Manchester United fans will claim this was only justice for Bobby Stokes goal in 1976, but the truth is Saints were hard done by and deserved more.

Saints showed that they are a different team these days with the addition of Manolo Gabbiadini and took the game to United from the start but it was not just the 11 in red shirts that they had to contend with.

There won't be a Saints fan who wont now have seen that Gabbiadini's "goal" early in the game was onside and it was Bertrand behind him who was off, as he did not become active in play the goal should have stood .

But for all Saints attacking flair, the harsh reality of why we lost was the fact that we did not stay switched on at key moments in the game.

The first goal perhaps was not a free kick and perhaps the wall should have been a little more to the right, but it cannot be argued that Ibrahimovic put the ball right in the corner and it was a decent strike.

The second was slack marking with Lingard just left to casually line up his shot and stroke the ball home.

At this point Saints looked down and out and it needed something to stir the troops, that came in injury time of the first half when Gabbiadini lost his man and stabbed the ball home through De Gea's legs to give hope.

There was even more hope when the Italian equalised minutes after the break when he held off his man and swivelled and fired home.

Suddenly the dynamics of the game had changed, in the first half the Saints fans had been flat, now they found their voices and the team found a new confidence and for long period there looked to be only one winner.

But luck was still not with Saints or Romeu who saw his header come back off the post.

Gabbiadini seems to have been the missing link in Claude Puel's formation, the team now look like they believe they can score goals and this has given them confidence, Nathan Redmond in particular looks to be benefiting from having a more mobile strike partner who can get on the end of his crosses.

Fair play to Claude Puel who brought on Long to replace Gabbiadini who had run his socks off, with the French manager looking to win the game rather than take it to extra time.

But it was ultimately to be more heartbreak for Saints with less than four minutes of normal time to go, Ibrahimovic headed home from close range and you have to ask why he had an unmarked header from barely six yards out, someone should have been marking him, but we had switched off and it cost us dearly.

On came Rodriguez for a last throw of the dice but it was not to be and Saints fans headed for the exits feeling they had been cheated.

It was hard to take, but we can take pride in the performance that we put up and in the manner in which we accepted defeat, we took it with good grace and took it on the chin.

The real disappointment was that not only have we not won the trophy but we will now probably not qualify for Europe and that hurts too.

But there are a lot of plus points, we have shown that we are still moving forward, still progressing and we have taken another big step to showing that as a club we are capable of challenging for honours.

In December we were a shadow of the team we were last season, the stuffing had been knocked out of us, but now we look like a team again and we can start to kick in to the Premier league and get a run of results together that will propel us up the league.

There are some who say that this defeat didn't hurt enough, there is some mileage in that, we have had little to cheer about in terms of cup final appearances, this was a welcome distraction from the League, but now we have tasted it we want more and next time we will have that much more experience as a team.

There is a lot of pride to be had this morning in being a Saints supporter and there is also a lot of hope that we can now continue our journey onwards and upwards, we march on !

Photo: Action Images

charlie357 added 11:27 - Feb 27 Very proud of how we performed. Everyone (bar Forster) played fantastically well IMO. Special mentions to Yoshida and Gabbiadini!
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Dan_P326 added 11:41 - Feb 27 Excellent performance from the Saints, we showed real fight to get back into the game and the score is not an accurate reflection of how we dominated, but there is the cruelty of football for you. Can't be long no before video replays are incorporated into the game now that initial goal would have changed the entire game. Oh and one final thing, screw you Zlatan.
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Whiteknight added 11:48 - Feb 27 Agreed -onwards & upwards.
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GeordieSaint added 11:58 - Feb 27 That disallowed goal was an absolute travesty, if saints go one up it completely changes the game and allows saints to play like they did against Liverpool. Virgil is a huge miss and you would imagine we would probably not have conceded 3 if he had played. However, some amazing performances and heads held high. Two united fans I work with were there and were talking about how incredible the saints fans were and how the supporters helped the team get back in it.

