A couple of decades before Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney decided to make a National League club their high-profile toy, Everton gave the Racecourse Ground a real moment of football history to savour with Wayne Rooney’s very own Welcome to Wrexham . Twenty years ago today, on October 1, 2002 – some two-and-a-half weeks before he announced himself to the Premier League with his last-gasp wonder-strike against Arsenal, prompting commentator Clive Tyldesley to tell us all to “Remember the name” – the most-gifted academy graduate the Blues have ever produced netted his first senior goal for the club.
Rooney, who had been handed his debut by David Moyes when he started against Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, was only on the pitch for less than half an hour that evening in North Wales but he ended up bagging a brace and breaking a record that had stood since 1937 to become the youngest goalscorer in Everton history at the time, aged just 16 years and 360 days.
The occasion was a second round tie of the League Cup and the Blues had fallen at the same hurdle of the competition to lower division opposition for the previous three seasons under Moyes’ predecessor Walter Smith (2-1 on aggregate to third tier Oxford United in 1999; 4-2 on penalties against third tier Bristol Rovers after finishing 2-2 on aggregate in 2000; and 5-4 on penalties against second tier Crystal Palace after a 1-1 draw in 2001).
READ MORE: Frank Lampard makes England manager job claim and discusses Everton contract
READ MORE: How Seamus Coleman compares with Nathan Patterson as Everton captain set for return
Although competing in the fourth tier at the time – as they had been a dozen years earlier when they met Everton for the only previous occasion in the competition and were spanked 11-0 on aggregate, the season before they’d dump League Champions Arsenal out of the FA Cup, 2-1 at the Racecourse Ground when former Blue and boyhood Evertonian Mickey Thomas famously drew them level, Wrexham went into this game in fine form and unbeaten in their previous six matches. Among the ranks for the home side in 2002 were 6ft 7in Trinidad & Tobago centre-back Dennis Lawrence – who would later become at first team coach at Everton under Roberto Martinez; legendary Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson’s son Darren, who played over 300 times for the Welsh club; and substitute Lee Trundle, a Scouser and lifelong Evertonian.
Moyes named a strong line-up with eight of the side that defeated Fulham 2-0 at Goodison Park in the Premier League three days earlier keeping their place but curiously centre-back pair Joseph Yobo and Li Weifeng were both making just their second appearance for the club. The Nigerian would go on to play 259 games for Everton but the Chinese international never featured again with his signing understood to have been a mix-up with the club’s sponsors Keijan and the Blues boss having wanted Li Tie instead after running the rule over China’s players at the World Cup finals that summer and ultimately landing the midfielder as well.
Everton strolled to a 3-0 victory with Kevin Campbell – who was in the Gunners’ starting line-up that were humiliated at the same ground almost a decade earlier – exorcising some of his demons from that afternoon, by opening the scoring on 25 minutes with a cool left foot finish to net his fifth goal in four games when played through by Li Tie. However, it was only after Rooney’s introduction on 63 minutes – the boy wonder replaced Tomasz Radzinski – that the real fun began.
The ECHO’s David Prentice reported: “The moment Evertonians had waited all season for arrived eight minutes from time. Richard Wright’s huge clearance flicked off a combination of substitute Duncan Ferguson and defender Brian Carey.
“That allowed Rooney to show all his pace and bull-like aggression to charge past the covering defender, compose himself then crash a firm, right-footed drive under goalkeeper Whitfield. Three minutes later a mini-pitch invasion held up the proceedings, with several of the invading Wrexham supporters stopping to hurl insults at the young goalscorer.
“Rooney’s reply was typical. After the over-panicky referee had finally restarted play following an unnecessary two minute delay, he charged thrillingly onto Carsley's pass, dribbled past Carey, drew the goalkeeper again and slotted precisely and powerfully into the far corner.
“If Rooney had been over-anxious in his desire to get off the mark, he was even more threatening with those goals behind him. He sent a flying header well wide, then wriggled, squeezed and tricked his way past two defenders and crashed in a shot which would have given him the matchball, but for Whitfield’s plunging save.”
After the full-time whistle sounded, the sense of occasion was palpable and Prentice added: “Footballers were still wearing centre-parts and Brylcreem when Tommy Lawton scored on his debut for Everton, aged just 17 years 130 days. Wayne Rooney blitzed that club record at Wrexham last night, scoring before he has even celebrated his 17th birthday.
“He then added another for good measure, might even have snatched a hat-trick – and was only on the pitch for the final 27 minutes.
“David Moyes has earnestly attempted to diffuse the growing weight of expectation surrounding the prodigiously talented teenager. But after last night’s record-breaking deeds he may need to treble his efforts.
“Wrexham’s desperately disappointed manager, Denis Smith, ungallantly tried to play down Rooney’s goals. ‘My missus would have put them away’, he quipped, which begs the question, why isn’t Mrs Smith leading The Robins’ attack?”
Although Rooney had broken an Everton scoring record that had lasted for over 65 years, his own benchmark would be eclipsed later on in the same season that he left his boyhood club for Manchester United. On April 10, 2005, James Vaughan, aged only 16 years and 270 days – some 72 days younger than Rooney had been – came off the bench to seal a 4-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.
READ NEXT
- Why Everton have just become an even bigger opportunity for US investors
- Frank Lampard is right about Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Everton risk has changed
- Everton hit by huge fine from FA for pitch invasions against Crystal Palace
- How Seamus Coleman compares with Nathan Patterson as Everton captain set for return
- Frank Lampard makes England manager job claim and discusses Everton contract
