Man U through to league cup semis

LONDON: Manchester United beat Stoke City 2-0 to reach the League Cup semi-finals on Wednesday.

After a first-half hailstorm briefly forced the teams off the pitch at the Britannia Stadium, United prevailed through fine strikes from Ashley Young and Patrice Evra.Their reward was a semi-final tie against Sunderland, 2-1 victors over Chelsea on Tuesday, while West Ham will play Manchester City, with the first legs of both ties due to be played in the week beginning January 6.

With Wayne Rooney absent due to an unspecified injury, Moyes deployed Danny Welbeck as a lone striker, while Chris Smalling, Anderson and Young were all brought into the team.

Young was given an early sight of goal when a square pass from Welbeck found him in space on the edge of the box, but he could only find the side-netting with his rising shot.

The hail arrived in the 28th minute, sending players and match officials scurrying for the cover of the changing rooms, before play resumed following a 10-minute delay.

Jonny Evans might have put United ahead shortly before half-time but he could not get a shot away after latching onto Smalling´s near-post flick-on.

Moyes introduced Javier Hernandez with just over half an hour remaining and moments later Young made the breakthrough in stunning fashion.

The former Aston Villa winger played a pass forward to Hernandez and when the ball came back to him on the edge of the box, he met it with a first-time drive of searing power that Thomas Sorensen got his gloves to but could not stop.

Stoke rallied, briefly, but United put the game to bed in the 78th minute when Evra exchanged passes with Young before curling a fine shot inside the right-hand post with his seldom-used right foot. (AFP)