Main-man Rooney was there to put away the ball and win the Cup for Manchester United. It was only the first time in history that the League Cup was retained and United had to battle it out with Aston Villa at the new Wembley.
Most important news during the week was Sir Alex's decision to bench Wayne Rooney. But looking at Ferguson's history with such announcements, it would have been no surprise if Rooney in fact did start and it was all mind games. But Rooney did not start and the role went to Michael Owen, who apparently was playing at Wembley for the first time in spite of his illustrious career at Liverpool. Aston Villa have the best defensive record in the league, had beaten United at Old Trafford and made a fight of it at Villa Park just a few weeks before, earning a draw. Going into the match, the tie seemed evenly poised.
Four minutes in and United made the first error. Vidic pulled down Agbonlahor inside the box and Milner scored from the subsequent penalty. Vidic was lucky to escape any punishment as he was the last man. The only thing that may have helped him was that Agbonlahor had lost control of the ball on his onward journey. But as it was a clear foul, it deserved a yellow card in the least. With United behind so early and their most prolific scorer on the bench, it seemed they had their work cut out. But Richard Dunne made the error in the 12th minute. Pressure from Berbatov made him lose the ball. He tracked Berbatov and stole it only to present it to Michael Owen, who calmly scored the equalizer. Owen, whose England future seems to be on the line with Egypt visiting on Wednesday for a friendly, needed this start and a goal to prove himself to Capello.
The game went dry after those goals. Each team created half chances but there was never a real threat from anyone. Two chances fell to Park where he could not direct a back heel flick from Berbatov towards goal and a second shot hit the inside of the post and was blocked by Cuellar on the goal line. Owen could not get a chance to impress Capello as he suffered an injury to his hamstring late in the first half and on came Wayne Rooney. The half ended 1-1.
Second half started where the first half ended. A game of half chances continued as Heskey, Milner, Rooney and Berbatov got close to goal but never really troubled the keepers. Carrick came the closest when Berbatov flicked to him just outside the box and Carrick made Friedel make a good save to deny United from taking the lead. The breakthrough came when Valencia crossed to Rooney from just inside the box and Rooney was able to direct the ball to the top left corner while Friedel tried helplessly to save the ball. It was a well-directed header with James Collins pressuring Rooney. But in the form of his life, United could count on Rooney to make such chances count. Rooney got another chance from a Valencia cross when he was open, but his header hit the post and deflected away. Villa, meanwhile, were trying to get back from going behind. Carew was brought in and with 3 strikers at the helm, they pressed on. They created many chances in the last few minutes, but the United defense hung on. Agbonlahor came close in the 93rd minute as he headed away from the goal. Villa's attacks were in vain as United held on to a Cup win.
This is a great boost for United who are now only 1 point behind Chelsea in the league and favorites to move to the Quarter-finals of the Champions League. Villa have to wait for a trophy for another year. It has been 20 years since they have won a trophy and United denied them the chance to end the drought. It was a battle of half chances and the special head of one, Wayne Rooney. United may have deserved to win in the end, but they can thank their stars too. Had Vidic been sent off in the 4th minute, the game would have turned on its head. Surely, Martin O'Neil will be unhappy with the decision and we would have to wait for an explanation from the referee about his call. But the bottom line is, United have retained the League Cup and have another chance at a treble.
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