WITH the Stretford End goal unattended, as the players from Manchester United and Middlesbrough carried out their pre-match warm-ups on the Old Trafford turf, the solitary figure of Wayne Rooney juggled the ball, entertaining himself as much as the crowd.

Taking pot shots from 50-yards, 30-yards and then 20-yards. All of which nestled nicely in the same net that felt the effect of Rooney's breathtaking free-kick in midweek against Turkish side Fenerbahce.

The game, of course, when he hit a remarkable hat-trick in front of his new adoring supporters.

One by one the players began to work their way down the tunnel to tape up their socks and put on their shinpads before action commenced. Rooney chose to have three more efforts before following his teammates back into the dressing room.

On all three occasions, with the crowd bellowing his name, he failed to find the target. A sign of things to come? And so it proved.

It is difficult to imagine anyone enjoying a better debut for his new club. The name of George Best has been mentioned among a clutch of others but Rooney's last Tuesday was surely better than them all.

An 18-year-old, costing a whopping £27m, playing in front of over 67,000 and in the Champions League - it's unlikely to happen ever again.

But there were incredible hopes - representing the meteoric rise and rise of his still burgeoning career - that he would repeat his performance yesterday.

But an injury-plagued Middlesbrough were in no mood to allow that to happen.

The four man defence of teenager Tony McMahon, Gareth Southgate, Chris Riggott and Stuart Parnaby - and later substitute Colin Cooper - never gave Rooney an inch on a day United looked way short of the standards set by leaders Arsenal.

Aiming to become the first United player in 40 years to grab successive hat-tricks, achieved by Denis Law in October 1964, Rooney was never afforded the time or space in the Boro penalty area to seriously threaten Mark Schwarzer.

The game plan set out by McClaren to frustrate and retain possession clearly made the Red Devils angry, yet there was very little they could do about it.

Middlesbrough's five man midfield, with Bolo Zenden asked to help striker Szilard Nemeth when on the attack, stifled the home side's play while a defence, well-marshalled by the ever-reliable Southgate, dug in as resolutely and effectively as they did against Banik Ostrava.

That restricted Rooney totally. A wayward 30-yard shot, after beating George Boateng, trickled wide much to the frustration of winger Ryan Giggs as he stood unmarked on the left flank.

And a volley that flew high into the East Stand was the former Everton hero's only other meaningful effort of the opening half and, having not enjoyed the sort of start he had against Fenerbahce, his frustration culminated when he launched into Boateng with his studs showing.

Rooney's amazing debut in a red shirt six days earlier may have superseded even Roy of the Rovers tales, but there was also another 18-year-old in midweek to have made an instant impact on his first start for his club.

A dream goal for Darlington's James Morrison in the Czech Republic ensured Middlesbrough progressed to the group stage of the UEFA Cup but his place in the starting line-up at Old Trafford was far from expected.

Morrison retained his place on the right of midfield and actually had the cheek to upstage United's striker, who both met one another on a number of occasions during their days at Academy level.

The accuracy of his cross from the right just after half hour for Middlesbrough's other young winger, Stewart Downing, to score was of the calibre David Beckham regularly contributed from the same position and on the same stage before moving to Real Madrid.

Up went the Middlesbrough supporters in the away end at the same time as McClaren's red-haired son Joe stood up to applaud a goal made by two men not too much older than himself.

An afternoon in Manchester that started with the expectations all focused on a certain Rooney, but a match that ended with the talk all being centred around Middlesbrough's teenage terriers.

Read more about Middlesbrough here.