CARDIFF - Newcastle United captain Alan Shearer admitted the better team had won after his side lost to Manchester United.
The defeat ended Newcastle's bid to lift their first domestic trophy for 50 years and dashed Shearer's hopes of winning the first FA Cup of his illustrious career.
"The better team went through to the final, there's no doubt about that," the 34-year-old Shearer said.
"We stood off them too much in the first half and you can't do that with the quality of players they have got.
"We are not going to make excuses. We had players on the pitch capable of doing the job. We worked our socks off and had a go, especially in the second half, but we just weren't good enough."
The former England striker said he felt particularly disappointed for the 35,000 Newcastle fans in the Millennium Stadium.
"They made an incredible noise which made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck," he said. "As usual they were magnificent and we all feel sorry for them."
Newcastle manager Graeme Souness would not criticise the effort of his players and was upbeat about Newcastle's future.
"We have to regroup as we have seven hard games left this season."
- REUTERS
Soccer: Shearer says sorry to fans
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