Rooney shows no mercy to Hodgson as
IF Roy Hodgson was hoping for a favour from the man he made England captain, Wayne Rooney was not in an obliging mood. Instead, Rooney inspired Championship side Derby County to dump Crystal Palace out of the FA Cup. It is now two wins in two for 34-year-old Rooney since he returned to England and for those of us who wrote him off when he left for America, it might be time to reassess.
Rooney dictated the game but Chris Martin won it, tapping in to give Derby the only goal of the game. Palace will wonder if they could have forced a replay had Luka Milivojevic not been handed a VAR-screen-assisted dismissal for a headbutt. Yet Hodgson’s side were never really at it and if this
Premier League side struggled to deal with Rooney, it will be interesting to see how the second tier copes. Derby manager Phillip Cocu said: ‘I think Wayne did very well. He played in a more controlled position in midfield alongside Tom Huddlestone and it was a great combination. He is a great influence. ‘When a player of his quality is in the team during the game, apart from his quality as a player, the influence is bigger because you have direct contact.’ Rooney aside, the game lacked quality. He nearly teed up Louis
Sibley with a sublime lofted through ball in the first half and played pass after pass through the Palace midfield. The poor nature of the game meant that when Jayden Bogle swung in a fierce cross that Martin met at the back post, the tie seemed over. Even after the break, when Palace came out looking for an equaliser, they lacked any real threat. And the dismissal of Milivojevic, which came after a tangle with Huddlestone off the ball, killed it. Referee Michael Oliver initially showed both a yellow card but was advised to check his screen by