Rooney Wins Derby for Manchester United and Sends Reds To Wembley

Wayne Rooney scored an injury time winner to secure a 4-3 aggregate win over bitter rivals Manchester City on a night of celebration for the red half of Manchester.

The first half looked very comfortable for City who came to Old Trafford protecting a 2-1 lead from the first leg. They were able to frustrate and limit United in the first period and despite large spells of possession, United rarely looked like troubling Shay Given.

Despite the lacklustre opening 45 minutes, there was always a feeling that this derby would roar into life, and that occurred when Paul Scholes' shot took a slight deflection before finding the bottom corner of the goal. This led to a period of United dominance which culminated in a shot by Michael Carrick that was perfectly placed into the far corner from a tight angle.

United should have put the tie beyond City when Rooney was presented with a fantastic opportunity following a flowing Manchester United move and a great cross from Patrice Evra—although replays did show, it was more difficult than it first appeared, as the ball arrived slightly behind the Premier League's top scorer.

The miss appeared to be very costly, as Tevez managed to get in front of Rio Ferdinand to apply a clever touch to Bellamy's cross, which found its way past Van der Sar. However, Rooney atoned for his earlier miss by heading United to a Wembley final against Aston Villa, when he got on the end of Ryan Giggs' superb cross in injury time.

The atmosphere at Old Trafford was exactly as you would expect for a semi-final derby. The noise level was as impressive as any since the semi-final against Barcelona, with the stadium a cacophony of noise for the majority of the second half. Sir Alex paid tribute to the supporters after the game, stating "when they're like this, we don't let them down." With the final in Wembley and a second leg tie against Milan to look forward to, a similar performance from the United faithful is needed in February.

The stadium was filled with green and gold, as well as the traditional red and white, a testament to the success of the anti-Glazer campaign which persuaded fans to don the original colours of Newton Heath to display their objection to the Glazer's ownership of the club. Almost as telling was the fact that despite thousands of fans wearing the green and gold colours, the campaign was not mentioned on Sky Sports or BBC Sport. Barring a few journalists, the campaign went largely unreported, despite its success.

The most notable aspect of the campaign was the cross-section of people who joined in with this completely peaceful protest. These weren't just mouthy teenagers and militant supporters wearing balaclavas, who signify much of the United resistance to Glazer. There were middle-aged men, fathers, mothers, and children wearing green and gold, demonstrating the extent of the anti-Glazer sentiment amongst match going supporters.

Much has been made of the bottle and coin throwing incidents which occurred just before Scholes scored the opening goal, as Bellamy approached the supporters behind Van der Sar's goal. The culprits were identified, ejected, and presumably arrested.

While behaviour of this nature clearly has no place in football, the media reaction and reports of FA action being taken against Manchester United appear at the very least inconsistent, given the subsequent reaction to the lighters and coins which were hurled at Evra, as he attempted to take a throw-in during the first leg at the Eastlands. Furthermore, credit must go to Van der Sar, who raced over and urged the home fans to calm down. 

While the fallout from the win may include a fine from the FA for failure to control fans, it was a night of much pride for the red side of Manchester. Whilst City appear to be closing the gap on United at an alarming pace, the two crucial late goals in the meetings between the sides this season suggest that it will be a long time before they can assemble a squad with the determination and resolve of Ferguson's side.