Alex Bruce was left wondering what might have been after Hull City's epic 3-2 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal, but has promised to fight "hammer and tongs" to return to the big stage next season.
After James Chester and Curtis Davies had put the Tigers 2-0 up after eight minutes, Bruce came within a whisker of extending the lead still further, only to see his goal-bound header cleared off the line by Kieran Gibbs. Arsene Wenger's side forced extra time with goals from Santi Cazorla and Laurent Koscielny, before Aaron Ramsey struck late on to break City hearts.
And after Bruce was forced off with a knock at 2-1, he could only watch as the cup slipped out of the Tigers' grasp.
"I am distraught," he said. "We went 2-0 up probably too early, to be honest. Unfortunately we couldn't hold on and it is massively disappointing.
"You think when you go two goals up, 'come on, we've got a massive cushion here'. But if you sit off Arsenal, which we ultimately did - and there were a lot of tired legs - they have quality to hurt you, bringing the lads they did off the bench. That was our undoing in the end."![brucewembley]()
Alex Bruce receives his medal from the Duke of Cambridge.
"A lot of the players in that dressing room were playing in the Championship last season so it shows how far we've come," he said. "We've stayed in the Premier League, even though our place dropped a bit in the last couple of weeks probably because we had one eye on this game. "The top players have occasions like this year in, year out. You've always got to strive as a footballer to come to occasions like this. Once you have a taste you don't want it to end and we'll be going hammer and tongs next year to have more days like this. "Hopefully the lads will get a bit of lady luck that you need sometimes."
Despite his disappointment, Bruce said he was proud of the team's performance.
"We showed wonderful effort, we gave our all but unfortunately we were just pipped at the end," he said. "I am not sure (if Arsenal deserved it). I think on the whole maybe they had better chances, but for effort and endeavour I think we deserved something out of the game as well."
With City now qualifying for the Europa League for the first time, because Arsenal are already guaranteed a place in the Champions League, Bruce is looking forward to further progress for the Tigers next season.
Alex Bruce receives his medal from the Duke of Cambridge."A lot of the players in that dressing room were playing in the Championship last season so it shows how far we've come," he said. "We've stayed in the Premier League, even though our place dropped a bit in the last couple of weeks probably because we had one eye on this game. "The top players have occasions like this year in, year out. You've always got to strive as a footballer to come to occasions like this. Once you have a taste you don't want it to end and we'll be going hammer and tongs next year to have more days like this. "Hopefully the lads will get a bit of lady luck that you need sometimes."
