Hammers midfielder admits frustration following comeback defeat
Last updated: 3rd April 2011
SSN
West Ham midfielder Gary O'Neil admits the manner of his side's defeat to
Manchester United was disappointing but is adamant they will bounce back.
The Hammers were two goals to the good at Upton Park on Saturday but ended
up losing 4-2 thanks to a second-half Wayne Rooney hat-trick. Mark Noble had
scored twice from the penalty spot and Avram Grant's men were looking good
for a crucial three points in their fight against Premier League relegation.
They now take on Bolton next weekend and O'Neil claims they are ready to
bounce back from the disappointment. He said: "If we'd have done okay and
lost 1-0, everyone would have just said, 'That was Man United'. "Because we
were 2-0 up, it makes it feel that little bit harder to take. But we've got
some big games coming up. "We'll be ready for Bolton away next weekend and
it's a game we fancy getting something from."
Nemanja Vidic could have easily been sent off for United and asked whether
he felt his side would have held on against 10 men, O'Neil added: "Yeah, I
would've thought so. It makes it easier to hold on, obviously. "But I think
the main difference was the changes they made. They were positive changes.
"They didn't cause us too many problems in behind, first half, but as soon
as (Javier) Hernandez came on and they brought (Dimitar) Berbatov on as
well, it made a massive difference."
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Vinny's Manchester United Report
Vinny - Sun Apr 3 2011
West Ham Online
West Ham United 2 Manchester United 4
Despite take a 2-0 lead into half time courtsey of two Mark Noble penalties,
West Ham were crushed by Champions Manchester United who scored four second
half goals to leave West Ham fans shell shocked. When you have the quality
that Manchester United possess and a weak referee it is never going to be
easy and although losing to Manchester United would not be considered a
shock, I left Upton Park totally deflated. Whilst we were never comfortable
we had got ourselves in an excellent position to go on and seal all three
points but we just could not get hold of the ball in the second half as
Manchester United pressed forward and put us under immense pressure. The
referee should have sent on Manchester United defender Nemanja Vidic for a
quite clear professional foul on Demba Ba in the first half. It is not as if
the referee Lee Mason waved play on - he gave the free kick and then booked
Vidic. The rules of the game quite clearly state that if you are the last
man then you have to be sent off and just like when Manchester United played
Aston Villa in the League Cup final last season, Vidic was spared by a week
and idiotic referee.
We all know why he didn't send him off and that was because of who Vidic
plays for. Their manager Alex Ferguson had started his touchline ban due to
comments made against referees and mix that with the fact Mason had already
awarded us two penalties (both clear-cut in my opinion) he wasn't going to
upset Ferguson any more. No doubt Manchester United deserved something from
the game and some of their attacking play in the second half was quite
phenomenal but if Vidic had gone when he should have we would have been
leading 2-0 and with an extra man. I am convinced we would be talking about
a different result now.
I came away from the game truly gutted but not angry at the team. I found it
a little confusing that when Rooney tucked away the third goal from the
penalty spot that West Ham fans decided to leave on mass in what I can only
consider as disgust. I thought we had given it a good go and two set pieces
really did the damage.
This result does not change my opinion that we are still heading in the
right direction with regards to how we are applying ourselves and how we are
performing at the moment. I am still confident that we will get the results
needed to stay in this division. For what seems like one of the only
occasions this season, Avram Grant made no changes to the side who started
the last game. He kept faith in all eleven who started at White Hart Lane
and performed admirably.
On the subsitutes bench both Freddie Piquionne and Robbie Keane were back in
contention and were alongside Spector, Obinna, Reid and Boffin. The bench
still has no place for Julien Faubert and Radoslav Kovac who have slipped so
far down the pecking order (especially Kovac) I cannot see either getting a
game again. Even if all three centre midfielders were to be injured I
believe we would just change our formation to two in the centre and play a
wide man meaning that for Kovac to get back into the team it would require
injury to Parker, Noble, Hitzlsperger, O'Neil, Spector, Boa Morte, Sears,
Barrera, Obinna, and even Stanislas.
Starting for Manchester United was former Hammer and Academy product Michael
Carrick who made over 130 appearances for the club between 1998-2004 scoring
6 goals. The first ten minutes were all Manchester United who knew that they
cannot afford to slip up at this stage of the season if they want to retain
the league title which they seem destined to do given the lack of real
challangers to their crown.
