Super Ben
March 1, 2009 – It was the battle for the Carling Cup. Sir Alex fielded four youngsters, Ben Foster, Jonathan Evans, Darron Gibson and Danny Walbeck while leaving Wayne Rooney, Dimitar Berbatov, Michael Carrick and Edwin van der Sar in the stands.
As it turned out, Tottenham Hotspurs, the defending champions proved to be worthy adversary and Manchester United just couldn’t score despite 23 shots and possessing 53% of the ball. Tottenham Hotspurs had their run which was spearheaded by Roman Pavlyuchenko, Aaron Lennon and Darren Bent keeping the Red Devils’ defense busy. Goalkeeper Ben Foster was forced to make several saves while Sir Alex had to send in reinforcement in the form of Nemanja Vidic.
At the end of 90 minutes, there was still no score. Another 30 minutes, the teams were still tied.
It was then down to the lottery of penalties. Ryan Giggs, Carlos Tervez, Cristiano Ronaldo and Anderson all converted their penalties perfectly. The hero of the day was Ben Foster, 25 years old, third choice at Old Trafford rose to the occasion and stopped Jamie O’Hara’s first spot kick. The save obviously pounded pressure on Tottenham Hotspurs and David Bentley succumbed to the pressure when he kicked his penalty wide.
Manchester United – 2009 Carling Cup Champions
