Darren Fletcher has revealed what he said to the refereeing staff at full-time following Manchester United’s disappointing 2-1 defeat to Brighton in the FA Cup.
Manchester United’s FA Cup campaign came to an end on Sunday afternoon as Brighton edged a 2–1 victory at Old Trafford in the third round.
Brighton started on the front foot and struck early through Brajan Gruda, who converted after Lisandro Martínez’s attempt to clear the danger off the line. The visitors looked capable of adding to their lead moments later, though Danny Welbeck was unable to make the most of a misplaced pass from Senne Lammens.
United had chances to respond before the interval, with Diogo Dalot and Benjamin Šeško both going close, but they headed into the break a goal behind. Brighton strengthened their grip on the contest in the second half when Welbeck powered in their second with 25 minutes remaining.
Šeško gave United hope late on by pulling a goal back, yet an equaliser proved elusive. The hosts’ frustrations were compounded when substitute Shea Lacey was sent off for a second booking late in the game, as Brighton held firm to book their place in the next round.
Darren Fletcher slams poor refereeing
After the full-time whistle was blown, caretaker manager Darren Fletcher was quick to make his way over to the refereeing staff to vent his frustrations about some decisions, specifically Shea Lacey’s controversial sending off towards the end of the game.
Speaking after the game, Fletcher revealed what he said to the refereeing staff on the night, saying: “Shea Lacey’s yellow card is ridiculous compared to the fouls that we had against us all game, which ultimately then the lad makes a mistake and is sent off. For me, it is poor refereeing.”
The 41-year-old coach also spoke on how Lacey was dealing with the disappointment of being sent off in his Old Trafford debut, saying: ” He’s disappointed because he cares and he understands and he knows he will learn from it. There is no doubt about his talent, and it was a steep learning curve today, but we believe in Shea.
“He’s one of our most exciting young prospects, and I’m sure at Old Trafford he will have a chance to make amends for that in the future.”
Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes only positives from a dismal FA Cup tie
On a night full of disappointments at Old Trafford, two players who can hold their heads high are Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes, who both played well on the night.
Following the sacking of Ruben Amorim, many were predicting that one of the biggest winners from that would be Mainoo, who had been seemingly frozen out of Amorim’s plans.
In what was just his second start of the season in all competitions, the 20-year-old completed more passes and created more chances than any other player on the pitch, a superb performance from someone who looked likely to leave the club during the winter transfer window.
Fernandes, on the other hand, looked back to his best after being pushed further forward to play as a number ten, a position where he has thrived since joining the club almost five years ago, and having just returned from an injury lay off, there is still more to come from the club captain.
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