The first chance of the game came from a corner which was swung in by Ryan
Giggs and it found the head of centre half Chris Smalling whose effort was
tipped over the bar by Robert Green. Despite seeing a lot of the ball on the
11 minute mark the game burst into life as we took the lead.
Hitzlsperger received the ball deep in his own half and floated a superb
left foot pass over the top for Carlton Cole to run on to. Cole seemed to be
ahead of the defender with a clear run at goal but he never seemed to have
judged the bounce correctly and looked as though he had lost his advantage
but as he attempted to lift the ball over defender Patrice Evra the
Manchester United man stuck out his hand and the linesman flagged for a
penalty kick.
Stepping up to take the penalty was Mark Noble who sent the keeper the wrong
was with a cool finish to make it 1-0.
Our goal made little difference to the way the game was being played. The
visitors struggled to play it through the middle as we had packed the
midfield and were keeping tight on any forward movement from their midfield.
And as we continued to work hard more fortune fell our way as we were
awarded a second penalty.
Matthew Upson hit a ball forward down the left which Demba Ba controlled and
fed Cole who was now one on one with Vidic coming in from the left as Cole
cleverly did a couple of step over's, he knocked the ball past Vidic only to
be clearly tripped and Lee Mason pointed to the spot again.
Vidic was complaining that the foul was not made in the area but for me it
was on the line which counts as the area in my book.
Mark Noble stepped up again to take the penalty and instead of placing the
shot like the last one, he blasted the ball into the top corner to make it
2-0.
Upton Park was rocking and we found ourselves amazingly 2-0 up with only 25
minutes on the clock.
The rest of the half was all about defending and keeping them out for as
long as we possibly could. They were eager to get back into the game and
were using the flanks well with Valencia on the right hand side looking very
dangerous.
They should have pulled a goal back when a pass was made through to Wayne
Rooney who cut the ball back for Ji Sung Park but despite having time and
space to his shot the ball went straight at Robert Green who made an
excellent save to divert it over the bar.
The corner count continued to rise and by the end of the game Manchester
United had won 16 corners and we did not have a single one.
From an attacking point of view we offered little although a move started
and ended by Hitzlsperger nearly resulted in something as Gary O'Neil
floated a pass to find the German midfielder but his first time left foot
shot went well wide.
Then came of the big talking points of the game as a long ball forward to
Demba Ba saw the striker out muscle Vidic and turn him only to be cynically
bundled to the ground. Mason showed Vidic the yellow card and not the red
much to everyone's surprise.
So half time and 2-0. I doubt there was any West Ham fan who thought that
the game was done and dusted. We all knew who we were playing and they are
the masters of the come back. We just needed to keep them out for as long as
possible.
And the second half did for a time seem to be going in our favour as we rode
our luck a little but defended well in the opening stages.
Vidic should have been sent off for the second time in the game when Noble
found Ba who again rolled past Vidic only to be chopped down. More weakness
from Mason followed with the Manchester United captain not even getting a
talking to.
On the 65 minute mark the game changed as Manchester United pulled a goal
back and we never recovered.
Carrick played the ball to Giggs who didn't seem to be going anywhere
particularly important but Mark Noble decided to lunge in. I haven't seen
the tackle again but I had first thought he had got the ball but the
reactions from the West Ham players seemed that they could not argue with
the decision.
Stepping up to take the free kick was up to that point the anonymous Wayne
Rooney who superbly curled the ball over the wall and past Robert Green.
Just before the goal Manchester United had brought on Berbatov to add to
their striking options. They had brought on Hernandez at half time and
really seemed to be signalling their intent.
Berbatov nearly got the equaliser just moments after their first goal after
some wonderful skill but his low shot from an impossible angle was saved by
Green.
Tension had settled around the Boleyn Ground and there was a sense of
inevitability that they would find an equaliser soon rather than later.
And on the 73 minute mark they did find the equaliser. A ball into the area
from Valencia saw Rooney more alert than anyone as he took a good first
touch and put his shot past Green to make it 2-2.
It was devastating to have watched us fall apart when we had looked as
though we may just be able to keep them out but a couple of chances were all
that they needed to punish us.
Just six minutes later everything turned to shit even more so as Rapheal got
down the right hand side (too easily I might add) and as he attempted to put
the ball back into the area Upson was there to block but the ball smacked
off his arm. The referee pointed to the spot in what was an extremely harsh
penalty decision as Upson could do nothing to get out of the way. His hand
wasn't up, it didn't move toward the ball and it was at such close range
Upson could do nothing about it.