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southwatersaint added 12:13 - Feb 27 First post - I was so proud of team and fans yesterday. Hope that Claude Puel gets his share of the credit - although his press conferences are uninspiring, his consistent belief in the players is clearly having an impact. He took on a tough job following a very successful season and popular manager with weaker squad (summer investment in potential), issues with Jose and a bigger workload, compounded by injuries . Although there have been ups and downs on the way we have come along way since the ponderous early performances against Watford and Sunderland - I don't think many people would have thought it possible then that we could outplay MU in the final after wins away at Arsenal and Liverpool without Jose and for two these games VVD.

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arthurfane added 12:23 - Feb 27 Good analysis, but only thing I disagree with is: "The first goal perhaps was not a free kick . . . but it cannot be argued that Ibrahimovic put the ball right in the corner and it was a decent strike." - thought it was definitely a rash challenge from Romeu (only thing he did that wasn't faultless) and Forster definitely should have done better. Ideal height for a goalkeeper and he positioned himself to dive into that corner. How many more times can he be beaten when should do better? Give Hassen a go! Negatives aside - what a day that was. Atmosphere at Wembley was spine tingling, Saints played fantastically. Yesterday it wasn't our profligacy that cost us, it was the brilliance of De Gea and some horrendous bad luck. We bossed United for most of the game. The most wrenching thing about the whole day was the fact that those United fans just didn't deserve that amazing winning feeling - we outsang their fans (who proceeded to mock our lovely tribute to our late owner), outplayed their team (and were robbed by horrendous refereeing) . . . a load of United fans even beat me to Wembley Park station meaning they wouldn't have seen their team lift the trophy. If we'd have won they would have had to drag me out of the stadium. A win for Saints would have meant so much more to us than them. Such is football I guess, but it just leaves a sour taste in the mouth. I'm so, so proud of Southampton football club - the way we carried ourselves on the day was a joy to watch. Hopefully our next shot at silverware isn't too far away! Now let's push for top 8 :)

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saintsnutcase added 12:34 - Feb 27 Very proud today of Southampton Football Club but also very sad that we did not get what we deserved.
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bstokesaint added 12:39 - Feb 27 I woke up this morning still feeling cheated, but so grateful that I had experienced a wonderful atmosphere and how proud I felt of the team and the players. It actually brought a tear to my eye. I viewed the game from the Man U end, having been given tickets through Club Wembley. I really missed being right amongst with our supporters but on the flipside it allowed me to take in some breath-taking scenes from the other end of the ground where the proper supporters were. Our fans were louder and wanted it more. They were a credit to the club, unlike the largely silent and lacklustre 'support' of the plastic generation that surrounded us and only made themselves known again in the 87th minute, after a long period of nothing. You could see it coming. Completely undeserved and also expected. It's clearly too much to expect paid officials to be to do the one job they get paid specifically to do. There wasn't one complaint from the United end when that first Saints’ goal went in and subsequently got disallowed. The only person in the ground who thought that was a goal was the incompetent fool with the flag in his hand. It’s completely unacceptable. I’m glad Puel has said as much too because I think managers need to stand up and make it known how poor the standard of officiating is, especially for such huge games. It shouldn’t be a factor, so yes **** the fines Claude tell how it is. On the train on the way home I couldn’t have felt more proud of our club and I’d rather go away as a loser, than being an undeserved plastic with no real connection with a club. I also certainly wouldn’t have been on that tube missing the cup lift like so many of their lot were.

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bstokesaint added 12:43 - Feb 27 And with regards to the Liebherr tribute that looked awesome from the other end of the ground. Shame the classless Man U fans felt it necessary to mock. I think I know how they'd have reacted to a crass jibe to any Munich tribute. That's them though, speaks volumes.
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aceofthebase added 12:48 - Feb 27 Fans were fantastic. Coach organisation fantastic. Free scarves for Saints fans great idea and I assume that these were paid for by SFC, In ground fan support deafening and flambuoyant. Saints played like demons and very proud of their efforts. Claude Puel and management managed to put together a very motivated and organised team despite major injuries. The game , well the first goal was a reckless challenge, the wall didn't do its job, did someone move out of the way? The ball was not in the corner and FF took a quick step before diving because he was in the wrong position. The real issue is that the disallowed goal could have changed the whole game and perhaps Man U would not have scored a goal. Who knows! I had a fantastic day out and like most fans from both sides I thought we deserved to win.

