A first-half brace from Darron Gibson gave Manchester United a 2-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford in the League Cup quarter finals on Tuesday. The Irish midfielder opened the scoring after 17 minutes, before doubling the Red Devils' lead seven minutes from half time. Darron hit both goals for the cup holders with precise shots from outside the area, to help his side reach the semi finals. The game was a repeat of last year's final, when Sir Alex Ferguson's men beat Spurs on penalties. Elsewhere, Portsmouth lost 4-2 at home to Aston Villa, who booked another place in the semi finals. An own goal from Stilian Petrov gave the hosts an early lead after ten minutes, but the visitors soon resorted parity thanks to a strike from Emile Heskey two minutes later. James Milner hit the second for the Villans three minutes from the half-hour mark, before Stewart Downing hit the third goal on 74 minutes. Nwankwo Kanu pulled one back for Portsmouth in the 87th minute, but Ashley Young regained Villa's two-goal cushion one minute from time. Manchester City will host Arsenal while Chelsea will take on Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Wednesday in the remaining games of the quarter-final round.
