Rooney Double Cuts Chelsea's Lead

By David Hobbs
February 27 2005

A goal in each half from Wayne Rooney was enough to send Portsmouth home south of the country empty-handed as Manchester United cut the gap between themselves and leaders Chelsea to just 6 points. Gary O'Neil equalized minutes into the second half to keep hopes alive.

Rooney Double Cuts Chelsea's Lead
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Manchester United 2
Rooney 8, 81

Portsmouth 1
O'Neil 47

A goal in each half from Wayne Rooney was enough to send Portsmouth home south of the country empty-handed as Manchester United cut the gap between themselves and leaders Chelsea to just 6 points.

The Red Devils made sure they took full advantage of Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Southampton and Chelsea's Caring Cup final with Liverpool tomorrow, despite an early second-half scare from Gary O'Neil.

Skipper Roy Keane and Rio Ferdinand were both exempt from action following a string of tough fixtures, so too Roy Carroll - who may have played his last game in a United jersey. Tim Howard took the position in-between the sticks as Mikael Silvestre moved into defence and John O'Shea stepped up into midfield.

Gary Neville and Paul Scholes were ejected from action early in the second half as Sir Alex Ferguson continued to rest key-players. Ruud van Nistelrooy started his first game since late November.

United stamped authority on the game early on, converting possession into a well-worked goal on the 8th minute. Gary Neville's right wing cross was swooped home at the near post by Wayne Rooney from inside the box.

The 19-year-old was in the thick of things again, setting up Gary Neville for another teasing cross. Cristiano Ronaldo was the recipient, but misfired his close range shot over the bar. Gary Neville was replaced at half time by Alan Smith.

Pompey failed to have any clear-cut opportunity in the first period, but the interval gave the away side to talk things over - and it paid off. Moments into the second half, Gary O'Neil took advantage of defensive confusion to punt home past Tim Howard. Ryan Giggs was then introduced, replacing Paul Scholes.

There were few chances between then and the end of the game, but Rooney made sure he got just one more before the end of the night. Rooney drove past Dejan Stefanovic to slot home past Chalkias.

Sir Alex Ferguson was impressed with his side's performance, commenting: "Wayne Rooney was fantastic. He was by far our best player - absolutely magnificent."

"Wayne picked up the baton for us and ran to the line. He was on song for us throughout the whole game. Ruud van Nistelrooy was terrific as well, and his pass for Wayne's second was an absolute killer." he added.

Final Score: Manchester United 2 - 1 Portsmouth
Att: 67,989

United: Howard, Gary Neville (Smith 45), Brown, Silvestre, Heinze, Ronaldo, O'Shea, Scholes (Giggs 65), Phil Neville, Rooney, van Nistelrooy (Fortune 85). Subs Not Used: Saha, Ricardo.

Portsmouth: Chalkias, Griffin, Stefanovic, De Zeeuw, Taylor, Stone, Skopelitis, O'Neil (Kamara 84), Hughes (Mezague 54), Yakubu, LuaLua.

Refereed By: M Halsey