Super-sub Rooney wins it for United
Source: Agencies |
March 2, 2010, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
SUBSTITUTE Wayne Rooney headed Manchester United to its second League Cup triumph in a row in a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday, while Tottenham Hotspur beat Everton 2-1 to stay fourth in the English Premier League.
Rooney came on as a first half substitute for United's first goalscorer, Michael Owen, who left with a hamstring injury having equalized James Milner's fifth-minute strike for Villa from the penalty spot.
"I had a little bit of sore knee for a couple of weeks and I felt it in the game" Rooney said. "I'm delighted to score the winning goal in a Wembley final for the first time."
Rooney headed home a cross from Valencia in the 74th to take his tally for United this season to 28 in all competitions and take manager Alex Ferguson's haul of trophies at Old Trafford to 26, including four League Cups.
Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill, whose team is also in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, was unhappy that the referee didn't send off United defender Nemanja Vidic for the foul on Gabriel Agbonlahor which led to the penalty.
"I thought the referee got it wrong and most people who saw it would side with me," he said. "The trophy's gone to Manchester United. I hope that this taste of Wembley here will drive my team on to come back here again."
Roman Pavlyuchenko scored Tottenham's first in the 11th and Luka Modric added the second in the 28th as Spurs cruised into a comfortable lead at White Hart Lane.
But Ayegbeni Yakubu hit back for Everton in the 55th and substitute Landon Donovan missed an easy close-range chance near the end.
The victory gave Tottenham 49 points from 28 games and kept Harry Redknapp's team above Manchester City on goal difference. City won 4-2 at Chelsea on Saturday to end the leader's 38-game unbeaten home run in all competitions.
"Pav (Pavlyuchenko) scores goals, that's five goals in the last two-and-a-quarter games and you can't ask for more than that," said Tottenham manager Redknapp, who could easily have sold the Russia striker during the January transfer window. "It's good, it gives me a nice problem. I've got good frontmen."
Liverpool stayed sixth with 48 points from 28 matches despite beating Blackburn 2-1 at Anfield.
Steven Gerrard gave Liverpool a 20th-minute lead and, although Keith Andrew equalized from the penalty spot in the 40th after a handball on the ground by Jamie Carragher, Fernando Torres scored a second for the hosts in the 44th.
Villa has 45 points from 26 matches and, now with two games in hand on Tottenham, still has a chance of finishing fourth which means a shot at next season's Champions League.
In Sunday's other Premier League game, Sunderland drew 0-0 with Fulham.
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