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Linderoth ponders costly errors

FC København captain Tobias Linderoth said individual mistakes were to blame for the tournament newcomers' elimination from the UEFA Champions League.

No consolation
A 3-1 defeat at SL Benfica meant København cannot even claim the consolation prize of third place - and a UEFA Cup berth - in Group F. Instead they were left to reflect on conceding three first-half goals on a night where their lack of experience on the biggest stage told. "We started quite well for the first ten minutes or so but there were a few individual mistakes that cost us the game," Linderoth told uefa.com.

'Silly mistakes'
"We were hoping to get a point down here but mistakes cost us," he added. "In the Danish league you can make mistakes and not get punished. That doesn't happen in the UEFA Champions League and they scored with the first two chances they had." Linderoth's words were echoed by his coach Ståle Solbakken, who told uefa.com: "We were punished for silly mistakes in this competition. We know that when we play our best we can beat anyone but we can also get hammered."

Experience counts
Yet Linderoth and his team-mates were not too downcast. The Danish champions are presently on course to retain their national title - and hopeful of future campaigns in the UEFA Champions League. Their experiences this season should stand them in good stead, according to Linderoth. "You can learn a lot from these games and a lot of players have gained experience which will be important if we're going to qualify in future," the Swede explained. "Hopefully we can build on this and do it again next year."

President's ambition
København president Flemming Østergaard underlined the club's ambition when he told uefa.com: "Being here is what we have worked for in the last nine years and we have got a lot of experience. The aim we have in the future is to play in the UEFA Champions League again. We've got the smell of it and we like the smell. Let's see what will happen."

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