But this is Manchester United of course.
Stepping up to take the penalty was Wayne Rooney who dispatched the shot
past Robert Green to make it 3-2 to the visitors.
A number of West Ham fans had presumably seen enough and decided to leave
which was a great way to show support.
The team were shell shocked and it showed. Grant introduced Victor Obinna
and Robbie Keane in an effort to add more options going forward but we kept
giving the ball away and could find no momentum or flow when going forward.
With around five minutes remaining more cruelty was bestowed upon us as
Manchester United broke forward with Rooney and the ball was eventually
rolled back to Giggs who smashed his effort across goal and with the aid of
a deflection the ball fell to Hernandez who could not miss from a few yards
out to make it 4-2.
I thought that the final score was very harsh on what was a decent display
from our boys who just ran out of steam and ran into a very good team who
were just too much for us.
There was an odd mood when leaving the ground as we all seemed to be a
little perplexed at what we had just seen given the contrasting emotions
that we had at half time.
Off then to the Black Lion to drown my sorrows and hope that next week at
Bolton we get back on track in the fight for survival.
Player Reviews
Robert Green
Not much he could do about any of the goals although he will be disappointed
he could not get to Rooney's free kick. Made some excellent saves,
especially in the first half.
Lars Jacobsen
A difficult game from Jacobsen who struggled throughout and made some poor
decisions especially going forward when he far too often picked the wrong
pass and lost the ball.
Matthew Upson
A good display from Upson who has been playing very well of late. Very
unlucky to have given away the penalty as there was nothing he could do to
remove his arm other than cutting it off.
Manuel Da Costa
A mixed bag from Da Costa who at times looked brilliant and in the first
half he was strong, giving Rooney nothing. But in the second half he just
seemed to lose his way a little and his distribution got worse and worse.
Some of his clearances were really poor and put us back under pressure.
Wayne Bridge
Had a tough time up against Valencia who I thought looked a different class.
Bridge stood up to him the best he could but Valencia was quite clearly the
winner of that battle.
Mark Noble
Hardworking as ever and probably the most involved of our three centre
midfielders. Did not get forward enough for my liking because one of the
three really had to so they could add support to the strikers. The gap
between midfield and up front was too big. Took his penalties really well
and I loved the way he smashed the second one in the top corner.
Scott Parker
At times he was so deep he was like another centre half. Never got forward
at all although I suspect this may have been the plan. Was not really in the
game and whilst he never stopped running this was not one of Parkers great
displays.
Thomas Hitzlsperger
His range of passing was good throughout the game although I felt he was a
little slow in picking out the passes which stopped any flow we may have had
on the counter. His pass for Cole in the first half which led to the penalty
shows what great vision he has.
Gary O'Neil
I continue to be impressed with O'Neill who gives everything he has got. He
may not be the fastest or cleverest on the ball but he does the right things
and keeps it simple.
Carlton Cole
Won two penalties which you would have to say was a decent contribution from
Cole. Won nothing in the air and was dominated by Smalling for most of the
game.
Demba Ba
Not on the ball enough for my liking. When he gets the ball at his feet and
turns and faces he looks fantastic and a real threat. Needs to be able to
find space to make an impact.
Subs Used
Fredrique Piquionne (on for Cole 68 mins)
Came on in the middle of Manchester United's revival and had very little
impact.
Victor Obinna (on for O'Neill 83 mins)
Very eager to get on the ball and tried his best to burst forward but it was
all gone by that point.
Robbie Keane (on for Noble 83 mins)
Like Obinna he was desperate to see the ball but by the time he came on
everyone else was flat and the game was finished.
Subs Not Used: Boffin, Spector, Reid, Tomkins
Bookings: Da Costa
Man Of The Match: Robert Green
Manchester United:Kuszczak, Fabio, Evra, Smalling, Vidic, Carrick, Park,
Gibson, Valencia, Giggs, Rooney
Subs: Amos, Gill, Anderson, Nani, Berbatov, Hernandez, Owen
Attendance: 34,546
Overall
Being where we are in the league will make this result seem ten times worse
and when you are 2-0 up against anyone it is always hard to take when you
not only lose that lead but actually lose the game.
