Nemanja Vidic claimed ref Phil Dowd was right not to send him off
as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Carling Cup final.
Vidic hauled down Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the opening five
minutes and though Dowd awarded a penalty which James Milner duly
converted, he didn't even book Vidic for the offence.
The Serbian was later booked for a foul on Agbonlahor but
played the entire 90 minutes as United recovered to win 2-1 with
goals from Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
Afterwards Vidic claimed the official had got it right,
saying: "I can react better but Agbonlahor did well.
"I don't think it was a red card because I got in front of
him, not behind. If I had got behind then yes.
"It's always nice to win big games but it was hard. They
played with two forwards but I thought we deserved it."
Villa defender Richard Dunne refused to blame the decision
for his side's defeat.
"It's very disappointing but we gave it a good go," he said.
"It was a great start, that was what we wanted to do - to get
in front and try and hold on. But I made a mistake and after that
it was tough. Unfortunately it wasn't our day."
On the possible sending-off, he added: "Possibly, but the
game went on and it was an even game all the way through.
"They got a man sent off at Villa Park and it didn't make any
difference. It was probably better to play against 11, it made it
more enjoyable."
Vidic claims ref got it right
Nemanja Vidic claimed ref Phil Dowd was right not to send him off
as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 in the Carling Cup final.
Vidic hauled down Gabriel Agbonlahor inside the opening five
minutes and though Dowd awarded a penalty which James Milner duly
converted, he didn't even book Vidic for the offence.
The Serbian was later booked for a foul on Agbonlahor but
played the entire 90 minutes as United recovered to win 2-1 with
goals from Michael Owen and Wayne Rooney.
Afterwards Vidic claimed the official had got it right,
saying: "I can react better but Agbonlahor did well.
"I don't think it was a red card because I got in front of
him, not behind. If I had got behind then yes.
"It's always nice to win big games but it was hard. They
played with two forwards but I thought we deserved it."
Villa defender Richard Dunne refused to blame the decision
for his side's defeat.
"It's very disappointing but we gave it a good go," he said.
"It was a great start, that was what we wanted to do - to get
in front and try and hold on. But I made a mistake and after that
it was tough. Unfortunately it wasn't our day."
On the possible sending-off, he added: "Possibly, but the
game went on and it was an even game all the way through.
"They got a man sent off at Villa Park and it didn't make any
difference. It was probably better to play against 11, it made it
more enjoyable."