Rooney bored by Dynamo's approach

MANCHESTER, England: Striker Wayne Rooney said he was bored with Dynamo Kiev's approach at Old Trafford on Wednesday where he helped Manchester United qualify for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 4-0 victory.

"It was difficult because they did not really want to play. We got frustrated and bored at times," Rooney told Sky Sports.

"It was like a training session. They showed no enthusiasm to play the game. I didn't really enjoy it but we did a good job and got the win. We are delighted we are through."

The England international maintained his rich form with a ninth goal in his last nine games for club and country when he added to efforts by Gerard Pique, Carlos Tevez and Cristiano Ronaldo as United maintained a 100 percent start in Group F.

But Rooney took more satisfaction from the outcome than the performance as Kiev's defensive attitude left them without a point at the bottom and eliminated from the competition.

United manager Alex Ferguson said he understood Rooney's reaction, telling a news conference: "It can sometimes be quite tedious to break them down. I think Dynamo Kiev came with a game-plan to make sure they were not embarrassed.

"They have got a massive game against Shakhtar Donetsk on Sunday and I think they were looking for a result to give them some confidence for that," he added, referring to Kiev's home fixture with the Ukrainian league leader.

"It took time for us to really open up the game. We needed a break and we got that for the first goal and after that I felt we were more comfortable," said Ferguson.

"The second goal was an excellent piece of football and in the second half we could have scored more. They could have had two or three goals but I was happy with the scoreline of 4-0."

The result took United's goal tally to 22 in its last six games as it continued its best start to a Champions League campaign since 2002-03.

Ferguson, who celebrated his 21st season in charge at Old Trafford on Tuesday, is now looking to complete the job by winning the group and possibly easing United's passage through the last 16 of the competition.

He said: "We experimented last season and nearly got ourselves embarrassed. But that was really about two away games.

"In this situation we are at home against Sporting Lisbon (on November 27) and if we win that we win the group and there will be an emphasis on that."

United won despite resting six players after the Premier League draw at Arsenal on Saturday, including Rio Ferdinand, Owen Hargreaves and Ryan Giggs, and withdrawing goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar at halftime due to a recurring foot injury .

However, Ferguson said he expected all those players to be available to face Blackburn Rovers in the league on Sunday.

Agencies

(China Daily 11/09/2007 page23)