Diarra despairs at Bordeaux's lack of cunning

FC Girondins de Bordeaux midfielder Alou Diarra blamed a lack of experience for the 2-0 defeat at AS Roma which led to his side's elimination from the UEFA Champions League after their final Group A game.

Football lesson
In a tactical contest, Laurent Blanc's young side could not find a way through the Italian club's stern defence and ultimately left themselves vulnerable at the back as they pressed for the winner. "We are sad," he said. "Roma played very defensively and gave us hardly any opportunities to score. In the end, their experience told but tonight we have learned a lot and I hope it will serve us better in the future."

No way back
The tall French international believed the turning point was Roma's opening goal, scored by Matteo Brighi just after the hour mark. "It was a huge blow and a real shame," said the 27-year-old. "We had the ball and were controlling the game before that. They were sitting back and we had started to get on top in the second half. Then suddenly we concede and after that it's very hard to come back." With Bordeaux needing to get two goals in the last half hour, Francesco Totti doubled the home side's lead with a clinical strike 13 minutes from time.

Losing start
The defeat meant Bordeaux ended up third in Group A with seven points from their six matches. Despite defeating CFR 1907 Cluj at home and away on Matchdays 3 and 4, they opened their campaign with back-to-back losses away against Chelsea FC (4-0) and at home to Roma (3-1). That start, according to Diarra, virtually sealed their fate in the competition. "I regret those first two matches – we just weren't at the races," said the former Olympique Lyonnais and RC Lens player. "Our only consolation is that we have the UEFA Cup to look forward to."