FOOTBALL : Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has vowed to continue scoring after hitting his 100th Premier League goal in the victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Manchester United midfielder Ryan Giggs has vowed to continue scoring after hitting his 100th Premier League goal in the victory over Portsmouth at Fratton Park.
Giggs turned 36 on Sunday but boss Sir Alex Ferguson believes the Welshman has at least two years left in his legs, with his performance against Avram Grant’s men illustrating his importance to United.
“It is about time I got 100 Premier League goals,” he said. “I am obviously proud of the achievement. There are not many players who have done it. Hopefully there will be many more.”
Giggs’ maturity appears to be rubbing off on Rooney, who has recently become a father for the first time and on the pitch has captained England.
“Giggs is amazing,” Rooney said. “He never surprises you. His energy and work rate, passing, and movement is unbelievable. He is a privilege to play with.
“You wouldn’t think he was 36, he plays more like a 26-year-old. He is up and down and everywhere. It is great for him he got 100 league goals.”
The 4-1 defeat for Grant in his first match in charge of Pompey offered plenty of reminders of his final game for Chelsea 18 months ago, starting with the downpour.
It was teeming down in Moscow too for that Champions League final which was decided by penalties, while this match contained three spot-kicks. In Russia, Giggs effectively scored the decisive penalty and here he wrapped up the scoring with his free-kick.
While Grant’s Chelsea were arguably the better team for the 2008 showpiece, this time the Pompey team he inherited had decent spells and the scoreline appeared to flatter United.
Rooney admitted: “The manager was quite disappointed we hadn’t moved the ball around in the first half the way we can. We didn’t create much and we had to work on that.”
