Pardew: Forgive me for my Wembley dance
Crystal Palace manager Alan Pardew has asked for people to “forgive” him for his celebratory dance after his side took the lead in the FA Cup final against Manchester United.
Jason Puncheon broke the deadlock in the 78th minute with a fantastic strike at Wembley, but Juan Mata hit back to send the game to extra time before the 10 men of United clinched glory through Jesse Lingard’s superb goal.
Puncheon’s opener saw Pardew celebrate by dancing on the touchline, and the former Newcastle United boss said: “I enjoyed that moment!
“In a Cup final and as a manager it’s difficult to enjoy moments. If you forgive me for my dance, it’s just because I enjoyed it.”
Reflecting on the 2-1 loss, Pardew told BBC Sport: “My players gave everything. Everything. And they deserved to win but the game is like that.
“We had a couple of decisions that went against us, big time. Connor [Wickham] was through, Wilfried [Zaha] had a penalty but I’m not going to bleat. It was a great performance from both teams, great final.”
