Chelsea keeper Petr Cech was adamant he had saved Andy Carroll’s late header as the issue of goal-line technology reared its head once more at the FA Cup final on Saturday.
Liverpool striker Carroll was denied what would have been a dramatic equaliser on 82 minutes when his close-range effort was parried against the underside of the bar by Cech before being cleared to safety.
Carroll wheeled away to celebrate but referee Phil Dowd checked with his assistant and ruled the ball had not crossed the line.
Television replays of the incident proved inconclusive but the incident is certain to fuel calls for the introduction of goal-line technology.
Cech however was certain the match officials made the right call.
“I don’t think it [Andy Carroll’s header] was over the line. If the ball was behind the line I couldn’t have put it out,” Cech told the BBC.
“I’m sure it was not behind. I haven’t seen it but I’m persuaded it wasn’t in and I knew it from the first moment,” added Cech, who is now looking forward to the Champions League final against Bayern Munich on May 19.
“It’s fantastic what we’ve achieved and still have one more final to go and hopefully we can make it two. I’ve won it for the fourth time and it doesn’t matter how many times you win it the atmosphere is always the same.”
Carroll admitted he could not be sure if his goal should have stood.
“I thought it was over the line and you know better than me but I thought it was. I thought it hit the other side of the bar but I haven’t seen it back,” said Carroll, whose introduction from the substitutes bench early in the second half threatened to tip the game in Liverpool’s favour.
“I thought it was unlucky – I had a few chances and could have put them away but it wasn’t to be,” Carroll said.
“We came here to win, it’s been disappointing in the league, we got here and it was unlucky because it would have taken us into extra time. I did the best I could when I came on and we were unlucky.”