Carling Cup 4th Round: United Advances To Q-finals After Win At Oakwell

Carling Cup holders Manchester United booked a quarter-final place thanks to a comfortable 2-0 victory at Barnsley.

Sir Alex Ferguson made 11 changes from United's defeat by Liverpool on Sunday and they went ahead when Anderson's corner was headed in by Danny Welbeck.

Barnsley went close when Daniel Bogdanovic hit the post, but Michael Owen's expert finish doubled the lead.

Gary Neville was shown a straight red card for a challenge on Adam Hammill, but Barnsley could find no way through.

They had enough chances to get back on level terms, but some profligate finishing cost them any chance of a famous upset at Oakwell.

The match was marred by crowd trouble and South Yorkshire police said 10 fans were arrested.

Eight catering staff were trapped inside a food kiosk and had to barricade themselves in a store room for about 25 minutes as fans broke in and stole cash from the till and food from the shelves.

Stewards on the pitch also had objects thrown at them.

The game itself was the perfect opportunity for Ferguson to give some of his senior players who have not been playing regularly in the first team some much-needed competitive football.

Neville and Wes Brown came into the defence, Anderson was brought into the midfield and Owen started only his fifth game for the club, while Gabriel Obertan made his first start since a £3m summer move from Bordeaux.

Much of the pre-match talk had been about Ferguson coming up against Barnsley boss Mark Robins, the man credited with saving his job when he scored for United in the 1990 FA Cup third round tie at Nottingham Forest.

But Ferguson's side showed Barnsley no mercy in a dominant opening spell as Welbeck thumped home a header with only six minutes on the clock.

It could quickly have got worse as both Welbeck and Obertan forced fine saves from Luke Steele, the first chance coming after an outrageous 60-yard pass from the influential Anderson.

Barnsley were perhaps guilty of giving United too much respect, but they soon improved and Bogdanovic nodded against a post before Stephen Foster twice headed off target from good positions as United consistently failed to deal with corners.

The hosts were beginning to look like the better side, but they had not accounted for the predatory finishing instincts of master goal-scorer Owen.

Having sliced one effort wide early in the second half, he made the Tykes pay with a stunning solo goal on the hour mark.

Owen rolled back the years as he picked the ball up outside the Barnsley area, slipped it through a defender's legs and surprised Steele by taking his shot early, clinically rolling it into the far corner from 16 yards.

It was a magnificent finish, but United were not quite home and dry as captain Neville - to his absolute horror - was shown a straight red card by referee Chris Foy for a tackle on Hammill.

Neville had won the ball in the initial challenge, but Foy ruled the follow through in which he caught Hammill just below the knee on his right leg constituted serious foul play.

The dismissal gave Barnsley and their supporters a lift just when they least expected it, but despite creating a glut of chances they could not put the ball in the net to set up a grandstand finish.

Substitute Iain Hume headed wide moments after coming on, Bogdanovic shot wide from 12 yards and then Anderson de Silva headed off target with the goal at his mercy from four yards.

United roll on to the last eight, while Barnsley head for Peterborough on Saturday in the Championship and a meeting with Ferguson's son Darren.

Barnsley manager Mark Robins:
"I'm disappointed. We must have had between 15 and 17 efforts on goal, but when you don't take one of them you don't deserve to win the game.

"I think we paid them too much respect at the start of the game, we were lacking a bit of belief at times.

"But not many teams will create that many chances against Man United."

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson:
"Michael has got great feet, so quick, and it was a marvellous finish. I'd say it was a great goal.

"Barnsley worked hard and put a lot of effort in, they had some chances too, but we probably deserved to progress."

On Gary Neville's red card, he added: "He followed through, in the current climate you can see why it's given."

The goal scorers: Welbeck and Owen