Robson: 'I asked them to give everything'

The Newcastle United manager, Sir Bobby Robson, did not believe his team deserved to lose 2-0 in last night's Uefa Cup semi-final second leg tie in Marseille.

The Newcastle United manager, Sir Bobby Robson, did not believe his team deserved to lose 2-0 in last night's Uefa Cup semi-final second leg tie in Marseille.

Robson said: "The one thing I asked of them was to give everything and they did - they played heroically.

"It's been a long journey and we've got not very much out of the game when perhaps we deserved a bit more.

"They [Marseille] scored on the break, and with a free-kick - and until the second goal went in they had basically not prised our defence open at all.

"We had chances at the other end, Lee Bowyer swivelled on one, Shola Ameobi shot over the bar and Darren Ambrose got in behind their defence but played a poor cross. Marseille always looked edgy at 1-0 and that was our hope.

"Everyone did a great stint and worked very hard. I'm quite pleased with the players in every respect. It's been a long campaign - and this is the first time we have lost in 12 games."

Robson's Marseille counterpart, Jose Anigo, was unsurprisingly ecstatic. "The whole city is going to celebrate tonight," Anigo said. "Everyone can take pleasure from this enormous win."

"This is a fairy tale," he said. "Three months ago I was coaching the youth team and now we're in a European final. We'll do everything to bring the [Uefa] Cup to Marseille. We're living a dream."

Didier Drogba, who scored both of Marseille's goals, added: "We played a massive game tonight. We stayed solid together. We knew it would be hard, but I'm so happy I could score after missing some chances in the first leg."