PENALTY WOE FOR ROONEY
Wayne, Carrick and Young off target after Boro go the extra mile
England internationals Wayne Rooney, Michael Carrick and ashley Young all missed their penalties as Championship underdogs Middlesbrough scored a sensational shootout win to knock Manchester United out of the Capital One Cup.
Thousands of Boro fans went berserk as their side won 3-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes to heap further misery on louis van gaal and Rooney. The players mobbed goalkeeper Tomas Mejias, normally a reserve, after he saved from Rooney and Young, with Carrick firing over the bar.
Three days after United and Manchester City played out a goalless draw at the one-time Theatre of dreams, aitor Karanka’s side also reached the end of 90 minutes at 0-0.
That meant United fans hadn’t seen a goal for either team in three hours, 37 minutes at the famous old stadium — since Chris Smalling struck in the 53rd minute against Wolfsburg on September 30. and that was despite Van gaal throwing on Rooney, anthony Martial and Young in the second half to try to force the issue.
Van gaal made nine changes from Sunday’s Manchester derby, with Smalling and Marcos Rojo the only starters to keep their place, but the bench was packed with big-hitters in Rooney, Martial and Juan Mata. The combined transfer fees of their seven substitutes added up to £196.5million.
Boro made a spirited start. after 17 minutes, United’s defence failed to clear a corner, Emilio nsue’s ambitious overhead kick fell to george Friend and from six yards he should have beaten stand-in goalkeeper Sergio Romero.
at the other end, United’s teenage forward James Wilson was receiving precious little of the ball. The 19-year-old had been limited to eight minutes of action before last night and while Marouane Fellaini may have some assets as a no 10, threading clever passes through for a pacy striker isn’t top of the list.
Boro worked hard in the opening half to nullify the threat of United wingers Memphis depay and Jesse lingard, so much so that left back Rojo became the most dangerous crossing option.
Though tactically interesting, the Theatre of dreams it wasn’t. depay, who needed a big performance after losing his Premier league place following criticism from Van gaal, ran into too many blind alleys as Boro doubled up on him. He ended the half swapping flanks with lingard.
It has been a criticism of Van gaal’s tenure that his sides don’t create enough raw excitement. It was true again, though Boro deserve praise for the way they harried and kept the ball when they had the chance.
One lay-off from Wilson that was run out of play by depay, causing the dutchman to punch the air in frustration, summed up the mood. Romero, a World Cup final goalkeeper last year, got in on the act by slicing a clearance into the still night air and out of play barely 30 yards from his goal.
after 35 minutes, there was some belated combination play between Fellaini and Wilson, with the youngster shooting early but straight at Mejias.
Fellaini gave himself a shooting chance to break the deadlock but the Belgian’s effort was blocked heroically by Friend, who flung his body in the way.
It wasn’t one-way traffic, though. at the other end, Kike ran in behind the United defence but failed to lift his finish high enough over Romero before Stewart downing had an excellent effort from 25 yards that the goalkeeper turned away for a corner.
Middlesbrough’s fans had shone their mobile- phone lights 10 minutes into the first half as a show of support for the 1,700 steel factory workers who are about to lose their jobs in nearby Redcar.
It seemed to inspire the Boro players and Van gaal was forced to offer them a different challenge when he sent on Rooney for the second half after Wilson had ended the first period hobbling.
given the debate about where the 30-year-old United captain should play these days, it was interesting that he operated as the furthest man forward, with Fellaini tucking in behind.
The new instruction was clearly to shoot on sight and within 10 minutes of the restart, Mejias had been called into action to stop longrange efforts from depay, andreas Pereira and Fellaini.
There was a bizarre incident after 58 minutes. assistant Simon long flagged Kike before the Middlesbrough player hit the post but daley Blind hadn’t seen it and sliced the ball into his own net as he tried to clear. Middlesbrough’s players erupted in premature celebration but naturally the goal didn’t stand.
It was livening up now. Young was sent on for Rojo and depay was blocked by a last-ditch tackle from Ben gibson as he prepared to pull the trigger inside the penalty area.
Blind, now at left back, played a pass to Romero who let it bounce over his right foot and was mightily relieved to see it trickle a couple of inches past the post.
The argentine then made amends by beating away a grant leadbitter shot destined for his near post.
The final minute of normal time produced as much excitement as the preceding 89. lingard’s shot was parried by Mejias and Boro raced straight up the other end, with Romero racing out to deny leadbitter.
Martial’s dribble was then ended when he ran into Rooney and Romero saved from downing in injury time.