IGGY POPS ROONEY’S BUBBLE!
United reach last eight at old hero’s expense
OLE Gunnar Solskjaer was right about Wayne rooney. There is still fight in the old dog. But Manchester united have a bit of bite themselves at the moment and it was enough to see them through to the Fa Cup quarter-finals last night.
Two goals from Odion Ighalo — no spring chicken himself at the age of 30 — and a rare effort from Luke Shaw secured a trip to norwich City for Solskjaer’s side, who are now unbeaten in their last nine games, winning six of them and keeping seven clean sheets.
rooney did his best to stop his old club on a night when he was lauded by both sets of supporters. In the dying seconds, with the outcome decided, Derby’s playercoach stood over a free kick 25 yards from goal.
‘If rooney scores, we’re on the pitch,’ sang the united fans and they probably weren’t joking. He bent a shot over the united wall and under the bar. Sergio romero had clawed out another rooney free-kick from similar distance in the 18th minute, and united’s no2 goalkeeper denied him again as he tipped the ball over.
‘Sergio didn’t read the script,’ smiled Solskjaer. ‘You know everyone loves Wayne. He showed class, although sometimes he had too much quality and time on the ball for my liking.’
at the age of 34, rooney looks every inch the senior figure at Derby. These days he has a thick beard and even thicker physique than when he left united after 13 years in 2017.
The touch is still there even if the stamina isn’t. So is the desire, as
Solskjaer pointed out before this game. rooney started the first half by clattering Scott McTominay and ended it with a booking for chopping down Fred.
He prompted and cajoled a young Derby team that included four teenagers. He pinged two sumptuous long-range passes to one of the young ones, Jayden Bogle, who on the second occasion crossed for Martyn Waghorn to send a glancing header inches past the far post from Derby’s best chance early in the second half.
The impressive Louie Sibley also fired just wide of romero’s right-hand post during a bright opening by the Championship side. united looked a little vulnerable at that point. Even more so without captain Harry Maguire who rolled his ankle in training on Wednesday, although he is expected to be fit for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Solskjaer’s side settled, though, and took command of the tie by scoring twice before half-time. There was an element of good fortune about their first goal in the 33rd minute, moments after Derby goalkeeper Kelle roos had been forced into his first genuine save from Ighalo.
Shaw broke down the left and slipped the ball inside for Jesse Lingard. His shot was blocked by defender Craig Forsyth and so was the follow-up effort from Bruno Fernandes.
Shaw made it third time lucky, though, as his shot into the turf reared up and brushed Lingard’s back as it looped over roos into the top corner.
It was the defender’s first goal in 19 months and he also helped set up united’s second four minutes before half-time after their penalty appeal for handball against George Evans had been turned down.
This time Shaw cut infield and guided a pass into the box for Ighalo. The nigerian was up against Forsyth and Max Lowe but got the better of both, breaking their tackles before beating roos from close range.
united’s loan signing is starting to win over the critics who questioned his move from Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua in January, not least because he had been away from the Premier League for three years and was kept away from his new teammates due to issues surrounding the coronavirus alert.
Ighalo claimed his third goal in as many games in the 70th minute to guarantee united’s place in the quarter-finals for the sixth year in a row.
a slick move ended with Juan Mata squaring the ball to Ighalo. His first effort was blocked by Bogle but he hammered home at the second attempt. By then, united were comfortable enough to have taken off their key man Fernandes ahead of Sunday’s derby.
and, with the game won, their supporters could pay tribute to rooney, the club’s 253- goal all-time record scorer.
They were backing him just as much as the Derby fans when he stepped up at the end to test romero again with that free kick.
‘Sergio was not in a kind mood,’ said rooney. ‘He could have let that one in. It would have been nice but it wasn’t to be.’
DERBY COUNTY (4-2-3-1): Roos 6; Bogle 7, Evans 5.5, Forsyth 6.5, Lowe 5; Bird 6, Rooney 7; Knight 6, Sibley 7 (Shinnie 80min), Lawrence 6 (Whittaker 44, 5.5); Waghorn 6 (Marriott 67, 6). Subs not used: Hamer, Clarke, Davies, Martin. Booked: Rooney. Manager: Phillip Cocu 5. MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1): Romero 6.5; Dalot 6.5, Bailly 7, Lindelof 7, Shaw 7.5 (Williams 80); McTominay 6.5, Fred 6.5 (Martial 73, 6); Mata 7, Fernandes 7 (Pereira 67, 6), Lingard 6; IGHALO 8. Subs not used: De Gea, Tuanzebe, Matic,
Greenwood. Scorers: Shaw 33, Ighalo 41, 70. Booked: Shaw, Bailly, Williams. Manager: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer 7. Referee: Craig Pawson 7. Attendance: 31,379.