A tale of two Manchesters - tough luck on Spurs as Ronaldo decides it

Why had they spent 13 hours on a plane with a stop-off in Cairo on the way home? Why, it was being asked around the ground, was Nemanja Vidic missing? Was it a virus or had he, in fact, hurt himself climbing off that camel?

When Robbie Keane secured the opening goal for Tottenham, making the most of Aaron Lennon's brilliance, the £800,000 for playing a testimonial game in Riyadh was being balanced against the cost of missing out on the FA Cup fifth round.

But this, as they demonstrated again yesterday, is a United team with the ability to win key games even when some way below par. A United team, however tired by their exertions, intent on conquering all who appear before them — well, all except the mighty Al Hilal.

As Juande Ramos and Ferguson agreed, the scoreline did not reflect how close Tottenham had gone to following Tuesday's momentous win over Arsenal by providing further evidence of the knack Spurs manager Ramos has for winning cup competitions. He lifted five trophies in 15 months at Sevilla and has just guided his new team to the Carling Cup Final.

Spurs were a little unfortunate, not least when Wayne Rooney cleared a Dimitar Berbatov effort off the line, Wes Brown guided a Steed Malbranque cross against his own post and the industrious, inventive Jermaine Jenas missed what looked like a sitter but was, on closer examination, a more complicated chance because of the bounce of the ball.

But they had only themselves to blame when Michael Dawson conceded a needless penalty that left Peter Walton with no option but to send him off and present Cristiano Ronaldo with a chance to put United into the lead.

While Dawson reflects on a moment that proved so costly for his side and invited Jonathan Woodgate to make an immediate impact in his absence, Ramos also needs a goalkeeper — if not now then in the summer.

The confidence of Paul Robinson has been shattered by a succession of blunders and Radek Cerny will also suffer with self-doubt after allowing Ronaldo to score his 25th goal of an already remarkable season. Ronaldo's shot might have taken a slight deflection off Malbranque but the ball still slipped under Cerny's body.

Ramos refused to discuss the issue, just as he did when it came to questions concerning the imminent arrival of Woodgate, but he did say the defeat was a tale of squandered opportunities and 'defensive errors'.

Some of the Spurs side deserved more. Lennon joined an elite group in giving Patrice Evra a rough ride and must have gone some way to persuading a watching Fabio Capello he should be on the right against Switzerland next month. Jenas also did well, despite two missed chances, as did United's Owen Hargreaves and a driven Rooney.

Lennon was the first to shine, skipping past Evra in the 24th minute before delivering the kind of cross that too often proves beyond Shaun Wright-Phillips. Lennon hit it with pace and precision, allowing Keane to capitalise on intelligent running and poor defending — he appeared between Rio Ferdinand and John O'Shea — with a simple finish.

United were always likely to respond and they did so in the 38th minute when Rooney dropped deep to launch the ball towards Ryan Giggs. Dawson only headed the ball high into the air and then lost out to Giggs who laid it up for Carlos Tevez to drive into the net.

Had Jenas then converted one of two chances that fell to him — the first forced a fine save from Edwin van der Sar — Spurs might have regained the initiative. But Ferguson told his players at half-time how unimpressed he was and after that they were always more dangerous.

That said, they went in front in the 69th minute only when Dawson foolishly used his elbow to knock the ball away from Rooney and although Ronaldo had missed his previous penalty against West Ham, he made no mistake this time. Just as he made no mistake three minutes after Brown had sent that teasing Malbranque cross against his own post.

Ferguson said: "We had to iron a few things out at half-time, but we have won what was a fantastic cup tie against a good Tottenham side."

Man Utd: Van der Sar, O'Shea, Ferdinand, Brown, Evra, Ronaldo, Carrick, Hargreaves, Giggs, Rooney, Tevez. Subs: Kuszczak, Anderson, Nani, Scholes, Simpson.

Tottenham: Cerny, Tainio, Dawson, Huddlestone, Lee, Lennon, O'Hara, Jenas, Malbranque, Keane, Berbatov. Subs: Robinson, Kaboul, Boateng, Defoe, Gunter.

Referee: Peter Walton (Northamptonshire)