Published: 2 March, 2009, 20:07
Edited: 2 March, 2009, 20:07
Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko has missed a great opportunity to win his first trophy in his English career as his club, Tottenham Hotspur, lost on penalties to Manchester United in the final of the Carling Cup.
Pavlyuchenko appeared in his team’s starting eleven and spent 63 minutes on the pitch before being substituted on Jamie O'Hara, who later missed his shot in the penalty shootout.
Both teams arrived at Wembley with plenty to play for. With the Spurs looking to defend the trophy while United was chasing leg-two of what would be a historic five trophies in a season.
The match turned out to be a tight, cagey affair. The Spurs best chance of the game came in the second half as Assou-Ekotto's cross was allowed to reach Aaron Lennon, who saw his shot flamboyantly saved by Man U stand-in keeper Ben Foster.
While United almost snatched victory deep into injury time when Cristiano Ronaldo made his way into the box, only to be denied by the upright.
No goals in extra-time meant the trophy would be decided by the dreaded penalty shootout.
And Tottenham’s David Bentley became the villain after he missed the crucial spot-kick, allowing Anderson the chance to secure victory for the Reds as they added the Carling Cup to their Club World Cup title from December.
And that means it's now two down and three to go for United, as they look to complete an unprecedented sweep of five trophies in just one season.