West Ham United shocked holders Manchester United 4-0 in the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup. American Jonathan Spector was the hero for West Ham and he grabbed a pair of goals in the first-half to stun his former side with the only goals of his entire career in English football as United were punished for some alarmingly sloppy defending.
Carlton Cole grabbed a third in the 56th minute for the buoyant Hammers, then added his second just after the hour mark to send Avram Grant’s side through to their first League Cup semi-final for 21 years with the Premier League table turned on its head. The defeat also ended United’s longest unbeaten run in 11 years.
Arsenal also moved into the semi-finals of the Carling Cup with a 2-0 victory over Wigan at a freezing Emirates Stadium. The Gunners missed several good chances before they took the lead on the stroke of half-time through an own goal from Latics skipper Antolin Alcaraz.
Wigan lost Victor Moses to a suspected broken wrist and Nicklas Bendtner’s close-range effort on 67 minutes kept Arsene Wenger’s men on the road to Wembley.
photo credit: Thing Three