Wayne Rooney was hailed as ”phenomenal” by Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after defying injury to score the wonder goal that inspired United to a crucial 2-1 win against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Sunday.
England forward Rooney, who suffered a first-half leg injury, was set to be substituted by Ferguson just seconds before beating Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given with a fierce 25-yard volley on 57 minutes.
But the 19-year-old’s strike cancelled out Darren Ambrose’s 27th minute opener and levelled for United before Wes Brown headed in his first-ever Premiership goal to seal victory and move Ferguson’s men to within one point of Arsenal in the race for second place.
Ferguson said: ”It was a fantastic goal by Wayne Rooney, absolutely phenomenal. The ironic thing is that I was ready to take him off just before the goal because he had got himself injured in the first-half.”
”But he is always a threat when he is on the pitch and that’s why I kept him on. You have to say that the goal was even better considering that he was injured when he scored it.”
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness, who saw his team fall to their fifth successive defeat, admitted that Rooney’s goal was the turning point.
He said: ”I didn’t think that United caused us too many problems and my goalkeeper didn’t have a save to make until Rooney scored a real wonder goal.”
”That’s the second successive game in which we have fallen to a wonder strike. It looked a fantastic hit, although I didn’t particularly enjoy watching it go in!
”Rooney is an outstanding talent. Despite his age, he is not a prospect. He is already an outstanding player in his own right.
”But I’m deeply disappointed to come away with nothing because this is a tough place to play and we did well out there. We should have got something.”
Prior to Rooney’s equaliser, United boss Ferguson admitted that he feared yet another costly defeat for his team.
”In bad spells, you can sometimes miss chances and not get things going your way. But a win is a win and that’s what we needed after failing to win any of our last three league games,” he said.
United defender Brown, who finally netted his first Premiership goal after over 100 league appearances for the club, admitted that it is vital for the Old Trafford team to overhaul Arsenal, who play North London rivals Tottenham at Highbury on Monday night, and claim second place behind champions-elect Chelsea.
Brown said: ”Second place is still there for us and we are not going to just give it to Arsenal. We know we will probably have to win every game now, but it’s very important for us.
”We have second place to fight for and also the FA Cup Final. As holders, the Cup is special and we want to retain it, but getting second place in the league is vital because it gives us an automatic place in the Champions League next season.”
United’s win was marred by a worrying ankle injury to Argentinian full-back Gabriel Heinze. The former Paris St Germain defender landed on his right ankle following an aerial challenge with Newcastle forward Shola Ameobi.
Ferguson said: ”We have sent Gabriel to hospital for an X-ray, but he is a tough boy and I hope he will be OK.” – Sapa-AFP