Skibbe rues opening defeat
11 Apr 2008 - 10:37:14
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- Skibbe rues opening defeat
B Leverkusen coach Michael Skibbe bemoaned his side's first-leg defeat after they were knocked out of the UEFA Cup by Zenit St Petersburg.
The Bundesliga side won the second leg of their quarter-final 1-0 at the Petrovsky Stadium, but a first leg 3-0 defeat on home soil had already put paid to their chances of reaching the last four.
"I would like to congratulate Zenit on their aggregate win and wish them luck in the semi-final" said Skibbe.
"At the same time, I'm really pleased we were able to win today to redeem ourselves for a dreadful performance in the first leg.
"We played with a lot of pace and purpose in the first half but unfortunately we couldn't find the second goal to make Zenit a little bit nervous.
"After the break, Zenit took the initiative and put pressure on us, although we still had chances at their end of the pitch."