Hernandez shows Rooney United are far from a spent force

WAYNE ROONEY clearly forgot about Javier Hernandez when he claimed the future wasn’t bright at Manchester United.

Days after Rooney’s spectacular U-turn, when he had insisted United did not match his ambitions, the striker known as Little Pea proved he is a little gem and gave Alex Ferguson his first Premier League away win of the season.

The Mexican international produced two goals, including a dramatic late winner, to move United within five points of league leaders Chelsea.

And birthday boy Rooney, celebrating his new five-year deal in Dubai with his family, will have been given a stark reminder in his plush hotel room that United are still fiercely determined to wrestle the title from Carlo Ancelotti.

Hernandez also provided a timely prompt that the future may not be so bleak. With five goals in his last five starts, the 22-year-old may not be the finished article just yet but is clearly one of the better acquisitions among a raft of recent duds recruited by Ferguson.

Indeed, with the continuing injury problems of Michael Owen, Hernandez is the ‘fox in the box’ predator that United have been screaming out for many a year.

He was signed because of a failure to bring in David Villa but at €7.8 million could still be regarded one of Ferguson’s shrewdest signings when he finally leaves his lair.

Even though Rooney was thousands of miles away, chilling out in the sun, he will have certainly had an influence on this encounter.

Stoke manager Tony Pulis and his players had spent the week preparing themselves to face a United team rocking from the turmoil of Rooney’s announcement that he wanted to bring an end to his six-year spell with the club because he felt United did not match his own ambitions.

But United were in buoyant mood after putting an end to the Rooney crisis, and fully focused on simply getting back into the title race with their first away win of the season in the Premier League.

There was not even a glimmer of a wounded animal and United were deservedly ahead after 27 minutes.

Nani’s deep cross from the right was headed back into the area by Rio Ferdinand and Hernandez cleverly directed the ball past the flailing Thomas Sorensen.

Stoke have bloodied many noses in their Britannia bearpit but were strangely subdued in their attempts to retrieve the game in the first half.

The gargantuan throws of Rory Delap were, as usual, their most potent weapon but United, marshalled superbly by Nemanja Vidic, dealt with them admirably.

The big turning point, however, centred on Gary Neville, making his 600th appearance of a glittering United career.

Any hopes he may have had of passing that record quietly were swiftly extinguished, for he was fortunate to escape a sending off before half-time.

A crude lunge on Matthew Etherington resulted in a caution from referee Andre Marriner but he somehow avoided picking up a second shortly afterwards for another rash challenge on the Stoke winger.

Bizarrely, the former England international emerged for the second half but then suffered the ignominy of being substituted before the first whistle, to be replaced by Wes Brown.

United were cursing Marriner in the 55th minute when Patrice Evra was bundled over the in the area by Rory Delap, but the West Midlands official was unmoved.

Stoke battled valiantly to retrieve the game and Tuncay, who has recently not even made the 18-man squad, rewarded their pressure with an exquisite curling effort a the first goal Stoke had registered against United in five attempts.

It was a stunning finish and, more importantly for the Turkey international, a vital chance taken to stake a claim for more regular first team involvement.

Just when Ferguson must have feared his wait for an end to United’s travel sickness had been dashed again, up popped the Mexican to enhance his burgeoning reputation.

Evra latched on to a clever, if a little hopeful, flick from Paul Scholes and his cross was turned in by Hernandez to spark crazy scenes with the travelling support behind the South Stand.

The diminutive striker has enabled United to, as Ferguson said, finally “get the show on the road’’.

It is a journey that, against all odds earlier in the week, will include Rooney and the prospect of a partnership with him and Hernandez is certainly an enticing one to keep the fire burning in Ferguson’s belly.