Man United 2 Tottenham 0: Darron Gibson Double Sinks Spurs

Darron Gibson produced two classy finishes from distance as holders Manchester United easily overcame the challenge of Tottenham to book their place in the semi-finals of the Carling Cup.

In what was a re-run of last season's final, which United won after a penalty shootout, Spurs' hopes of extracting revenge were undone by Irish midfielder Gibson.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had come in for criticism six days earlier after his youngsters had failed their Champions League audition against Besiktas, United surrendering their 23-game unbeaten home record in Europe to the Turks.

Yet 22-year-old Gibson demonstrated that the club continues to produce highly-talented young players as United ended Tottenham's hopes of making the final for the third successive season.

REACTION:
Ferguson singled out two-goal Gibson and Brazilian midfielder Anderson after United took a giant stride towards making a successful defence of the Carling Cup.

United produced a thoroughly professional performance against Tottenham and are clearly in no mood to let go of the cup after scoring five times in the competition without conceding a goal.

Gibson's double lit up Old Trafford and the 22-year-old won praise from Ferguson - along with Anderson. "For me the two stars tonight were Gibson and Anderson," said Ferguson. "They did very well particularly in the second half.

"Darron is one player at our club who can get a goal from outside the box. He has tremendous power in his shooting and his second goal in particular is a fantastic goal. There was good movement and a terrific finish. He is very quick and powerful. He's a handful."

It was the second game of Ferguson's touchline ban - and they have won them both. "We all play a part at this club- it's not a one-man show," added Ferguson, who communicated with his bench during the game via a telephone from the directors' box in the main stand.

"There is a great staff and a continuity about Manchester United that is important. We're two games away from Wembley, so we'll enjoy the semi-finals - and these lads will play again."

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp declined to face the media after the game, apart from a brief TV interview when he was disappointed by the outcome - and surprised at the lack of atmosphere at Old Trafford.

Kevin Bond, his assistant,revealed that Redknapp was bitterly disappointed with the way the team surrendered without a fight. "You'd never have thought it was a quarter-final of a cup competition because we never got started," said Bond.

"To be honest, the longer the game wernt, the worse we got. They were bad goals to concede from our point of view.

"Whether we did not believe we could get back in the game from 2-0 down I don't know. I thought there was a real chance for us to progress.

"Up until this point the players have done fantastic this season. But this is a big disapppointment and hopefully it's a lesson that won't be repeated."

HOW IT HAPPENED:
A predictable outcome on paper, but not even Ferguson could have envisaged such a trouble free passage into the last four. Despite Tomas Kuszczak's save to deny David Bentley in the second half, United rarely looked flustered. Defoe's miss soon after Gibson had made the breakthrough was crucial. Had the England striker scored then it would have been game on.

Instead United heeded the wake-up call and scored a second goal shortly before half time to kill off the tie. So dominant were the hosts in the end that they could even afford the luxury of sending on forgotten man Zoran Tosic, the Serbian midfielder who has yet to start a game since his arrival from Partizan Belgrade two years ago.

WHAT IT MEANS:
While Tottenham are left to concentrate on their impressive start to the Premier League campaign, United have until the New Year to prepare for the semi-finals. The Carling Cup may not be the top prize in the football calendar but Ferguson clearly isn't taking it lightly as he proved by fielding the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Dimitar Berbatov, who was making his first start in the competition since scoring in the 2008 final for Spurs.

This was an important test for United's youngsters after fluffing their audition on the Champions League stage last week. The likes of Danny Welbeck, Gabriel Obertan and Gibson emerged unscathed this time - and they will be stronger for that.

QUOTABLE:
"He doesn't want to say something he might regret and has asked me to step in."
Bond, Redknapp's assistant, explains why the bitterly disappointed Tottenham manager declined to face the written Press afterwards.

MANCHESTER UNITED 2 (Gibson 16, 38), TOTTENHAM 0

PLAYER MARKING:
Manchester United (4-4-2): Kuszczak 7; Neville 7, Brown 7, Vidic 8, De Laet 7; Obertan 7 (Carrick 62, 6), Gibson 9, Anderson 7, Park 7; Welbeck 7, Berbatov 7 (Macheda 62, 6).
Subs not used: Amos, Owen, Giggs, Tosic, Fletcher.

Tottenham (4-4-2): Gomes 6; Hutton 6, Bassong 6, Dawson 6, Bale 7; Lennon 6, Jenas 5, Palacios 5 (Huddlestone 46, 5), Bentley 5; Defoe 5, Keane 6 (Crouch 64, 5).
Subs not used: Walker, Pavlyuchenko, Naughton, Corluka, Rose.

ATTENDANCE: 57,212

NEXT UP:
- Manchester United v West Ham (Away), Saturday (5/12), 1500 GMT
- Tottenham v Everton (Away), Sunday (6/12), 1600 GMT

MAN OF THE MATCH:
Darron Gibson (Manchester United): -Delivered conclusive evidence on behalf of Ferguson that United are still producing highly talented young players. Two classy finishes from distance by the Irishman to teach Tottenham's Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane a lesson in finishing and send United into the semi finals.