Despite the obvious disappointment I still have confidence in this team that
we putting out there and with Obinna and Keane I believe we have options in
depth that will give us something else if needed. I'd still go with the same
team for the game next week at Bolton (maybe dropping Cole for one of the
other three strikers).
Next Game - Bolton Wanderers (a)
We never seem to beat Bolton and Kevin Davies always seems to score against
us. It is about time we won at the Reebok and there is no better time to do
this than next weekend.
It is not going to be easy and a win would be fantastic but as long as we do
not go there and lose I will be content. We need to keep confidence going
within the club because forgetting this game for a moment, the last few
league games have seen the players look brighter and in turn the fans have
responded with a bit more positively.
Results again elsewhere did not go out way and we know that it is only us
that can decide our destiny. Getting wins on the board is all that matters
at the moment and I still believe we need three victories from our remaining
games and a draw to stay in the league.
Avram's View
"That is the sign of champions. They won the game but we are only thinking
about ourselves. We played the first half very well. For a long time, I
haven't seen a team dominate so good against Manchester United. The first
half we were up two nil and then the second half we didn't play so well."
"the players were very disappointed". By then, Rooney had scored with a
tremendous central free-kick 20 yards out and a superb solo effort that
Robert Green could do little about.
"They are a good team. The second half they didn't have anything to lose so
they played with [Ryan] Giggs at left-back and had a lot of quality. We gave
them the space and Rooney hurt us."
"The players know it will go to the end of the season . They did their best
to take the points and we wanted to. We did everything but the players are
ready for any situation as we have shown this season. We have had good
momentum.
"There are a lot of positive things. The players saw that even against
Manchester United when they are doing the right things, we have a good team.
In the first half at times you didn't know who was at the top and who is at
the bottom. But football is two halves and we know we needed to complete the
job. It was too easy for them to control the game."
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It's Back to Front Against Man Utd, as 'Operation Reebok' Beckons!
April 4th, 2011 - 2:21 am by S J Chandos
West Ham Till I Die
Going in to the Man Utd match, two things were pretty obvious. Firstly, the
potential weaknesses that Man Utd had at the back. They currently have a
lot of injuries in defence and there was a patched up feel about their
rearguard. Secondly, in contrast, up front Man Utd had all of their
enormous attacking resources available for selection. For me, the pivotal
question was: could we win the midfield and put enough pressure on their
back line to win the match? Or would we be blown out of the water by a
potent strikeforce of Rooney, Berbatov and co?
In the first 45 minutes, it appeared that the former scenario had asserted
itself. We actually started the match with our play looking quite
disjointed. However, the power and pace of Cole and Ba forced Evra and Vidic
in to foul play and that resulted in Mark Noble's two excellently converted
penalty kicks. It was not a totally convincing 2-0 lead, but we were, where
we were! Going in at half-time 2-0 up was comforting, but there was always
the fear that Man Utd could change the game via the attacking riches on
their substitutes bench. It must be wonderful to have the luxury of being
able to call upon £20-30m strikers off the bench to get you out of a hole.
There was always a danger that if we conceded one goal, others would follow.
We needed that decisive third goal to clinch the win. And we came quite
close with Hitzlsperger's abortive volley and the excellent free kick, that
flew wide by the narrowest of margins.
At half-time, Man Utd went for broke offensively and we failed to respond
tactically. With the introduction of an extra striker, for Evra, and the
use of Giggs as a auxiliary left-back, surely we should have looked to
pressurize Giggs in this unfamiliar role. Personally, I would have
introduced Victor Obinna on the left flank, as a substitute for Carlton Cole
and moved Demba Ba in a more central striking position. And I would have
specifically charged Obinna with running at the veteran at every
opportunity, thus pinning him back and forcing him on the back foot. Giggs
succeeded because he was able to play most of the second half on the attack,
but would he have fared so well if he had to defend against a skillful
player like Obinna? Similarly, I would also have been tempted to replace
O'Neill with Piquionne on the right flank, earlier in the match. to try to
pin back their right-back's dangerous forward runs. In this situation,
attack really was the best form of defence! Unfortunately, we just sought
to contain them in the second half and, as a consequence, got absolutely
pulled apart.
Yet again we were on the rough end of some highly dubious refereeing.
TheFA's respect campaign is all very good and proper, but how about
accompanying it with a drive for professional competence amongst referees.
