Derbyshire left disappointed

Olympiakos striker reflects on questionable red card

By Chris Burton   Last updated: 17th March 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Derbyshire left disappointed

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Matt Derbyshire felt his night, and Olympiakos', was ruined by an overly-fussy referee against Bordeaux.

The Greek giants crashed out of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday after slipping to a 2-1 defeat at Stade Chaban-Delmas.

That result sent the French outfit through 3-1 on aggregate, prolonging their European adventure.

An action-packed night saw three players sent off, with former Blackburn striker Derbyshire among them.

He picked up two yellow cards in the space of six frantic second half minutes but feels his first, for an apparent dive, was harsh and he should have stayed on the field.

"It's disappointing to be honest," Derbyshire told Sky Sports.

"I think it's a bad decision by the referee, but it's happened and what can you do.

"I think the first one was harsh. I will hold my hands up and say the second one was a booking, but it's over now and you can't turn back the time.

"I think both teams were sportsmanship-like and I think tonight the referee has made a couple of bad decisions."

Experience

Derbyshire spent much of the first half isolated up front, with Lomana LuaLua unable to get alongside in support.

He admits he would have preferred a foil, but insists he is just happy to be in contention for such crucial games.

"The game has gone now and the coach picked the team," he said.

"I would like to play with someone up front but I'm just happy to be playing wherever the manager puts me."

Derbyshire was plying his trade at Ewood Park just over a year ago and feels his decision to move to Greece has been more than justified by his inclusion in Champions League competition.

"Experience is a lot in football," he said.

"Obviously I wasn't getting it at Blackburn so I have come here and enjoyed it. It hasn't been a great experience tonight, but I'll hopefully have a better one next year."

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