The contest was less than half-a-minute old when French striker Louis Saha found the net for the Toffeemen but that was to be the high point for David Moyes' men.

First Didier Drogba levelled matters with a towering header then Frank Lampard's 20-yard strike just evaded the despairing dive of Tim Howard 18 minutes from time

Cahill told Setanta 1: "The best thing about this team is we stuck together, no matter what.

"We've come so far with such a small squad and I'm just proud to be part of this team and wear this shirt.

"I'm just gutted because this was a chance to win some silverware.

"We lose as team and win as a team.

"We're going to hold our heads up high and take this on the chin.

"We've had such a long season with such a small squad.

"I can't be happier playing with a group of lads like this. I just hope everything stays the same for next season."

Everton boss David Moyes had no complaints about the result. He told ITV1: "Chelsea were the better team on the day.

"I thought we were having our best spell when they got their goal from Frank Lampard. He's a big player and he scores goals, and that's what he did.

"The margins were very narrow in terms of the result but there were bigger margins on the field."

Moyes praised the efforts of his players saying: "I've got to give them credit."

He added: "Last year was a semi-final, this year a final. Whether we won today or whether we hadn't it was progress for us."