English League Cup Final - Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 1:YOU CAN change the tournament and relocate to a stadium that is not on the Premier League road map but there is no escape from the unforgiving truths.

Manchester United have players such as Wayne Rooney who usually impose their will, as he did here when coming off the bench to head the winner in the League Cup final. The attacker was initially among the substitutes because he was tired, affected by a heavy cold and carrying a minor knee injury. Still he was nowhere near handicapped enough for Aston Villa’s liking.

When trophies are being borne aloft there is little room for pathos, yet it was sad that Michael Owen, having equalised for United, did not even make it to the interval before suffering a hamstring injury and giving way to Rooney. His goal had been taken with such swift efficiency that everyone at Wembley realised again what a remarkable finisher he truly is. The watching England manager, Fabio Capello, has never been in any rush to reinstate Owen but the striker had appeared convincing until the display turned out to be a cameo.

This game was not wholly about the outstanding performers at Alex Ferguson’s disposal. The character of the final could have been altered had United been reduced to 10 men as Villa opened the scoring in the fifth minute. Nemanja Vidic pulled down Gabriel Agbonlahor to concede a penalty when the forward broke through on Ashley Young’s pass.

The referee, Phil Dowd, was adamant for some unknown reason that there should be no red card. It would have been fanciful of the official to conclude that the scoring opportunity was not clear-cut but, even if he had been of that opinion, there ought to have been a caution.

The comfort is that Dowd will never be convicted of partisanship. There has been animosity towards him from United followers after past episodes, such as the red cards dished out to Paul Scholes and Rooney at Craven Cottage a year ago. Still a final is a particularly bad occasion on which to make a key mistake.

Vidic did pick up a booking in the second half, when it was far too late. In the fifth minute at Wembley the punishment was confined to James Milner’s confident conversion of the spot-kick.

That breakthrough led mostly to Villa being exposed. They had to deal with opponents liberated by the need to respond. Martin O’Neill’s squad has the best defensive record in the Premier League, yet there was never a spell in which they looked equipped to stifle United. If this final is any guide, Ferguson is gaining some assets as he plans for the critical phase of the campaign.

Dimitar Berbatov, for instance, had a sustained impact not generally associated with a man who has seemed to be settling for cameos since the move from Tottenham. The Bulgarian’s touch and awareness kept the Villa back four off-balance.

Hard though they battled, the losers had to make too many last-ditch challenges. United would not let them muster authority.

Antonio Valencia, often an impact substitute for United on the right, was the main challenger to Rooney for any man of the match prize. It was helpful that Villa never appeared capable of frustrating their opponents.

That was epitomised by the equaliser in the 13th minute. Republic of Ireland international Richard Dunne simply could not bring the ball under control. As the centre-half attempted ponderously to turn towards his own penalty area, Berbatov dispossessed him. The effort by Dunne to redeem the situation saw him inadvertently help the ball into the path of Owen, who levelled with an instant and ruthless finish.

For all Villa’s development under O’Neill it felt as if the final had moved irretrievably beyond them even when the score was simply tied. Forthright as the side were in the closing moments, they could not wholly convince.

United could have been ahead by half-time. An attempted clearance by James Collins was met by Park Ji-sung for an effort that struck the post.

Ferguson’s squad is hard to assess. There are a few veterans around and the overall strength has been greater in times gone by but the present group is far from feeble. Seldom noticed players such as Park deserve more recognition and Valencia looks as if he is now settling down after making the challenging switch from Wigan to United.

Valencia, following an interchange with Berbatov, crossed for the winner that Rooney headed in after 74 minutes. The striker nodded against the post from Valencia’s service four minutes later. Rooney has 29 goals for his club this season, if one in the Community Shield defeat by Chelsea is included.

United commonly have greater prizes in mind than that or the League Cup but yesterday’s victory is a fillip as the true challenges approach.

Guardian Service