On October 1, 2002, Wayne Rooney scored his first senior goals for Everton in a 3-0 League Cup second-round win at Wrexham's Racecourse Ground, breaking a club record that had stood since 1937. At 16 years and 360 days, he became Everton's youngest-ever goalscorer, a record later surpassed by James Vaughan in 2005.
Rooney, who had made his debut under David Moyes in the season opener against Tottenham Hotspur, came on as a substitute in the 63rd minute, replacing Tomasz Radzinski. He scored twice in the final minutes, the first a right-footed drive after charging past a defender, and the second a precise finish into the far corner after dribbling past Carey and drawing the goalkeeper.
Strong Everton line-up and a memorable night
Moyes named a strong side, with eight players who had beaten Fulham 2-0 three days earlier keeping their places. Kevin Campbell opened the scoring on 25 minutes with a left-foot finish, his fifth goal in four games, assisted by Li Tie. Centre-backs Joseph Yobo and Li Weifeng made their second appearances for the club; Yobo went on to play 259 games for Everton, while Li Weifeng never featured again.
Wrexham, then in the fourth tier, were unbeaten in six matches and included Dennis Lawrence, Darren Ferguson (son of Sir Alex Ferguson), and substitute Lee Trundle. The home side had previously lost 11-0 on aggregate to Everton in their only prior meeting in the competition, but had dumped Arsenal out of the FA Cup a season earlier.
Record broken and later eclipsed
After the match, the ECHO's David Prentice wrote: "Wayne Rooney blitzed that club record at Wrexham last night, scoring before he has even celebrated his 17th birthday." Wrexham manager Denis Smith downplayed the goals, quipping: "My missus would have put them away."
Rooney's record stood until April 10, 2005, when James Vaughan, aged 16 years and 270 days, came off the bench to seal a 4-0 Premier League win over Crystal Palace at Goodison Park.