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schatfield added 12:55 - Feb 27 I was still gutted on the train to work this morning. All of the 'oh, ifs'....if only Virgil had played, if only Fraser had not have played..... But what a great game. And fantastic fan support throughout. I seriously thought we would win at 2-2....Ibra, what a player he is though.
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WanderingSaint added 13:17 - Feb 27 I managed to wander to Wembley for the game. We were awesome. Forster definitely needs to have some yoga incorporated into his training regime.
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undertoomers added 13:18 - Feb 27 It still bugs me that people think that Bobby Stokes goal was offside. A wider angle clearly shows Alex Forsyth (at bottom right of the screen) playing our hero ONSIDE!, FACT. Now let's that be an end to it. As regards yesterday, there are only positives to be taken from the day. Though I'd give our new goalie a start in the next game.
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undertoomers added 13:18 - Feb 27 It still bugs me that people think that Bobby Stokes goal was offside. A wider angle clearly shows Alex Forsyth (at bottom right of the screen) playing our hero ONSIDE!, FACT. Now let's that be an end to it. As regards yesterday, there are only positives to be taken from the day. Though I'd give our new goalie a start in the next game.
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LordDZLucan added 13:58 - Feb 27 It's all been said but bstokesaint's posts exactly sum up my thoughts. I've just one regret and that is I wish I'd drunk my half-time pint a bit quicker so that I could have seen our second goal live!
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SanMarco added 13:59 - Feb 27 It was a great game and a superb performance apart from the three goals which were all poor from out point of view. We will of course never known what would have happened if we had taken an early lead. Forster has not been the same since his long injury and even before that he could be slow getting down to low shots in the corner. Just a word for Yoshi and JWP - they often get berated on here (including by me) and I thought they both rose to the occasion. Also hat's off to Puel - he set us up to win and I sincerely believe that if a fit CB of reasonable quality had been bought in the window we would have won. All three goals, in their way, were due to weakness in the centre (would Romeu have tackled rashly in front of VVD and Fonte?) - Stephens gave his all but I feel he was a weakness. Watching on the tv I was delighted to hear Saints fans out-sing Manure. I certainly agree on Stokes (although you have to remember that level was off in those days so it was close) and finally Manure should have been down to 10 in the second half - an issue rather overshadowed by the offside error.

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131153 added 14:09 - Feb 27 Reflections. The "offside goal" was very disappointing however if any proof was needed the one eyed chancer that is Jose doesn't get the rub of the green can be put to bed. Pretty sure he still thins the Paul Scholes goal against Porto was offside. Two great goals from Manolo, no doubt FF has lost confidence maybe as others have suggested through injury. I see plenty of good signs with a view to going one better next season. Difficult to say it was a great day as coming second is a pain but only four sides a season get to a Wembley final.

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highfield49 added 15:02 - Feb 27 Very, very proud of the team, surely we've used up all the bad luck and poor refereeeing decisions that have dogged much of the season. Maybe we can pick up regular wins till the end of the season and still qualify for Europe with VVD and Caceres solid in central defence. Not a time for criticism, only reflection, and maybe if Davis with his limited height hadn't been in the wall exactly where the free kick was placed and Yoshi had closed down Lingard by another couple of yards it might have been different. Strangely I'm more wound up by suggestions that Gabbiadini is likely to head for Liverpool in the summer than anything else!!!!! if ever there was a time to say "not for sale" this is it.

