Andrea Pinamonti struck the winner for Genoa's 1-0 triumph.
Gilardino said: "I'm happy for what the boys did, who showed desire and awareness, they exalted themselves again tonight. The first half was was balanced, we could have been more lucid and concrete in the last 25 metres. We were good at finding the opening goal in the final, and I say it was a great goal, that of Pinamonti. The boy didn't have playing time, so it was an excellent one for us."
The coach then said: "In the second half we lowered ourselves and defended great even with centimetres in the final with all those who entered for Monza. There was a strong desire to bring the game home.
"Pinamonti was exhausted, he didn't have any more, perhaps he did too much for his first match. In addition to the goal he worked in the defensive phase, so I'd say it went well. In the second half we could have started better to sink the blow, but instead we suffered until the end.
"I'm happy with the performance, the boys gave everything, many had cramps, the team spent well in terms of energy."