The free kick for Rooney's first goal should not have been awarded. For me
Noble won the ball. Having said that, one must acknowledge the 'top draw'
quality of Rooney's strike. Although the pathetic failure of the West Ham
wall to jump at the free kick was a contributing factor. Wally Downes needs
to drum these 'basics' in to players defending set peices! Hitzlsperger
certainly seems to have got caught in two minds and could have blocked
Rooney's strike from his position at the end of the wall. The referee
'bottled it' in his decision not to send off Vidic. If not for the
challenge in the first half, he should definitely have gone for the crude
hack on Ba at the beginning of the second half.
But no, Mr Mason failed to do what the rules dictated and that denied West
Ham the opportunity to defend their 2-0 lead against a 10 men Manchester
Utd. There is no absolute guarantee that we would have overcome those 10
men, but it would have been a strong possibility. Then Lee Mason compounds
his misdemeanours further by awarding a joke penalty against Matt Upson.
No, really, it was never a penalty, not in a million years! Yet, the
official dutifully gives it and Rooney needed no further invitation to
complete his hat trick. Man Utd's fourth goal was just sloppy, with Matt
Upson at fault on that occasion.
I see that Mark Noble has been subject to the usual criticism that follows
whenever we fall to a defeat. Well I really do not see that at all. In my
view from the BMU Noble was the best performing of the midfield triumvirate
of Parker-Hitzlsperger-Noble. Parker always gives 100% and this match was
no different, but he did not have the same impact on Saturday. Perhaps it
was a physical consequence of his exertions for England, or the fact that he
had not fully recovered from the calf strain that he picked up against
Wales. But it is a mark of the man, that we notice when he falls just a
little below the extremely high standards that he consistently sets. I
thought that Hitzlsperger had a relatively quiet game, he did nothing wrong,
but was not as dominant as we have seen him. While Noble was constantly in
the action, seeking the ball and trying to move it. He does not have great
pace, so what? Noble's importance is his ability to use the ball, switch
play and play decisive balls forward to the strikers.
I like the Jacobsen-O'Neill combination on the right flank. O'Neill's
industry and willingness to cover, gives Jacobsen a lot of assurance when
pushing forward. In contrast, Bridge does not benefit from the same sort of
consistent cover on the left flank, which can be a problem for him when
going forward. It is 'swings and roundabouts' with O'Neill's selection.
You gain a great deal in terms of industry and cover, but he does not
provide the most potent attacking threat. With Picquionne and Sears its the
other way around! Perhaps we need o start with O'Neill's graft against the
Man Utds Chelskis and Man Citys, but can afford to include more attacking
flair against less formidible PL opposition?
Matt Upson has been outstanding of late. Against Liverpool, Stoke City and
Spurs he was very dominant at the back. He did not have such a good game
against Man Utd, but for me the first choice centre-back pairing remains
Upson and either Da Costa or Tomkins. At least that is the situation until
the end of the season, when it is likely that Upson will move on a Bosman,
even if we survive. In contrast, I thought that Da Costa did very well on
Saturday and, in many respects, out shone his older, more experienced
central defensive partner. A Da Costa-Tomkins partnership would be
interesting, but it is a new partnership that is best tested next season.
Personally, I have my reservations as to whether they are botha bit too
right sided to form the perfectly balanced partnership, but who knows?
Perhaps they can compensate for that? It is good to see young Jordan Spence
doing well, on loan, at Bristol City. Hopefully, he can push on and compete
for a starting slot with us next season. While Matt Fry has also done well
on loan at Charlton, although they have been playing him at left-back. He
certainly has potential at left full back, but it is as a naturally left
sided central defender that Fry's future probably lies. Still, these are
considerations for next season, hopefully after a successful fight against
relegation.
Victory against Man Utd would have made all our lives so much easier.
Things would certainly look more positive today, with us in mid-table on 35
points, with 7 games to go this season. Needless to say, this is West Ham
and we rarely do things the easy way! I was anxious to avoid it going to
the last day of the season against Sunderland, but that's the way that it
might turn out. If so, lets hope that it is entirely in our own hands, a
'if we win, we stay up' type scenario! We do not want to be dependent upon
other results going our way, as this weekend proved, there can be too many
variables at play in those situations, especially if our relegation rivals
play teams with nothing much riding on the result. Mind you, considering
Sunderland's terrible recent form, they may be relegation threatened
themselves on the final day? That would certainly set up a really highly
competitive finale to the season!