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BoondockSaint added 15:34 - Feb 27 Missed Virgil. Yoshi played best game ever...looked like Fonte! Where has this team been all season??? Oh yeah, that was before Gabby. Why he was taken off I don't know, even tired he was worrying them. Hopefully keep playing like this---keep white shirts and Redmond's blonde mohawk...I'm not superstitious, I just believe in coincidences! As Gabby came off, they showed Ralph and Kat applauding....I'm yelling at the TV: "You should have signed him in the summer!!" Then a cold shiver ran down my spine as I thought: "What if they are not applauding, but rubbing their hands together thinking about how much they can sell him for in the next window????"

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davepid added 15:45 - Feb 27 Whilst I agree about most of the comments about Forster we should remember his remarkable recovery save at Anfield. We might not have had our day out but for that , and where,incidentally, technology came to our assistance. My day got better late on , when a couple of Utd fans were ejected from their train home because of drunken behaviour.
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SaintJez added 15:50 - Feb 27 What a day! So proud of our fans and the performance of the team. How much longer will football be in a situation that good goals are disallowed by bad decisions. If the ball is dead before the whistle is blown then check the bloody video guys!! Rugby has been doing it for years! I accept if the ball is in play it's difficult and there'll be bad calls when a player is clean through but they haven't actually scored then. When it's in the net don't rule it out unless you are sure. It took us in the stands 10 seconds to know via twitter it was a howler. And final point.. don't take off your goalscorer!!!!! I noticed Mourinho left Ibra on there despite having played loads of games recently. The last 2 chances of the game summed that point up beautifully. Bertrand crosses for Long who misses the ball. They cross for Ibra... bang. Game over. We should have won. This is not a moan though. It was an awesome day and a great performance but it just irks me that we took off the main man before ET. If there was another 30 mins to play then maybe fair enough.. but not then!!

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arthurfane added 15:57 - Feb 27 Davepid - it was only Forster's horrendous mistake that led to his remarkable recovery save. Whilst I'm grateful to him for making it and, as you say, going someway toward getting us our chance at Wembley, a better (or even average) Goalkeeper wouldn't have needed to make that 'recovery'. Can't wait for McCarthy to recover (swear the club said it was a month or so when he first got injured..?) or Hassen to get a chance.

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Sanguin added 16:31 - Feb 27 I’m overwhelmingly disappointed. The most disappointing thing for me was how little the Manchester United fans seemed to want the win, barely any were wearing shirts and to chant “What the f***ing hell is that?” to the Liebherr tribute phone lights the Saints fans put up was curmudgeonly and disrespectful. The wall was okay for United’s first goal; Davis was just disrupted and failed to jump to block the shot. Forster was unsighted and so I don’t think this was solely his fault. I’m really disappointed in Stephens for the final goal, he didn’t even seem to be trying to close Ibrahimovic down, let alone mark him. I think Stephens could come good, but he has a problem with little mistakes like this or giving away possession that put the team under pressure and ultimately lead to goals conceded. There are a lot of further things we could pick apart about different players’ performances and how unlucky we were with decisions. But we can take a great positive in that we were by far the better team and it was still a great day out at Wembley. I guess ultimately we need to just get over the disappointment of the loss and get three points at Watford on Saturday; even saying that feels a little depressing.

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ericofarabia added 18:01 - Feb 27 Zlatan the cheating pony tailed ponce was a disgrace I think there were 4 occasions where he stayed down feigning a head injury after losing a duel. I couldnt stay and wstch him and Rooney wtf? Collect th cup. So proud of the tesm and fans. Shame I wasny zany enough to get into todays echo! 44 hours of work, flying, trains, match and drinking before I got to bed meant i slept well last night but had no vooce left this morning.

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redwight added 18:14 - Feb 27 All the guts, none of the glory. So proud to be a Saints fan yesterday. I said before, and still think, that Caceres should have played instead of Stephens. Not helpful, I know, but hard to resist 'what ifs'. Fans were brilliant and the ML tribute was inspired - have to say I missed the low lifes response as noted above. Loved the song rhyming Lamborghini with Gabbiadini!

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