Manchester United have won the Carling Cup after beating Tottenham 4-1 on penalties. It was an even affair between the two sides with Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent forcing good saves from Ben Foster and Ronaldo hitting the post in the other hand. But in the end, it was Ben Foster who proved to be a hero at end saving Jamie O Hara’s kick and with Bentley hitting wide, Anderson slotted the winning penalty to win the cup for Manchester United.
Manchester United started with Darron Gibson and Darren Welbeck and slightly weak lineup but it was Tottenham who had the better of the first half as they showed there desire to win the cup. Aaron Lennon and Luka Modric were causing a lot of problems for United with there running. Spurs had the better of the possession in the first half with United attacking on the break but both the sides failed to find the net. The promising Welbeck was having a tough time against the presence of Dawson and Ledley King.
Both teams upped the tempo in the second half with Sir Alex sending on Anderson for the ineffective Welbeck. Spurs also bought in Jamie O Hara for Pavlyuchenko who was having a frustrated evening. There was a moment of controversy when Cristiano Ronaldo was brought down by Ledley King while running across the box. Ronaldo’s reputation got in the way as he was shown a yellow card for diving with replays suggesting that it was a penalty. Spurs slowly started to attack after that Vidic was brought into the game in place of O Shea. Lennon had a great chance after word but his goal bound shot was superbly saved by Ben Foster. The game was heading for extra time but Ronaldo could have sent the crows home earlier as he jinxed past two players only to see his shot hit the post and come to Nani who shot wide.
United brought on the experienced Giggs for Gibson for the extra time. Lennon, who had been involved in most of the Spurs attacks was soon substituted for Bentley. The fatigue was visible on almost all the players in the end and Modric’s superb run into the box in 115 minutes saw Ben Foster make a beautiful save from his legs to deny Darren Bent. Evra had a similar chance in the other end but he shot over and the final went to penalties.
Giggs converted the first penalty for United and Ben Foster started the things well for United with a fine save from O Hara’s kick. Tevez and Corluka successfully converted there penalties but Bentley shot wide after Ronaldo has converted his. Anderson converted the kick to win the the Carling Cup for Manchester United. t was a truly great display from Ben Foster under the eye of Capello for his England duties. Though United were not at there best, there winning mentality showed in the end. It was a perfect weekend for them as Liverpool have also lost to Middlesbrough and now they can look forward to the remaining trophies.
Leave a Reply