 | BOBBY ROBSON'S VIEW |
Newcastle boss Sir Bobby Robson felt his side were unlucky to be dumped out of the Uefa Cup after a 2-0 defeat in their semi-final with Marseille. "The one thing I asked of them was to give everything and they did - they played heroically," Robson said.
"It's been a long journey and we've got not very much out of the game when perhaps we deserved a bit more.
"That was our first loss in 12 matches in the Uefa Cup but it was a tough assignment to come here."
Two fine goals from Didier Drogba ended the Magpies' hopes of a Uefa Cup final place and sent Marseille through to face Valencia.
Robson added: "They scored on a breakaway and then from a free-kick and until the second goal, they hadn't really prised our defence open.
"Marseille always looked edgy at 1-0 and that was our hope. "We had chances at the other end, Lee Bowyer swivelled on one, Shola Ameobi shot over the bar and Darren Ambrose got in behind their defence but played a poor cross.
"I think the scoreline of 2-0 is a flattering result for them. It makes it look as though it was a comfortable result - it was never comfortable for them.
"In the second half, we asked for a response from the players - we got that. We played in their half and we were the better side second half.
"We made more chances than they did. They were nervous, they knew that if we scored one goal, they were out, and there were moments where that was taking place and we looked as though we might score."
MMIX
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It is a fairytale for me to coach the team to the final 