Ace Gibson earns spurs for United
MANCHESTER UTD (2) vs TOTTENHAM (0)
DARRON GIBSON was the unlikely hero as holders Manchester United once again broke Tottenham hearts to reach the semi-final of the Carling Cup.
Midfielder Gibson netted with two spectacular first-half strikes as Harry Redknapp’s Spurs again finished second best in a re-run of last year’s Wembley final.
The Irishman opened the scoring with a fine 25-yard strike across goal on 16 minutes before doubling the lead with a curling effort into the top corner seven minutes before half-time, following an exchange of passes with Danny Welbeck.
Spurs, the 2008 champions, had their chances to force a replay but efforts from Jermain Defoe and David Bentley were denied by a combination of keeper Tomas Kuszczak and young Belgian full-back Ritchie De Laet, although, in truth, they went down tamely.
In the end, it was a performance to delight boss Sir Alex Ferguson, whose faith in his second string side was restored after the home Champions League defeat to Besiktas last week.
Of Gibson, he said: “He did well. The second goal particularly, the movement and working off the ball was good, and a terrific finish.
“Gibson and Anderson did very well in the middle of the park. We’re two games from Wembley, that’s good. We’ll enjoy the semi-final and these lads will play again.”
Spurs boss Redknapp may have his priorities set on a top four place in the Premier League, but admitted he was still disappointed to lose out on a third successive Carling Cup final place after a lethargic encounter.
“You’re never going to get a better opportunity than we did tonight,” Redknapp said. “We’ve been playing so well recently but there was no atmosphere tonight.
“It was played at a lethargic pace; we didn’t make a tackle in the first half. It was like a practice match, it just never got going.”