Sylvain Distin: Portsmouth fans still ask about that Manchester United FA Cup tackle - but I didn't do anything special

Yet it was a remarkable challenge from Sylvain Distin which laid the foundations for that March 2008 victory at Old Trafford.

The former Pompey central defender thwarted Michael Carrick when presented with an open goal in the 70th minute.

Considering the fixture was goalless at the time, Distin’s goal-line intervention was pivotal – and within eight minute the Blues had netted the winner.

Yet, in a 2015 interview for Played Up Pompey, the modest Frenchman downplayed that crucial contribution.

‘People still talk about my tackle in the FA Cup quarter-final at Manchester United, but for me I didn’t do anything special,’ he told Played Up Pompey.

‘It is not even a tackle to be honest, it wasn’t like a sliding challenge where I stretch my leg and hook the ball away from the opposition player.

‘I couldn’t believe Michael Carrick didn’t shoot, it was an open goal, he took too much time and missed his opportunity.

‘In the 70th minute he went past David James and I just went for it, but it wasn’t like I could get the ball from his foot, I wasn’t close enough, then he just delayed it for a second.

‘Maybe he didn’t see me coming, but it gave me time to put my leg in front and he kicked the ball against me and it bounced away – that’s it.

‘I really didn’t feel like that was a good tackle. Sometimes as a defender you do something and think “Yes, that was good” but in this instance I didn’t believe it was anything special, I just went for it, Carrick took his time and I got it.

‘It was 0-0 when it happened, they had been on top and if they had scored that goal it was game over, but it was not down to me, it was down to him missing.

‘That was a really good and strong United team, 10 of them would be in the side which won the Champions League final against Chelsea two-and-a-half months later and they dominated against us.

‘Going into it we felt we could win, we were on a decent run with good spirit through the team and knew we could compete, but after 15 minutes realised we would have to defend the whole match.

‘I cannot remember if we even had a shot on goal before Sulley Muntari netted the winner from the penalty spot in the 78th minute, but we knew we were strong defensively so just kept at it hoping we could counter and score.

‘Just playing against Manchester United was special at the time and it was an amazing, amazing experience winning there.

‘Their fans expected a victory and, as they were also well on top of us, expected to score soon. It didn’t happen though and all of a sudden we scored a penalty after Tomasz Kuszczak had brought down Milan Baros – then it went quiet!

‘We had won at Old Trafford, not too many players in the game can say they did that, especially against a Sir Alex Ferguson side.

‘In the semi-final we saw off West Bromwich Albion 1-0 and funnily enough in the final were in the same position Manchester United had been in when they faced us earlier in the competition.

‘Everybody expected us to beat Cardiff City at Wembley, but it was a tough game against the Championship side, we had only a few chances, although they also didn’t have many themselves.

‘We didn’t have a lot to defend against, while they were really compact so it was difficult for us to break them down.

‘Maybe for the first 30 minutes you feel like you were going to score one or two goals and come back at half-time 2-0 up, but it didn’t happen. Then you start to realise if you want this you have to work hard for it.

‘Kanu scored the winner in the 37th minute when he finished John Utaka’s right-wing cross at the near post and then did that victory dance. Although I am still not sure if he was dancing or actually trying to walk away, he had a very dodgy knee!’

Sylvain Distin made 96 Pompey appearances from May 2007 until August 2009.

Played Up Pompey Too, released in 2017, is still available from Amazon. While Played Up Pompey Three, which contains more of your favourite Blues players, is out later this year.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.