Just as they did in Moscow last May, Manchester United emerged triumphant in a penalty shoot-out to lift a major trophy.
A Carling Cup final victory over Tottenham may not quite have the
same resonance as the Champions League success they enjoyed at the
Luzhniki Stadium but it was enough to maintain hopes of an
unprecedented quintuple.
Indeed, taking into account last season's phenomenal achievements,
United now have five trophies on their mantelpiece, including the
Community Shield, and their hunger is some way off being sated.
Goalkeeper Ben Foster saved Jamie O'Hara's opening spot-kick for
Spurs, and David Bentley's miss allowed Brazilian midfielder Anderson
to slot home the decisive penalty.
Having pledged to stick with his youngsters, it was something of a
surprise that Sir Alex Ferguson should name Rio Ferdinand as skipper.
After all, the England defender had not featured for a minute of
United's run to Wembley, with Nemanja Vidic having more of a claim on a
starting spot.
As it turned out, United were glad of Ferdinand's presence as their
defence came under increasing pressure from a Spurs outfit that started
slowly, then gradually improved as the opening period wore on.
Although Luka Modric enjoyed plenty of possession in his role as playmaker, Aaron Lennon created more problems.
Lennon had plenty to prove, especially to those, including the
watching England coach Fabio Capello, who feel the winger's delivery is
not good enough.
There was no complaint on this occasion though.
Lennon showed he was up for the contest by fizzing past Patrice Evra
- no mean feat in itself - before drilling a low cross to the edge of
the six-yard box where Roman Pavlyuchenko might well have completed the
notable achievement of scoring in every round if Ferdinand had not slid
in to clear.
The flying Yorkshireman had switched wings by the time he floated
over another cross for Pavlyuchenko that invited a firm header.
Unfortunately the striker was unable to test Foster, who had won the
battle with Tomasz Kuszczak to replace Edwin van der Sar.
Until he was helped off in extra-time, Lennon was the brightest
attacking player on view, overshadowing a United strike force kept at
bay by Ledley King and Michael Dawson.
In the absence of Jonathan Woodgate, who pulled out with an Achilles
injury, King was superb, a throwback to the days when he was such a key
figure for England under Sven-Goran Eriksson.
In his first major final Darron Gibson came mightily close to
putting the Red Devils in front. However, while his shot was too much
for Heurelho Gomes, it also flashed wide of the Brazilian's left-hand
post.
Ferdinand was also a mere couple of inches away with a dipping volley that nestled on the roof of Tottenham's net.
Nani had the best chance though, letting fly with a snap-shot that
threatened to creep in at the corner, only for Gomes to get down to
make a fine save at the near post.
Unfortunately for Pavlyuchenko, he could not locate his radar at
half-time. He skied a terrible free-kick way over the crossbar and
while his effort could not be faulted, it was no surprise when he made
way for O'Hara.
Jermaine Jenas was much closer when he tried his luck, although
United had regained a semblance of authority in midfield, where
Anderson's presence left Carlos Tevez on his own up front.
Tevez had gone close with an instinctive back-heel as an off-target
Jonny Evans effort flew towards him and his industry matched that for
which Wayne Rooney - ruled out by a virus - is so renowned.
Up to that point, the major let-down was Cristiano Ronaldo, who just
could not get into the game and was booked for diving for the second
weekend running.
On this occasion, the FIFA World Player of the Year was unlucky. It
is debatable whether King's penalty-box challenge was a foul. There
was, however, no debate over actual contact.
Given Joe Hart, now second-choice goalkeeper at Manchester City, was
in the squad that tackled Spain last month, Capello was probably more
delighted than Harry Redknapp to see Foster keep out a goal-bound
Lennon effort 20 minutes from time.
It was the nearest either side came to breaking the deadlock until
the final seconds, when Ronaldo finally broke free of his shackles and
crashed a brute of a shot against the post.
Tevez glanced an extra-time header just wide, with Darren Bent drawing an excellent feet-first save out of Foster later on.
But there was no salvation from the penalty lottery which both teams have profited from over the past 12 months.
This time, it was United's turn. Foster emerged the hero with a save
to deny O'Hara and Bentley's miss, combined with Anderson making it
four out of four from the spot for the Red Devils, meant the trophy
headed to Manchester.
