Manchester United remain on course to defend their Carling Cup crown after seeing off Tottenham 2-0 in the quarter-finals. The Red Devils found themselves on the back foot for long periods at Old Trafford on Tuesday, but moved safely into the last four courtesy of a first-half brace from Darron Gibson. Spurs boss Harry Redknapp would have been pleased with the bright start made by his side, but they were unable to breach a United defence marshalled expertly by Nemanja Vidic. With the visitors failing to make their pressure count, United were able to take full advantage as they countered with intent. They broke the deadlock after 16 minutes, with Gibson drilling low into the bottom corner after latching onto a clever pass from Anderson. The promising midfielder then doubled the Red Devils’ lead seven minutes before the interval when he lashed into the top corner after playing an intricate one-two with Danny Welbeck on the edge of the box. Spurs, understandably, continued to enjoy the upper-hand after the break, but their final ball let them down all too often. Gareth Bale did open up a good opportunity for David Bentley early in the second half, but he could only fire straight at Tomasz Kuszczak from the heart of the penalty area. With the finish line in sight United were then able to close things out with ease, with Spurs visibly deflating as time ticked away.