Personally, I see no reason to revise my season long prediction that we will
avoid relegation. I did not factor in a West Ham win against Man Utd in to
my core calculations, I saw it more as a nice potential points bonus.
Thankfully, we do not face Man Utd's £30m forwards every week. Next weekend
sees us facing the very different, but still challenging away match against
Bolton Wanderers. Hopefully, they may be a bit distracted by the
forthcoming FA Cup Semi-Final against those 'anti-football' cheats, Stoke
City. However, I would not rely upon that, we need to set our stall out
well, perhaps with Tomkins coming in again at right-back, and grab a win up
there. In terms of the balance of probabilities, we are certainly over-due
a victory over them and this would be an excellent time to deliver it.
The squad need to put the Manchester Utd disappointment behind them and
concentrate on winning the next match. They need to approach it as
'operation reebok,' a highly professional smash and grab raid for three
vital points. It is not beyond this team, they just need to get their
mental approach, selection and tactics right on the day. If they can do
that, the three points are potentially there for the taking.
SJ. Chandos
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It's fail and pace
Published: Today
The Sun
GARY O'NEIL admits West Ham could not handle the pace against Manchester
United. The Hammers were 2-0 up with 25 minutes to go then faded at the
wrong time and finished up crushed. The winger said: "I just think we could
have done a little bit more for a little bit longer, just held out for a
little bit longer. We just fell off the pace a little bit. "I don't know
whether it was through a bit of tiredness because we'd worked so hard for
the first 60 minutes. But they exploited the gaps we left. We didn't keep
the ball well enough and we were constantly chasing. "There was a spell in
the first half when it was wave after wave from them and it's going to take
its toll."
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Hammers fans accused of racially abusing own players' relatives
Published 23:01 03/04/11 By Darren Lewis - EXCLUSIVE
The Mirror
Families of two West Ham players claim they were victims of racist abuse -
from their own fans. West Ham are investigating after guests of strikers
Victor Obinna and Freddie Piquionne were involved in a row with fans during
Saturday's defeat to Manchester United. Angry relatives of Obinna confronted
supporters in the Main Stand after they and guests of French frontman Obinna
were abused. The families were sitting in a box behind fans watching the
game when they claim a small section began hurling racist abuse at them. An
altercation is understood to have taken place after at least one family
member left the box to go downstairs and confront fans.
A source said: "Some of the stuff they said was disgusting. You just don't
expect to hear that from people supporting your own team. "These were
families of the players who didn't do anything to deserve that. It's a
disgrace."
The families are believed to have declined the opportunity to speak to
police but a formal complaint is now being considered. A West Ham spokesman
said: ?We take these allegations very seriously and are looking into them.
If there is found to be any wrongdoing, then we will take appropriate
action.?
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Rooney set to escape FA ban for foul-mouthed outburst
Published 23:01 03/04/11 By David McDonnell
The Mirror
Wayne Rooney is set to escape a ban and fine for his swearing outburst on
TV. The FA will write to Rooney, warning him as to his future conduct,
following his foul-mouthed tirade after clinching his hat-trick in
Manchester United's 4-2 win at West Ham. Having examined footage of the
incident, in which Rooney twice swore into the lens of a TV camera as he was
mobbed by his team-mates, the FA are understood to have decided a formal
warning will suffice. Rooney's apology, issued by United within a couple of
hours of the final whistle at Upton Park, is said to have counted in the
striker's favour as he awaits his fate. Although there has been uproar over
the incident, the FA are mindful of singling out Rooney and setting a
dangerous precedent which would see them duty-bound to punish any player
caught swearing. The FA will remind Rooney of his responsibility to behave
in accordance with existing disciplinary guidelines, while a repeat of
Saturday's controversy is likely to see the England striker face action. In
the context of the FA's ongoing Respect campaign and the Premier League's
clampdown on abuse towards referees and officials, United feared Rooney
could be made a scapegoat.
But the 25-year-old's public show of contrition looks to have got him off
the hook. Rooney said: "I want to apologise for any offence that may have
been caused by my goal celebration, especially to any parents or children
that were watching. "Emotions were running high and on reflection my heat of
the moment reaction was inappropriate, it was not aimed at anyone in
particular." Rooney has previous with TV cameras, having looked directly
down a camera lens and questioned the loyalty of England fans who booed
following the 0-0 draw with Algeria at last summer's World Cup.
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