Manchester United 2 - 0 Newcastle
Sunday 12th March 2006
Old Trafford, Manchester
Wayne Rooney put on a show that would have been worthy of the ticket money in itself! Only the post (and a number of deflections) managed to keep Rooney from scoring his hatrick - after Rooney had rounded the goalkeeper and had only a last-gasp on-the-line defender to beat!
The game started with a hushed silence around Old Trafford as the fans learnt of Ruud van Nistelrooy's starting position on the bench - this cna only be bad news for fans of the Dutchman, and looks set to follow the familiar exit route that Fergie used on Beckham and Stam.
Truth be told, United didn't need Ruud out there, not with Rooney and Ronaldo in such majestic form.
It took just 8 minutes for Rooney to net his first, and just half that for him to grab his second.
The first came courtesy of a Ramage back-pass which Rooney jumped on to. The work was far from over howevver, an it was only with a sublime chip, inch-perfect, that Rooney was able to guide the ball home over the clutching hands of Shay Given.
Four minutes later and good work from O'Shea and Saha saw the young scouser put through on goal again, and his instinctive turn and shot soared into the top corner.
United then enjoyed large percentages ofpossession for the rest of the match, with the United ensemble managing to create 26 shooting opportunities.
Ronaldo forced Given to save one sweeping free-kick before launching another attempt (having kissed the ball!) sailing over way above the bar.
Intricate play between Rooney and Ronaldo saw Ronny twice given a left foot shot from the edge of the area to drive towards the back-post, and both times Given was just about equal to it.
Van Nistelrooy came on with 15 minutes to go, with Cristiano making way, and uud almostscored with his first touch, which instead went just wide.
Rooney had the best chance to finish the match and grab his hatrick, but having rounded Given could only fnd the post.
A well deserved United win.
Man Utd: Van der Sar, Neville, Ferdinand, Brown, Silvestre (Evra 45), Ronaldo (van Nistelrooy 75), O'Shea, Giggs, Park, Rooney, Saha.
