Half time: Frankfurt 0 Newcastle 0

Full time: Frankfurt 0 Newcastle 0

Glenn Roeder commented:

"This was without doubt the toughest of the four games. Frankfurt played an excellent game and made it very difficult for us.

"The quality of their crossing was excellent and fortunately for us - and this has not happened too often for us this season - perhaps the quality of the finishing did not match the quality of the crossing.

"At times, we had a little bit of good fortune, but after what has happened to us at times this year, no-one will deny me or the team the point that guarantees us winning the group with 10 points.

"It has been a magnificent effort by a squad that is severely ravaged by injuries to finish with 10 points with three wins and a draw.

"We certainly had an excellent chance and to be honest, I was quite happy that the chance had fallen to Emre because normally speaking, he is a really good finisher. But rather than criticising Emre for missing the opportunity, I thought it was an excellent save by the goalkeeper, who spread himself really well.

"Of course it would have been nice to have won the game, but at the end of the day, 0-0 was good enough and we are satisfied with that.

"All I ever ask for is fairness. If the defence is not playing well, then it is acceptable to be criticised.But when the defence starts playing well, hopefully people recognise that and give them the praise they deserve.

"Tonight with the help of some good saves by Shay Given, we have kept another clean sheet. After what has happened to us this year, we deserve it."

Albert Luque attempted to justify his poor showing by giving more details of the car accident that saw him travel out to Germany some hours after his team mates on Wednesday:

"It was scary but fortunately I saw the wagon coming. I was standing behind my car because I had a puncture, talking on my phone and I saw the wagon. I dived out of the way and jumped into a ditch.

"If I hadn't dived, I probably would not be here now. In fact, I feel lucky to be alive. If I had not seen the wagon or if I had been sitting in my car, I would not be here today."

"When I arrived at the airport, I realised I had forgotten my passport. That's why I was returning home when the accident happened. The manager said he still wanted me to play because I do not get a lot of opportunity, but maybe it was not the best day for me to be playing with everything that had happened.

"You could say it was not my day. I have had better days. But my name is the right name for me because maybe I am lucky."

"I've heard the stories from back home about the clubs wanting me. The reports say I'm not happy but that is not true. I'm training hard and waiting for my opportunity, but the chairman has told me if an offer is made and it is acceptable, he will tell me and let me decide. But I haven't heard from the chairman yet.

Frankfurt coach Freidhelm Funkel commented:

"It was a really fantastic game. Everyone was very happy here.

"We played 90 minutes and really ruled the game - our only problem was we missed too many chances.

"The best compliment I received was from the visiting manager, who said no team so far has put his team under so much pressure.

"All I can say is I am really proud of my boys.

"You cannot say anything in football, but basically the situation is we have to win in Istanbul. That is our only chance of going through."

"If we had taken all our chances, we would have won 5-0. If we play similar in Istanbul we can join Newcastle in the next stage. It is our national responsibility to get through."

In the well-appointed surroundings of the Commerzbank Arena, Newcastle's recent renaissance continued with another creditable performance and result under less than ideal circumstances.

Injuries and selection issues meant that Glenn Roeder had little choice but to field his first-choice XI, filling the bench with players who would ordinarily have expected a Youth Cup runout this week, rather than a European foray.

When the UEFA draw was made, our pairing with in-form Italian and Turkish sides and inconsistent but still dangerous Spanish and German outfits had caused some to label this as the group of death.

In the event though, the nearest thing we had to a fatality along the way was Albert Luque's roadside experience en route to Newcastle airport in advance of this match, as we qualified with a game to spare despite our own shortcomings. 

Frankfurt certainly showed more desire to win than any of the other three sides we faced and there's no doubting that we rode our luck in catching them on a night when they could have played until the pubs chucked out and still not have put the ball past Shay Given.

But for every spurned chance or over-hit centre, there were brave blocks and life-saving tackles from Newcastle - who could even have sneaked a win, had Sibierski or Emre have profited from the late half-chances that fell to them.

Once again the bedrock of our success proved to be Solano and Butt, who earned their money with mature and composed displays that made this more of a calm rearguard action that might have been expected.

And after having grown increasingly irritated with the collective blind spot that allows Steven Taylor's defensive lapses to go uncriticised, tonight was a timely reminder that the lad doesn't lack guts or stamina and can do the job when his concentration doesn't waver.

The ripping yarns saga that saw him unjustly booked left him with gouges down his back courtesy of an opponent, but if he did subsequently exact his revenge then we didn't see it.    

If there was one frustration though it was in our midfield's inability to fire killer passes to Martins when he appeared for a gallop in the closing stages of the tie.

With tiring home legs and a disenchanted support beginning to drift away, the scene seemed set for the Nigerian to inflict some punishment. Somewhat depressingly however neither Emre, Milner nor N'Zogbia were able to summon up the necessary quality - good job we didn't need a goal to progess.  

And while we're prepared to accept Luque's plea of mitigating circumstances after his pre-flight scare, we still await the note from his mother for all the other non-performances he's treated us to during his time here.

By the time our interest in this competition resumes on Valentines Day, much may have changed.

Possible new owners, seemingly inevitable squad arrivals and departures and the distinct possibility that we'll have no interest in domestic matters, save for a worryingly low league position.

But all that is to come and we can at least look forward to the mid-December draw knowing that many teams will hope to avoid being paired with us. 

That in itself is no mean feat for a side who many sniggered at as they began their Intertoto campaign just two weeks after tonight's venue was hosting World Cup football.   

Biffa

Thanks to Steve Parrish, Mark Turner & Westi for photographic efforts.

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