Roo beauty as United retain cup
Wayne Rooney came off the bench to net the winner as
Manchester United retained the Carling Cup with a 2-1 win over
Aston Villa at Wembley.
Rooney, a first-half replacement for Michael Owen, powered a
header past Brad Friedel with 16 minutes to go as United claimed
their fourth League Cup final success.
Villa, who themselves were looking for their sixth League Cup
win, had taken the lead early on through a James Milner penalty but
Owen levelled for United before hobbling off.
Martin O'Neill's men will probably point to the fact that
Nemenja Vidic should have seen red for his part in the penalty
incident, but United probably deserved to lift the silverware in a
closely contested match.
Villa flew out of the traps and took the lead with just five
minutes on the clock, although they should also have been given a
man advantage by referee Phil Dowd.
Ashley Young's ball over the top for Gabriel Agbonlahor saw the
England frontman outpace Vidic into the area, but the Serbian
defender repeatedly tugged at Agbonhalor's shirt and eventually
clipped his legs to bring him down. Dowd correctly pointed to the
spot, with Milner converting emphatically from 12 yards, but should
have shown Vidic a red card for being the last man - in fact he
wasn't even shown a yellow!
Villa's lead did not last long, however, with United hitting
back seven minutes later.
Richard Dunne was ponderous on the ball and was robbed by
Dimitar Berbatov who broke into the box - Dunne got back to get a
tackle in but the ball broke to Owen who produced an expert finish
across Brad Friedel and into the far corner.
Owen, who was looking bright, suffered yet more injury woe when
he pulled up with what looked like a hamstring problem shortly
before half-time and was replaced by the in-form Rooney.
It was United who started the brighter in the second period,
with Michael Carrick forcing Friedel into a smart stop to his
right.
But, after a decent spell of Villa pressure, Sir Alex Ferguson's
men took the lead with yet another Rooney header.
Man-of-the-Match Antonio Valencia and Berbatov played a neat
one-two down the right, the former's cross picked out Rooney 12
yards from goal and he strained his neck muscles to send a majestic
header into the top corner.
It could have been 3-1 moments later when another Valencia
header found Rooney again, but this time the England striker's
downward header struck the foot of the post and rebounded to
safety.
Villa piled bodies forward in search of an equaliser but United
held out to make it back-to-back Carling Cup wins.