Hat-trick hero lauds Rooney
Friday, 03 September, 2010
Jermain Defoe salutes his strike partner.
England hotshot Jermain Defoe praised Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United man set-up two of Defoe’s three goals against Bulgaria at Wembley.
On 61 minutes, just seconds after Joe Hart had saved well from Dimitar Rangelov, England produced a devastating counter-attack which ended with Defoe rifling home Rooney’s pass to put England 2-0 up, having earlier given Fabio Capello’s side the lead in the third minute.
Then, after 86 minutes, Rooney broke through the centre and slipped the Tottenham striker in for a strike at goal and Defoe duly obliged, passing the ball under Nikolay Mihaylov to complete a comfortable 4-0 rout.
“When you play with a partner up front it takes time to gel but Wayne Rooney is a great player and if I make the runs I know he'll find me,” said Defoe, after the game.
“People know what I'm good at. I'll always try to move and when I get a chance try to take it.
“It's always nice to score, but to score a hat-trick for your country and win the game is great.”