Robson had received a rapturous ovation from both sets of supporters in the sell-out stadium, but that was as far as the goodwill went from the away end as Sir Alex Ferguson's men single-handedly set about earning the three points they needed to keep the pressure on leaders Chelsea.
It was neither pretty nor particularly effective, but games seldom are at The Hawthorns, where the Baggies require every ounce of backs-to-the-ball tenacity to compete with the Premiership's big-spenders. Robson will take some solace from the way his side frustrated their illustrious visitors during the first period, but a shock result seldom appeared on the cards.
Certainly from the moment Scholes struck from the edge of the box to break the deadlock the result became a foregone conclusion and further headers from van Nistelrooy and Scholes simply added gloss to a workmanlike win.
Rooney summed up United's fruitless start to the afternoon when he moved to the edge of the Baggies box before hopelessly scuffing his intended shot just before the half-hour. Not that there were any signs of panic, with Scholes shooting across goal and Rooney heading over the bar on the stroke of half-time. It was a different story in the second period as United pressed forward with renewed purpose from the start.
Scholes finally put United ahead in the 53rd minute after finishing off a fine move involving Giggs and Gabriel Heinze. United grabbed their inevitable second in the 71st minute when van Nistelrooy grabbed his fourth Premiership goal of the season. And the third arrived in similar fashion with Albion's defence failing to deal with Giggs' free-kick allowing Scholes to pounce and head home from close-range.'