Rooney rocket inspires United

By Tim Dykes

A stunning strike from Wayne Rooney put Manchester United FC on the way to a 2-1 victory at home against Newcastle United FC in the Premiership.

Spectacular volley
Darren Ambrose had given Newcastle a first-half lead by capitalising on a poor clearance from Tim Howard to advance and slip the ball past the Manchester United goalkeeper on 27 minutes. But Sir Alex Ferguson's side came out for the second half revitalised and Rooney restored parity with a spectacular volley which rocketed past Shay Given shortly before the hour mark.

Brown winner
Wes Brown's first ever Premiership goal settled the tie, the centre-half nodding in from a corner 16 minutes from time to earn his side victory and move them within a point of second-placed Arsenal FC in the race for an automatic UEFA Champions League qualification spot. Newcastle have now lost five games in a row and remain 14th in the table.

South-coast derby
At the other end of the table, rock-bottom Southampton FC's hopes of extending their 27-year stay in the top flight look increasingly slim after a disappointing 4-1 defeat at the hands of local rivals Portsmouth FC. Harry Redknapp's side could have climbed out of the relegation places with victory but fell behind after just four minutes when goalkeeper Antti Niemi brought down Lomana LuaLua, and Yakubu Ayegbini scored from the spot.

Redknapp return
Arjan de Zeeuw's 17th-minute header doubled Portsmouth's lead and left Redknapp - enduring his first visit to Fratton Park since leaving one south-coast club for the other in December - fearing the worst. But Henri Camara's fine run and angled strike gave the visiting supporters hope three minutes later. The game's frantic pace continued, however, and Niemi's second major error of the afternoon brought Portsmouth's third goal midway through the first half.

LuaLua double
The Finnish international came out of his area but failed to clear and the ball was hooked into the empty net by LuaLua, who put the result beyond doubt with a wicked 18-metre strike on 27 minutes. Southampton managed to keep Portsmouth at bay for the last hour of the game, but their failure to get back into the match leaves Redknapp's side staring relegation in the face.