BY OLIVER HOLT ( The Times )

MANCHESTER United's breezily impertinent journey towards the Worthington Cup final was brought to a shuddering halt at White Hart Lane last night when Tottenham Hotspur finally reassured the rest of English football that there is a team good enough and skilful enough to beat Alex Ferguson's reserve side.

In David Ginola, United's mixture of youngsters, recuperating injury victims and fringe first-teamers, at last ran into a player capable of exposing their limitations and lurking naiveties. Ginola, at his debonair, exuberant best in the bitter cold last night, was too hot for the visitors to handle.

He made Spurs' second goal with a wonderful run and cross that Chris Armstrong headed into the net and then, as United threatened to equalise late in the game, the Frenchman put it out of their reach with a sidestep past Ryan Giggs and a 25-yard drive that flew past the startled Raimond van der Gouw.

For George Graham, the Spurs manager, the result, that earned Tottenham a two- legged semi-final against Wimbledon, was a happy omen. In the past, success in this competition in its various guises has been the harbinger of greater glories.

Wembley is beckoning him again, just as it did during his first season in charge of Arsenal, in 1987. That was just the first step towards a series of triumphs and his old devotees on the other side of North London must be beginning to worry about the speed with which history seems to be repeating itself.

"Wembley has been good to me, especially in this competition," Graham said, "but Wimbledon have a knack of knocking favourites down. It is a bonus to be in the semi-finals. We have beaten Liverpool and Manchester United to get here and you can't get much tougher than that. It is time that they had a bit of success here.

"I know some teams have treated the competition lightly this season, but we are not in any position to do that. Any success is more than welcome here. I thought Ginola was superb tonight. It is my job to make sure that the talent he has got is put to maximum effect. I have got to turn the entertainer into the effective entertainer and that is happening now. It is nonsense to suggest that I want to bomb him out."

When the game began, the Spurs supporters had devoted more energy to baiting an old hero than praising their new idol, Ginola. They gained an inordinate amount of satisfaction from teasing Teddy Sheringham and their mirth when he sliced his first attempt at a pass into the stand was almost uncontainable.

Ginola, though, soon wrested their attention away to more positive things. Twice, he burst past Butt and Greening to hit low crosses into the box and give Van der Gouw some testing moments.

For all his energy and verve, though, and for all the poise of Greening, a £500,000 capture from York City, clear-cut chances were at a premium in the first half.

Two minutes before the interval, Ginola made a chance out of nothing, turning past Clegg as he ran on to Sinton's throw and then curling his right-foot shot just over the bar from the edge of the area, but three minutes into the second half Spurs broke the deadlock.

Graham brought Fox on for Calderwood and the winger's first touch, a flick-on from Nielsen's chipped pass, found Armstrong who powered his header over Van der Gouw, who seemed to have strayed a yard or two off his line and could not recover his ground.

In the 55th minute, Spurs went further ahead. Ginola was in his element now, torturing the novices who had been given the thankless task of trying to tame him, and he danced past Greening, stepping over the ball, shimmying left and right, using all the tricks at his disposal. He curled his cross round Greening and Armstrong got in front of Johnsen at the near post to power his header past Van der Gouw into the roof of the net.

Butt missed a golden chance to drag United back into the game soon afterwards when he was left unmarked at the back post to meet a rare right footed cross from Giggs, then the worst nightmare of every Spurs supporter came true: Sheringham scored.

Butt played a pass over the top of the Spurs defence in the 71st minute and Neville crossed first time from the byline. Sheringham was unmarked at the near post and glanced his header past Walker. Five minutes later, he nearly scored again, from Notman's cross, but this time Walker was equal to his header and asigh of relief seemed to echo around White Hart Lane.

There was even a rare appearance for the habitually injured Les Ferdinand. "Getting to Wembley and clearing out our medical room," Graham said with a smile, "are two feats I thought I would never see this season."

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-2): I Walker - S Carr, L Young, S Campbell, A Sinton - D Anderton, A Nielsen, C Calderwood (sub: R Fox, 45min), D Ginola - C Armstrong (sub: L Ferdinand, 85), S Iversen.

Manchester United (4-4-2): R Van Der Gouw - M Clegg, H Berg, R Johnsen, J Curtis (sub: J Blomqvist, 85) - J Greening (sub: D Beckham, 85), P Neville, N Butt (sub: A Notman, 73), R Giggs - O G Solskjaer, E Sheringham.

Referee: P Jones.