ExtraFootie's Raj Mannick rips opens the first day of his rustically illustrated advent calendar to find all the action from the first two Carling Cup quarter-finals, which saw Aston Villa progress with a win at Fratton Park, and Manchester United overcome Spurs in a repeat of last year's final.

Game of the Night - Six goals flew in down at Fratton Park as Aston Villa romped to a 4-2 win over Portsmouth.
Pompey took the lead when Stiliyan Petrov sliced into his own net before England striker Emile Heskey hit back just two minutes later. James Milner put Villa ahead with a neat curled effort and Stuart Downing marked his comeback from injury with a goal. Kanu's late effort meant little as Ashley Young put the game beyond doubt in the dying seconds. Non-stop action!

Performance of the Night - Despite losing 2-0, Tottenham Hotspur gave a good account of themselves in the Theatre of Dreams. Spurs had the lion's share of possession, created numerous chances, and but for a combination of sloppy finishing and some last ditch United defending, Harry Redknapp will be disappointed his team are not in Wednesday's semi-final draw.

Player of the Night - Manchester United's Darron Gibson proved to be the difference at Old Trafford as the Irishman's brace dumped Tottenham out of the cup despite Harry Redknapp's team dominating. United had just two shots on goal in the first half: both came from Gibson, and both made the net bulge.

Donkey of the Night - Unlike a vintage red wine, Red Devil's skipper Gary Neville has not aged well. The once England regular was given a harsh lesson in the advancing pace of the game as he was made to look geriatric by the lightning speed of Aaron Lennon and the dainty footwork of Gareth Bale. Fortunately for the United captain the likes of Brown and Vidic were on hand to bail the old man out, but on this performance it seems time is up for Neville.

Think about it, when was the last time you saw a decent performance from Gary Neville? Donkey's years ago!

Goal of the Night - Darron Gibson's second strike at Old Trafford was a genuine corker. A swift counter attack by the exuberant Anderson led to the ball skillfully bouncing around the Spurs box off the likes of Park, Berbatov, and Welbeck like a pinball whizzing around a machine before Gibson sent a 22-yard side-footer tantalizingly beyond the reach of Gomes and into the top corner. A stunning goal.

Talking Point of the Night - Sir Alex Ferguson's young guns were critically lambasted after last week's Champions League defeat, something the United boss deemed savagely unjust, and although their performance tonight was far from perfect, a comfortable looking 2-0 home win over a determined Spurs side may see Fergie demand the naysayers queue up to personally apologise at his next news conference.

ExtraFootie being the professional and impartial media body that it is, no such apology is even necessary!

Team of the Night (4-4-2) - Kuszczak (Man Utd), De Laet (Man Utd), Brown (Man Utd), Vidic (Man Utd), Bale (Spurs), Lennon (Spurs), Milner (Aston Villa), Gibson (Man Utd), Young (Aston Vila), Heskey (Aston Villa), Berbatov (Man Utd)