Ferguson praises Rooney's impact

Rooney came on for the last 20 minutes and changed the game

Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson hailed the introduction of Wayne Rooney from the bench as the inspiration for their 2-0 FA Cup win at Aston Villa.

The third-round tie appeared destined for a replay until Cristiano Ronaldo opened the scoring nine minutes from time and Rooney sealed the win late on.

"Wayne changed the game when he came on. He brought us thrust and enthusiasm and direct play," Ferguson said.

"He attacked defenders and made a heck of a difference to the game."

Under the watchful eye of England boss Fabio Capello, Rooney came off the bench to score United's second at Villa Park and said he was always confident his side would progress.

606: DEBATE Give your thoughts on Man Utd's win

He said: "Coming to Villa Park is a difficult place to come so we're delighted to get through to the next round.

"With the players we've got we knew we could get the goals. It took a bit longer than we had expected but Ronaldo's goal set up the win.

"I love the competition and I'm desperate to win it.

"I've been to the final twice now and lost twice so hopefully we can get to the final again and this time win it."

We had 7,500 fans here, who had a real party Alex Ferguson

After clarifying his feelings about the lack of atmosphere at Old Trafford during the New Year's Day win over Birmingham yesterday, Ferguson also reinforced his belief United's travelling fans are among the best.

"We had 7,500 fans here who had a real party," he said.

"Every time we come to Aston Villa, they are really up for it. They can make a difference, which is the point I made last week. When our fans are like that, we do not let them down."

Villa boss Martin O'Neill felt his side deserved a replay before the late goals from Ronaldo and Rooney condemned them to a 13th successive defeat at the hands of United.

He said: "I didn't think we deserved to lose but also didn't do enough to win it. I am disappointed because with 10 minutes to go I thought a replay was on the cards.

"We put in a big effort and they did not put us under sustained pressure although we didn't do the same either to Manchester United.

"We are disappointed because we are better than today's performance. We had plenty of determination but didn't do enough although I still feel we deserved a draw."