Riise refuses to blame Igor

Last updated : 26 March 2004 By Adam Bryant
"I thought we were the better team at first until they got the penalty," said Riise. "With ten men it's always going to be hard.

"We knew we just needed one goal and that would be enough. It was the same when they made it 2-1. We kept fighting and fighting and kept believing we could get through. We are very disappointed but we gave it our best shot.

"I haven't seen the penalty incident again but I thought the referee played on as Marlet had a shot and missed the goal. At the end of the day we could have defended better but there is no blame on Igor. Anyone can get a red card during a match and everyone is behind Igor.

"I am not going to say anything about the referee as it's not my job. Yes we are disappointed with some of the decisions but now we just have to try and get the fourth place in the Premiership.

"We wanted to win this cup now we have to put all our focus on fourth place. At the start of the season we had different targets but now we have to finish fourth. That would be a good achievement for us as the Champions League is so important to this club."