• FA Cup

Fergie: I couldn't see us scoring

ESPN staff
April 1, 2013
Man United eliminated by rampant Chelsea

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Sir Alex Ferguson accepted Manchester United failed to provide a significant goal threat as they went down to a 1-0 defeat in their FA Cup quarter-final replay at Chelsea.

The Blues claimed a deserved victory at Stamford Bridge thanks to a spectacular strike from Demba Ba shortly after the break, and Ferguson said the Premier League leaders had struggled to carve out opportunities to equalise.

"We lacked the composure to win the game," Ferguson told ITV. "We had a lot of possession but didn't make the best use of it and on the counter they can cause you bother.

"We didn't lose another goal but I couldn't see us scoring ourselves, apart from Robin van Persie's volley and [Petr] Cech made a good save from Chicharito (Javier Hernandez).

"The first half we were absolutely comfortable. I couldn't see them being any great threat, but the goal changed the game."

Ferguson felt his players lacked concentration for Ba's goal. "We spoke about Ba," he said. "We had the experience from Newcastle a couple of years back when he scored exactly the same type of goal. We had to be aware of that movement and we were caught napping to be honest."

Ba, who also said the goal was reminiscent of the one he netted in the 3-0 victory over the Red Devils in January 2012, credited Juan Mata for his assist. "It was a brilliant pass," he said.

Cech drew plaudits for his stunning save to deny Hernandez, and the goalkeeper told ITV: "I went fast as I could and left my left arm to do the job. I tried to cover as much space as I could and luckily I was able to reach it."

Chelsea have won the FA Cup four times in the last six years, and Cech added: "It was a great win. We know there is only one way to win the cup and we won the game in a very good fashion.

"We love the stadium (Wembley) and we respect the FA Cup as a whole - that's why we always do well."

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