Nemanja Vidic claimed ref Phil Dowd was right not
to send him off as Manchester United beat Aston Villa 2-1 in
Sunday's Carling Cup final at Wembley.
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."
