THE critics were poised to savage United's Saudi Arabian camel riding jaunt - but it was Tottenham who got the hump.

United may not have been completely refreshed after their five-day break in the Middle East, and may have still had a bit of sand between their toes as Spurs threatened to make them pay for their jaunt 3,000 miles away.

But the poison pens had to be returned to the pockets, the fans' message boards and radio phone-ins had to search for another debate as United's Saudi adventure did not come back to haunt them.

The last time the Reds went on a mid-winter break was at the World Club Championship in 2000 in the heat of Brazil.

That two-week working holiday came at the expense of the FA Cup as holders United opted out of the competition to play in Rio de Janeiro.

The trophy has taken a long time to recover from that, even though United have done their bit to prove they still adore the competition. But the FA Cup had a good weekend and all the qualities of the famous old competition were at Old Trafford. There was romance, with the bin men, plumbers and electricians of Havant and Waterlooville VIP guests at Old Trafford as they took a detour from their journey back to Hampshire following their unbelievable exploits against Liverpool at Anfield 24 hours earlier.

The non-League part-timers had embarrassed the Scousers in front of the Kop for at least a half of their fourth round tie. No wonder they were welcomed at Old Trafford!

But they must have been wondering about the validity of the claim that the Premier League is the best in the world having stood up to Rafael Benitez's side so stoically. So it was that the glamour side of the tournament watched two top flight teams going toe-to-toe in a classy battle for supremacy and provide excellent football entertainment by the bucketful. United fans would have been somewhat uncomfortable that the larger volume of quality was being served up by Spurs.

Clearly it looked initially that a rout is as good as a rest, if not better.

For while the Reds were soft pedalling through a testimonial, quad-biking, playing golf and riding camels, Tottenham were demolishing rivals Arsenal 5-1 to book a Wembley place in the Carling Cup.

Storyline

They looked more buoyed by their excursion in the cup than United had done by their sunshine break in a first half that suggested a first win at Old Trafford since 1989 - when Gary Lineker was on Match of the Day as a match-winner rather than a presenter. Of course, there was always the storyline of Sir Alex Ferguson's target Dimitar Berbatov upsetting possible future employers.

The Bulgarian took just 15 minutes to suggest he, too, fancied that tale to add to the drama of the FA Cup.

The Spurs hitman was ready to celebrate a goal as his header was creeping in, but Wayne Rooney was guarding the post and turned the ball away.

But United's security was missing just nine minutes later when Tottenham got a reward for their bright opening. Patrice Evra was having a great tussle with Aaron Lennon but the Spurs winger left him behind as he jinked to the by-line and crossed into the box.

Neither Rio Ferdinand nor Wes Brown were in the vicinity as Robbie Keane slid in and stabbed the opener.

United may not have been delightful at that point but they were certainly dogged and determined. After 38 minutes they were level, with Rooney punting a superb long ball into the box to put Michael Dawson under pressure. Giggs cushioned the ball when it dropped and Tevez was on hand to finish smartly with his left foot.

Paul Scholes came off the bench for his first appearance since a knee operation in October and added to the feeling that United were overtaking Tottenham.

Old Trafford was looking for the midfielder's classic vision to unlock the door but in the end it was route one that did it.

Van der Sar's long kick put Dawson under pressure once more. With Rooney battling for the ball, the Spurs defender tumbled and, as he fell, flung out a desperate arm to nudge the ball away from the Reds' striker. Dawson paid for his panic with a red card and a penalty, despatched by Ronaldo.

The Portuguese winger sealed it when he drilled in a shot that went under the body off keeper Radek Cerny two minutes from time.

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