Young's Praise For Reds Spirit

Ashley Young reckons the Manchester United spirit on and off the pitch sealed an unforgettable record-equalling 12th FA Cup victory on Saturday.

The 30-year-old highlighted the team’s character and fight and the unwavering backing of the fans as the key factors in helping the Reds to get past a dogged Crystal Palace side and to cope with the loss of Marcos Rojo and Marcus Rashford through injury and the extra-time dismissal of Chris Smalling.

Young labelled the win an “amazing feeling” and says the achievement has only served to further enhance the spirit and belief within the group.

“We hadn’t won the competition for many years and it’s great to get our hands on the trophy," he told ManUtd.com. "The boys had to dig deep especially with Chris getting sent off but we were fantastic and we managed to get the result we wanted.

“That was down to that character and spirit we’ve always had, everyone wants to fight for each other. It was tough when we went down to ten men, but we knew what we had to do and we knew we’d get a chance at some point and Jesse’s strike was unbelievable, I don’t think any keeper would have saved that.

“It was great to celebrate with the fans. They’ve always been fantastic throughout my time here, they follow us up and down the country and without them on Saturday it might not have been possible. They were fantastic again. I nearly lost my voice because I was screaming and shouting that much when Jesse scored! My legs were going but I found the energy to run and over and celebrate. That feeling was amazing.

“We looked up and saw there was about 10 minutes left and I think I was the one who kept asking the ref, ‘How long, how long?’ every minute! When he blew the whistle you could see the joy and delight on everyone’s faces.”

Young likened the emotions of Cup glory to the feelings he had when he won his first league title in 2013 and he hopes this will be the start of something big for the Reds.

“This is up there with winning the league," he said. "You join a club like United to win these kinds of competitions and when you do it’s a great feeling and hopefully we can relive it again and again.

“When you win a trophy it gives you belief you can win more. We’ll enjoy this now and reconvene next season and come back tougher and stronger.”