Source: Team_Talk
Hughes 'proud' of Cottagers campaign
Aaron Hughes believes Fulham can still walk away from this season with their heads held high despite Wednesday's Europa League final defeat.[LNB] Diego Forlan ended the Cottagers' fairytale European adventure on Wednesday night when he struck in extra time to deny Fulham their first major trophy in the club's 131-year history.[LNB]Fulham accounted for the likes of Juventus, Shakhtar Donetsk and Wolfsburg in an 19-match run which began back in July to make the final in Hamburg.[LNB]Hughes has been an integral part of the Cottagers European run, playing in 17 of the games at the heart of the Fulham defence.[LNB]He praised the way that the team handled the gruelling campaign and believes the club should be proud of the players' achievements.[LNB]"I think we've done the club proud. Everyone has really enjoyed the competition," said the Fulham vice-captain.[LNB]"It's been fantastic. I think we've approached it the right way.[LNB]"There was never any real pressure on us, which helped us because we just went out and played.[LNB]"Everyone was looking elsewhere at the other clubs and that us get on with it. Then all of a sudden we found ourselves in the quarter finals, the semi-finals and then in the final."[LNB]"Everyone was disappointed that we didn't get anything from the game but at the same time we've had an excellent season.[LNB]"It's just a pity we couldn't cap it off."[LNB]Forlan had put Atletico ahead on the half hour before Simon Davies rifled in a well-taken volley to level just before half-time.[LNB]The game looked destined for penalties as both sides laboured through the second half and extra time before former Manchester United striker Forlan sealed Fulham's misery in the 116th minute.[LNB]Hughes denied that the players had lost their focus towards the end and added that he thought Fulham could have won the match.[LNB]"I wouldn't say we were just thinking about penalties," said the 30-year-old.[LNB]"We were still concentrating on the few minutes that were left.[LNB]"It was just that Forlan did the stuff that he's done all through the competition, he sneaked in and scored a good goal.[LNB]"I don't think there was a big difference between the two sides. In the end it was just wasn't our night."
