Manager Roberto Martinez was left stunned by a ‘magnificent’ performance as his Wigan Athletic side upset Manchester City to win their first-ever FA Cup.
The Latics held their own against City – who had Pablo Zabaleta sent off in the second-half – and got their reward with substitute Ben Watson’s last-gasp Wembley winner.
And Martinez, who is tipped to replace David Moyes as Everton manager in the summer, said his ‘underdogs’ fully deserved their win.
“You could see the goal coming – the performance was magnificent, we deserved it,” he told BBC Sport.
“You dream of playing at Wembley and winning – the underdogs played with incredible bravery and belief and fought the odds again.
“We went eye to eye with a great team – that’s the FA Cup.”
With the clock ticking down, Watson – who had only been on the field ten minutes – beat his man at the near post to head in Shaun Maloney’s corner.
City were forced to see out the final five minutes of the game with ten men when Zabaleta received a second yellow card for carelessly bringing down Callum McManaman.
McManaman had been a thorn in City’s side all evening, duly winning the Man of the Match award, and Martinez was quick to heap praise on the young midfielder.
“Actions speak louder than words,” he said. “Today he has showed the world what he can do.
“His display was outstanding like we see every day in training. He’s a real diamond of English football.”
The Spanish boss revealed his players were down at half-time after missing several guilt-edged chances, but was delighted with their determination after the break.
“We were down at half-time because we played well in the first half and we didn’t take our chances,” he explained.
“There was a feeling that we had wasted our opportunity. But these players never feel beaten and we kept going.
“This is an incredible moment.”
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