MILAN, May 17 (Reuters) - AS Roma won the Italian Cup on Thursday after a 2-1 defeat at holders Inter Milan gave them a 7-4 aggregate victory.

Inter, who have missed out on a second successive league and

cup double, produced a spirited display but Roma's extraordinary

6-2 victory in last week's first leg proved too much.

Roberto Mancini's side had defeated Roma in the previous two

finals but will have to make do with the league championship

this season.

In-form Argentine striker Hernan Crespo arched his neck to

score with a delightful header from Maicon's cross early in the

second period to give the home side the lead.

Substitute Julio Cruz, who entered the fray in the first

half for the injured Patrick Vieira, then slid in Luis Figo's

pass on 56 minutes to spark hopes of an improbable comeback.

But it was never really on and the frustration boiled over

for Mancini, who was sent from the dugout for protesting midway

through the second half.

He tried to direct the team from the stands but any chance

of a sensational turnaround evaporated when Inter defender Ivan

Cordoba was sent off for a handball having received his first

booking after just two minutes of the San Siro clash.

Roma then twisted the knife when Simone Perrotta turned in

Francesco Totti's cross-shot seven minutes from time.

Right back Christian Panucci was dismissed for pulling back

Inter's Alvaro Recoba in injury time but nothing could take the

gloss off the win for Roma, who finished second to Inter in the

league.

Roma captain Totti proudly held the cup aloft only four days

after the birth of his second child, Chanel.

'I dedicate this Italian Cup not only to my daughter Chanel

but to all my family who are always close to me,' he told

reporters.

'We were used to seeing Inter always winning and it was

right that we also lifted an important trophy. We came here with

the knowledge that they could be beaten.'

A few hundred Roma supporters were packed into the away end

and were determined to make themselves heard as they celebrated

their first Cup triumph since 1991.

Only a sprinkling of Inter fans had bothered to attend given

the first leg score.

But the few that were in the stadium would have been

encouraged by Inter's show and they could have scored more than

two in the second period, with Recoba having the best chance

only to be forced too wide after goalkeeper Doni's slip.

'We lost the Cup in the match at the Olimpico, but we didn't

deserve to concede six goals,' said Inter assistant coach Sinisa

Mihajlovic.

'We knew a comeback would not be easy. The boys gave their

all, they couldn't have done any more. The match would have been

different if we had scored in the first half.'