Gibson and Anderson get Sir Alex's seal of approval
Neil Johnston
Sir Alex Ferguson singled out two-goal hero Darron Gibson and
Brazilian midfielder Anderson after his Manchester United side moved
closer towards back-to-back English League Cups.
United enjoyed a trouble-free passage into the semi-finals after
defeating Tottenham 2-0 at Old Trafford here on Tuesday.
Ferguson's side, who defeated Tottenham in last season's final, are
clearly in the mood to win the competition for a second successive
campaign.
United have now scored five times in three League Cup ties this term
without conceding a goal.
Gibson's spectacular first half double - both goals from long range -
lit up Old Trafford and the 22-year-old Republic of Ireland
international, who has yet to establish himself as a regular, won praise
from Ferguson afterwards 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 and final game of Ferguson's touchline ban - and
United have emerged triumphant in both fixtures.
The fiery Scot was also forced to sit in the stand as his English
champions won 4-1 at Portsmouth last weekend but he will be back in the
dug-out for Saturday's Premier League game at West Ham United.
"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 written press after the tie.
Instead he sent Kevin Bond, his assistant.
"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 went on, the worse we got.
"They were bad goals to concede from out point of view. AFP |