Carling Cup / maxliu / 27 October 2009 / Leave a comment

Holders through to quarter-finals after Owen gives youngster lesson in finishing...

"Manchester United can now be backed at 5.9 to retain the Carling Cup."

Sir Alex Ferguson gave young players a chance to shine in Manchester United's 0-2 win over Barnsley but two senior players grabbed the headlines.

The defending champions we comfortable winners, trading no higher than [1.6] as they booked their place in the quarter-finals.

The impressive Danny Wellbeck, who ran Barnsley's defenders ragged, gave United the lead after six minutes when he was given space to head in from a corner.

On the hour, Michael Owen made it 0-2 when his dizzying movement took him past two Barnsley players before he hit a devestating shot into the bottom corner of the net for his third goal of the season.

Whether Gary Neville deserved his straight red card for serious foul play is debatable but it allowed Barnsley back into the game and Ben Foster had to make a string of decent saves to preserve United's two goal advantage. In the end, the home side's strikers weren't up to the task and United can now be backed at 5.9 to retain their trophy.

Elsewhere, there was big value for those who backed seven or more goals at [29.0] in Blackburn Rovers' 5-2 win over Peterborough, Portsmouth fans had a rare opportunity to cheer as their side thumped Stoke 4-0 and Spurs booked their place in the last eight with a 2-0 win against Everton at White Hart Lane.

Kenwyne Jones missed a penalty in Sunderland's 0-0 draw, which was matched at [3.7], against Aston Villa at the Stadium of Light.

Tags: Aston Villa, Blackburn Rovers, Carling Cup football betting odds, Manchester United, Michael Owen, Sunderland, Tottenham