Everton beat United on penalties

Manchester United’s dreams of claiming a historic season quintiple went up in smoke on Sunday as Everton claimed victory in the weekend’s second FA Cup semifinal.

Sir Alex Ferguson fielded what amounted to a second-string Manchester United team, giving Everton the edge they needed to secure a spot in the FA Cup final.

With the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney off the park Everton were able to hold their own against United, and held the Red Devils scoreless for the duration of regular time.

A somewhat insipid contest eventually boiled down to a penalty shootout, where Everton ‘keeper Tim Howard put in a brilliant performance to save kicks by Dimitar Berbatov and Rio Ferdinand.

Phil Jagielka blasted home the winner for a delighted Everton team.

“It was a tough game for us. Man United, whoever they play, they could put out their under-14’s and it would have been a tough game because they play to win every competition that they are in,” Everton manager David Moyes said after the match.

“I thought we kept at it, I thought we could have played better at times but Man United made it difficult for us.”