By Chris O'Brien
May 21 2005

The pain of penalty-kicks hit Manchester United supporters as the Red Devils lost the F.A Cup in the cruellest of fashion. Having dominated throughout, United suffered an undeserved reverse as Arsenal held their nerve with a 5-4 spot-kick with Paul Scholes' miss proving crucial.

A tear trickled down my face as Patrick Viera netted the winning penalty-kick to give Arsenal possibly the most undeserved F.A Cup final victory in history. Surely even the most ABU football supporter would admit that the Red Devils should have had a 12th Cup success secured by half-time as United, playing in black, served up one of their best performances of the season but simply couldn't find the net despite 120 minutes of pressure and numerous clear-cut opportunities.

Paul Scholes missed the only spot-kick as the 2005 F.A Cup became the first in history to be decided by penalties, as predicted by myself on the messageboard. Having survived a 2-hour onslaught from the holders, Arsenal took the initiative into the end-of-game lottery with United severely fatigued having given it their all for the entire game. An inspired display from Jens Lehman had kept United out as the game ended in a stalemate, with countless opportunities going begging during a fiery Millennium Stadium clash.

United fans, who protested against Malcolm Glazer's MUFC takeover before and during the match, were left disappointed at the news that both Gabriel Heinze and Gary Neville would miss the tie through injury. John O'Shea and Wesley Brown joined Rio Ferdinand and Mikael Silvestre to form a makeshift backline. Sir Alex Ferguson left Ryan Giggs on the bench, preferring a three-man midfield of Darren Fletcher, Roy Keane and Paul Scholes, whilst Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney played behind Ruud Van Nistelrooy in a 4-3-2-1 formation. Roy Carroll was preferred to Tim Howard between the sticks, and this may have been the Ulsterman's final game for the club.

Cheered on by the tremendous noise of 30,000 Reds, United roared into action and instantly had Arsenal under pressure. Ronaldo tore down the left flank and set-up Scholes with a great cross, but the playmaker squandered the chance bucking the trend for a very, very frustrating afternoon. United continued to pile on the pressure, Fergie's clever formation paying off with Roy Keane and Darren Fletcher the engine in midfield and attacks coming from all around them. It was one way traffic for the majority of the game.

Ferdinand had the ball in the net after 20 minutes, only for the linesman to deny the £30million defender a goal in his first Cup final. Lehman had blocked a sensational long-range Rooney drive with his legs, but Rio was quick to pounce on the rebound driving it past the German. Replays show the linesman was correct, with the former Leeds centre-half only marginally offside. It summed up United's afternoon perfectly.

Arsenal chances were few and far between and they registered only one shot on target throughout the game. In the first-half, a nervy Carroll misjudged a long-ball over the top, but Jose Antonio Reyes was not quick enough to pounce on the keeper's minor mistake. Dennis Bergkamp was isolated up front and suffered from a distinct lack of service as Arsenal attacked towards their own supporters for the opening period.

The second-half was much a similar story. Rooney effort was only stopped by a desperate block from Kolo Toure, whilst Ronaldo went agonisingly close with a 20-yard piledriver. Arsenal's frustration was evident, and the game threatened to boil over with a number of tasty challenges going in. Lauren was booked on the hour for a challenge on Ronaldo, with the Portuguese teenager causing his French counterpart big trouble down the flank all afternoon.

The dominance continued and United had four great chances in the closing thirty minutes as they desperately looked to break the deadlock. An ambitious strike from teenage sensation Rooney was finger-tip saved by the impressive Lehman, whilst another Ronaldo cross eluded the Gunners defence only for Van Nistelrooy to fail to connect with the ball. Even the faintest of touches would have been enough, but the Dutchman looked a yard off the pace all afternoon with a lack of fitness evident. In hindsight, bringing on Alan Smith or naming Louis Saha amongst the substitutes may have been beneficial.

Sir Alex made a chance on 77 minutes with Quinton Fortune introduced for O'Shea. The Irishman may well have been a little overwhelmed by the big occasion, and the versatile Fortune brought some fresh legs to the team with United clearly tiring.

Roy Keane, a machine in midfield, had an effort blocked on the line by Patrick Viera with only five minutes to go as corner after corner piled the pressure on. United went even closer in the dieing seconds, Van Nistelrooy's attempt at goal was turned onto the woodwork by substitute Freddie Ljungberg. It simply wasn't to be, and United's confidence seemingly was dented as the Rob Stiles blew up for full-time and extra-time was confirmed.

Ryan Giggs was introduced for Fletcher in his native Wales as Ferguson piled emphasis on attack. The Welshman was a surprise exclusion from the starting line-up, and his confidence appeared knocked as a result.

For the first time in the match, Arsenal looked more lively as extra-time got underway. United were knackered having battled so hard throughout the 90 minutes, and despite the cheers of thousands of horse supporters, they couldn't match the performance of normal time. Carroll made his first real save of the match on 97 minutes, and it was terrific as he palmed away a Robin Van Persie free-kick out for a corner.

The Red Devils were still creating opportunities though, with Scholes and Rooney both seeing shots blocked on the line as Lehman continued his excellent form. Perhaps the best chance was to come, as Van Nistelrooy sent a free header over the crossbar. The poacher was only 6-yards out, and 12-months ago the forward would surely have found the back of the net in prolific fashion. He looked out-of-sorts today, and sadly it cost United as the problem of not being able to score continued to haunt MUFC.

As the game headed towards penalties, there was one final twist for the 72,000 packed into the Millennium Stadium, which will host the British Lions v. Argentina next week. Reyes was sent to the stands in the final minute of extra-time for a second bookable offence, as Arsenal lost their best penalty taker on the pitch. A key blow as Stiles blew up and the F.A Cup headed to a lottery for the first-time in its illustrious 133-year history.

Van Nistelrooy netted United's first and clenched fists showed just what it meant to him, only for Lauren to equalise. Then came the crucial miss - with Scholes' feeble attempt well-saved by Lehman. Arsenal's confidence sky-rocketed, and from them on there were no more missed kicks. Well done to Rooney, Ronaldo and skipper Keane for netting their penalties, but nobody can be blamed in a penalty shoot-out and it was a cruel way to decide the fate of a very one-sided affair. Sadly, we all knew the rules before a ball was kicked and Carroll didn't look like stopping any of Arsenal's efforts.

So, the season ends in disappointment. You had to be proud of United's performance, but this just summed up our entire season. Bad luck and bad finishing. An interesting summer now lays ahead following the controversy surrounding Glazer, and changes are expected to the United squad with the demand for silverware increasing after a season with no trophy success.

I cannot remember feeling so disappointed.

Keep the faith - MUFC. Well done to the lads all the same.