MYSTIFIED Steve Fletcher has struggled to explain how his goal that should have led to Carling Cup glory was disallowed.

The big striker struck with a towering first-half header after James Hayter had already given Cherries an early lead but his celebrations were cut short as he turned in horror to see referee Iain Williamson had whistled for a supposed push on Cardiff defender James Collins.

Denied a two-goal lead, Cherries eventually crashed out 5-4 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw as Hayter's last-minute equaliser and Brian Stock's extra-time free-kick sent the tie into a shoot-out.

Fletcher told the Daily Echo: "If I'd fouled him, I'm honest enough to admit it afterwards. But I can honestly say there was nothing wrong with that goal and it's cost us.

"I thought it was the cleanest header I won all night. It was clean as a whistle and there was nothing wrong with it at all. I just outjumped the defender fair and square.

"If I had floored him, I could understand it but I never even raised my arms and headed it over the goalkeeper.

"I've scored goals in my career where I have absolutely destroyed defenders twice as hard as that and got away with it. It was a bad decision but the referee made one bad decision after another.

"I'm very disappointed by it, not just for myself because I wanted to get on the scoresheet but it would have put us 2-0 up and in a commanding position. It would have changed the game because I don't think they would have come back from that."

Fletcher also admitted his protests continued towards the official at the sense of injustice well after the incident - especially as Cherries felt Lee Bullock's header for Cardiff should have been ruled out for a foul on Neil Moss.

He said: "I kept going on and on about it to the referee every time I saw him. I know it was done and dusted but you can't get those things off your mind sometimes.

"If my header was not allowed, I don't see how their second goal was because their lad has mullered Mossy and the referee hasn't given it.

"The referee said that I had climbed over the top of him but he didn't want to discuss it more than that."

The talismanic star was not among the penalty-takers as Stock and Marcus Browning were the unlucky men who failed to score after Moss had saved Graham Kavanagh's first kick of the shoot-out.

He joked: "I was 119th on the list of takers. I'm not sure I could have walked up that far after two hours of football anyway!"

Fletcher also had words of consolation for Browning after his sudden-death miss meant Cherries' hopes of their first appearance in the fourth round of the League Cup for 40 years were over.

He said: "Marcus will be feeling low but he has no reason to - he has done so much for this club in the time that he has been here. It is horrible but it always happens to someone unfortunately. The fans were briliant though because they chanted his name as soon as he missed."

He added: "Penalties is never a nice way to lose. We had the good side of penalties at Blackburn and now we've tasted the other side.

"You can bet Cardiff will get a dream tie in the next round now and it would have been a big financial boost for us. But we have to take the positives out of the game and there are plenty of those."