We had to dig deep

Rooney lauds fighting spirit after scoring 150th EPL goal for United

HULL CITY 2 (James Chester 4, David Meyler 13)

MAN UNITED 3 (Chris Smalling 19, Wayne Rooney 26, James Chester 66-og)

Wayne Rooney hailed a "massive" result for Manchester United after hitting his 150th Premier League goal for the club in a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Hull yesterday.

Goals from James Chester and David Meyler had the Tigers two up inside 13 minutes at the KC Stadium but United pulled one back through Chris Smalling before Rooney's brilliant volley from 25 metres made it 2-2.

Hull were unlucky not to restore their lead after the break when Alex Bruce, a former United trainee and son of Hull manager Steve, saw his header come back off the bar.

Within moments, United profited to the full when Chester, another ex-United trainee, put through his own net under pressure from Rooney.

The win continues United's recent resurgence under David Moyes, and their resilience in coming from behind against a well-drilled Hull outfit was of particular satisfaction to Rooney.

"We didn't start well enough today. Two-nil down, we had to dig deep and show our fighting spirit. We've done that and this is a massive result for us," Rooney told Sky Sports 1.

Asked about United's slow start to the match, Rooney said: "It was just poor defending

MY FAULT

"It was my fault for the first, I've let James Chester go, and then a sloppy goal.

"We had to come back and try and get an early goal after they scored the two."

Rooney's milestone strike after 26 minutes was straight out of the top drawer and the forward added: "The ball's bounced nicely for me and I've had a go.

"It was a good goal for us at a good time of the game."

United winger Ashley Young also praised the team's never-say-die attitude, saying: "When you go two down, heads could go down and you could be disappointed but at Man United, our heads stay up."

The win, which is United's fifth in a row in all competitions, lifted the defending champions to seventh, eight points behind leaders Arsenal, before this morning's Man City-Liverpool clash.

Said Moyes: "To be two down and come back to win is a great result.

"There's a long way to go in the league and we have to keep picking up points. I believe we can be in the mix and challenge whoever is near the top."

Added Rooney: "We are starting to show some real quality now.

"We're having a go and we're fighting for each other. We're ready for the challenge and hopefully we can surprise a few people."- Wire Services.

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