”
The win moves United to within two points of Chelsea in what Rooney described as a “mad” title race because of the way the top teams were regularly dropping points. “It’s looking more and more like it’s going to be a really tight league,” Ferguson said.
“It’s certainly different because we are seeing some unusual results. Experience will come into it. The team that steers clear of injuries will also have an advantage. Other than that, if you make mistakes in this league you are going to get punished. If we can eradicate mistakes we have a great chance.”
Hull manager Phil Brown was encouraged by his side’s efforts as he builds for tomorrow’s trip to Bolton. He said: “We were well in the game at 1-1, the goal was harsh – we addressed it at half-time and said to the players ‘if we get a goal it’s game on’, and sure enough it was.
“Our players have done tremendously, to be battling against some of the best players in the world and coming out with a lot of credit and a lot of positives.”
Hull were denied another spot-kick in the first half when Richard Garcia was fouled by Wes Brown, although goalkeeper Boaz Myhill also appeared to catch Berbatov in the Hull area.
Phil Brown added: “There was certainly a shout for one in the first half – although I think Manchester United might have been questioning the goalkeeper and the trip on Berbatov.”
- Guardian Service
