Georgatos glum after AEK exit

AEK Athens FC defender Grigorios Georgatos spoke of his "pride and sadness" after his side failed to reach the UEFA Champions League's second group stage despite finishing their Group C campaign undefeated.

Sixth draw
A 1-1 draw in AS Roma's Stadio Olimpico, secured thanks to Walter Centeno's 90th-minute equaliser, was their sixth successive share of the spoils and meant a berth in the UEFA Cup is the Greek side's only consolation.

'Great experience'
Georgatos said: "The Champions League has been a great experience and I have mixed feelings of pride and sadness after remaining undefeated against top sides like Real Madrid [CF] and Roma, which is historical for this club. But qualifying for the UEFA Cup is small consolation in comparison to the second round of the Champions League."

'Missed chances'
Marco Delvecchio, whose first-half header had put Roma into the lead, said: "We missed a number of chances to wrap the game up and it is a shame we missed the chance to go first in the group and get an easier draw, but you always have to meet the top teams sooner or later."

'Deserved to win'
Roma coach Fabio Capello thought his side were unlucky not to have seen AEK goalkeeper Dionisios Chiotis sent off for a handball outside the area in the 51st minute and said: "We deserved to win with the chances we created but there is great satisfaction for Italian football that four sides have qualified for the second round."

Creative Cassano
In a first-half display full of fine performances, 20-year-old Antonio Cassano showed some mesmeric touches and Cafu sent in a constant stream of crosses while a solid back line broke up infrequent attacks from a Greek strike force that managed just one shot on goal.

Bajevic critical
"In the first half, players who could have given their maximum did not," said AEK coach Dusan Bajevic. "While we were better after second-half substitutions, tiredness began to have a role after all the matches we have played."

Totti absent
Before the exit of Cassano in the second half, it was Roma's return to a three-man attack – true to Capello's promise of an attacking formation – that rekindled the side's passing ability, with Delvecchio providing the depth and balance that Capello had looked for. A series of accurate passes from the likes of Christian Panucci brought 15 shots from the Italian side – a dominance made more impressive by the absence of injured captain Francesco Totti and Vincent Candela.

'Only chance'
"We had a lot more chances to score but couldn't seem to put it in, while they managed to score with about the only chance they had," said Cafu. "But we proved tonight we don't have to rely on Totti."

'Bad luck'
A glum Bajevic added: "I regret not qualifying for the second round. Despite all the good opportunities we had in our games we didn't make the most of them, due in part to bad luck."