Portsmouth striker David Nugent showed TheFA.com his winner's medal, but still couldn't quite believe he was an FA Cup winner.
"It's the best feeling ever," he said after the match.
"You dream about it when you're a kid playing in the streets, playing in The FA Cup Final. It's happened today and I've got a winner's medal."
Nugent’s substitute appearance could have brought him a goal when his snap shot on the volley nearly caught out Peter Enkelman at his near post.
"I looked up in the box and no-one was there, so I thought why not have a shot, you never know what could happen, but the keeper's parried it wide."
Nugent paid tribute to the Pompey fans, who were in full voice throughout the 90 minutes, eclipsing the atmosphere they generated at Wembley in the Semi-Finals.
"I thought the Semi Final was good!" said Nugent.
"But to come here and see them today in the Final…they were unbelievable!
"They sang all the way through the game, they were cheering us when we were under pressure a bit and kept us going. They could have been the 12th man and they proved it in the end because we won 1-0."
When the final whistle blew and Portsmouth were crowned FA Cup winners, Nugent was left totally stunned by the result.
"I was speechless, really!” he admitted.
“I just looked up to see my Mum and Dad in the crowd, so that was for them. This winner's medal will be going to them as well.
"I never thought it would ever happen in my career, but it happened. No-one expected Portsmouth to be in The Final; when we were drawn against Manchester United no-one expected us to beat them. When that happened, we knew something was going to happen for us.
“To get my hands on The Cup, there's no better feeling.”
Nugent showed us his winner's medal and said, "That'll be going next to my Under-21 England caps and my full England cap as well. It's another proud moment of my life.”
The former Preston North End striker revealed that the team were likely to be in for a late night out celebrating, but not until they’d cleaned themselves up after being showered with champagne in the dressing rooms.
“It's hectic in there now, “ he said.
“There's champagne everywhere!
“All the suits are drenched so we'll have to go home and get scrubbed up again and get out there and party tonight!"
After the celebrations, Nugent has a rare chance to relax ahead of the new season. In previous seasons Nugent’s season has extended into the summer, thanks to international commitments. But after a long and at times frustrating season for the Pompey striker, Nugent plans to unwind and recharge his batteries before coming back a better player next season.
“I can't wait now,” he said.
“This will be the first [summer] I've had off in three seasons now, so I'm looking forward to the rest, have a few holidays and come back fit and strong and show the Portsmouth fans what I really can do.”