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United Lift Carling Cup
Published by Ian John on March 2, 2009
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Manchester United have won their second piece of silverware of the season following on from their World Club Championship success with a 4-1 penalties victory over Tottenham in the Carling Cup Final.
Despite the fact that after 120 minutes of football the game was tied scoreless, the match itself was a keenly fought contest but with little in the way of real goalmouth incident to keep the fans enthralled. Indeed the highlight of the first half was probably the range of Paul Scholes passing, which was almost Platini-esque in its accuracy. Tottenham’s biggest threat always looked likely to be down the right with Aaron Lennon causing Patrice Evra plenty of problems, but unable to deliver the final telling ball that could have put Spurs in front. It was very much a case of a game that was bubbling under without ever really coming to life, although the second half promised much for a fine crowd of 88,217.
The game however took a turn for the worse in the early stages of the second half. With Lennon still causing problems Sir Alex Ferguson withdrew the quiet and somewhat ineffectual Danny Welbeck and brought on an extra midfielder in Anderson. This stifled Tottenham’s attacking aspirations somewhat and led to Harry Redknapp altering his system to match United by taking off the hugely ineffectual Roman Pavlyuchenko, who’s performance in the game would have had most Spurs fans begging for the return of Sergei Rebrov, and replacing him with Jamie O’Hara. The extra man in midfield for both sides took away some of the attacking impetus and it seemed inevitable that extra time would follow. We were almost spared that with two incidents. Cristiano Ronaldo went down under a challenge from Ledley King in the box and was booked by referee Chris Foy for diving. It was a harsh booking, which should on appeal be rescinded, as King did catch the United player. However it would have been a harsh penalty, in the same way Gamst-Pedersen’s penalty would have been a harsh one against United the previous week. With the final kick of the game Ronaldo almost won it for United, cutting in from the right he unleashed a superb left foot shot, that beat Gomes, but cannoned off the post and out.
Extra time it duly was and any chances Spurs fans felt they may have had seemed to evaporate when Aaron Lennon was substituted with an injury that led to David Bentley taking his place. United remained on top in extra time, but Tottenham’s defence, well marshalled by King and Dawson held them at bay well and after 30 minutes of somewhat listless play we moved onto penalties.
Buoyed by their success in last seasons Champions League final, United always looked the more confident. Having the hapless Heurelho Gomes between the sticks may not have given Spurs fans much hope. United clinically put their four spot kicks away effortlessly despite Gomes best efforts. Spurs saw Jamie O’Hara’s kick saved and then David Bentley unforgivably lash the ball wide meaning that when Anderson coolly slotted the fourth United penalty home, the victory was assured.
Talk of a “clean sweep” of Carling Cup, FA Cup, League and Champions League, not to mention the World Club Championship, is already feverish in the press. It is a tall order, but if any club has the talent and resources to do it, then it is United. With their title rivals falling away and the not so daunting prospect of an FA Cup quarter final against Fulham on the horizon, as well as a 0-0 first leg result from the Inter Milan clash. Sir Alex Ferguson’s side could be in line for one of THE greatest seasons in the history of football. For Harry Redknapp and Spurs, it is back to ensuring the club remain in the Premiership and the realisation that without that killer final ball, and a striker willing to bust a gut to get on the end of it, they are always going to be well short of the top sides.
Picture Credit : **Desert Monsoon** on Flickr.com
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Ed Hawkins on Mon, 2nd Mar 2009 10:56 am
I think that Manchester United should be a little careful not to fall in love with the passing or trickery – finishing is ther name of the game and if they go 120 minutes without a telling touch against the spurs, one has to wonder if they are worth all of the hardware. Remember, putting the ball in the ‘ole onion bag is still the object of the game.