Another super Rooney strike sinks Leeds

Leeds 0 Everton 1

If there had been any doubt as to whether Wayne Rooney was all hype following his remarkable goal-of-the-season contender to finally end Arsenal’s long unbeaten record a fortnight ago, then the Croxteth-born youngster blew them away.

Just five minutes after his second-half introduction for Tomasz Radzinski, Rooney underlined just what an outstanding talent he is, as well as being a breath of fresh air for English football as a whole. There appeared to be little danger for Leeds when Rooney picked up an 80th-minute through ball from Li Tie around 35 yards from goal.

But first he showed a superb turn of speed as he left Eirik Bakke flat on his back before powering his way into the area, evading the challenge of Leeds skipper Lucas Radebe and then firing an angled 12-yard shot beyond the previously exceptional Paul Robinson.

The goal means Everton are now riding high in sixth place in the Premiership on the back of three successive wins, two of which have come courtesy of Rooney winners.

But Moyes will continue to keep Rooney on the bench for now as he is more than happy with his current strike pairing of captain Kevin Campbell and Tomasz Radzinski, who on another day could easily have had a hat trick.

‘‘Wayne is going to grab the headlines, but he will continue to do that throughout his career,’’ said Moyes.

‘‘Tomasz ran them ragged and it was left for Wayne to finish them off in the closing moments.

‘‘It was a different type of goal to the one he scored against Arsenal, but then all forwards will tell you any type of goal is a good one. It’s more the type of goal I want to see him scoring, going into the box and committing defenders. People score outside (the box), but most goals are scored inside and that’s where good players need to go in.

‘‘I will make the right decisions regarding Wayne. It’s easy to keep him out of the spotlight. He does what’s natural to him and I will do what’s best for him.

‘‘Yes, I understand people will want him to start. But there’s a lot of talk about young players getting over-used and so I will use Wayne as I see fit.’’

Moyes was understandably delighted with a performance which could have yielded more goals but for the heroics of Leeds keeper Paul Robinson who produced a string of fine saves.

Leeds have now taken just two points from their last six league games to leave them languishing in 13th place in the Premiership and just four points above the relegation zone.

Manager Terry Venables conceded he was ‘‘not looking over his shoulder,’’ but added: ‘‘But I know what other people will be doing. Things are not running for us. People will look at the facts and our position in the league which is not good.

‘‘I have been pleased with the players in recent games, it’s just that we are not quite getting the results. We had a good one in midweek, but not today.’’

In scoring directly in front of the travelling Everton fans, many could not help but mob their hero as a mini-pitch invasion took hold, one which was soon dispersed.

LEEDS: Robinson, Mills, Woodgate, Radebe, Lucic (Harte 45), Bowyer, Bakke, Barmby, Kewell, Viduka (Bridges 68), Smith (McMaster 81).

EVERTON: Wright, Hibbert, Stubbs, Yobo, Unsworth, Carsley, Linderoth, Tie Li (Naysmith 82), Pembridge, Campbell, Radzinski (Rooney 75).

Referee: N Barry (N Lincolnshire).