Heartbroken Puel calls for video replays after disallowed goal

CLAUDE PUEL claimed that Southampton were unlucky to miss out on their first major trophy for 41 years as they left Wembley heartbroken and empty-handed. Striker Manolo Gabbiadini had a legitimate early goal incorrectly ruled out for offside before Manchester United surged into a two-goal lead inside 38 minutes. Gabbiadini struck twice either side of half-time to bring Saints level and Puel’s side hit the post as they went in search of a winner, but Zlatan Ibrahimovic struck for United three minutes from the end. ‘It was all the game unlucky because the first goal of Gabbiadini is a good goal,’ said Puel. ‘He scored three good goals this afternoon. But the decision did not go for us. I’m disappointed for the players and the fans. Just before the third goal we had the best situation and opportunities. ‘It’s a big disappointment with the quality of this game.’ Asked if he would like to see video technology introduced, Puel replied: ‘I would of course like the video for the future for these situations. But for the moment football is without video. Sometimes there is a bad decision against us and it is important to accept this.’ It cost Southampton the chance to lift their first major trophy since Bobby Stokes’ late strike was enough to beat United in the 1976 FA Cup final, but Puel was still proud of the way his players performed. ‘At 2-0 we came back with quality,’ the Frenchman said. ‘When you come back a second time, it was good football with many chances. Perhaps we deserved better but it’s football and congratulations to Manchester United. ‘For them to have two shots and score two goals was very hard. We showed very good spirit to come back in the way that we did, with our quality. ‘We were the underdogs but now I think we can say it was a good thing to say it was possible to win.’