Andreazzoli rues late Osvaldo miss
Roma coach Aurelio Andreazzoli was left a little disappointed at Pablo Daniel Osvaldo's late miss in his side's 1-1 draw with Udinese on Saturday night.
By FOX Sports Staff
The Argentine-born forward was presented with a brilliant chance when he burst clear of the offside trap and reached a lobbed pass at the edge of the area. Instead of firing it into the net, his subsequent lob over the onrushing goalkeeper went just wide of the post.
The referee blew the whistle for full-time right after and Roma were thereby denied the chance to secure the all-important crucial second goal that would have sealed the win.
"I really thought at that moment we could bring home all three points," Andreazzoli confessed to reporters after the game.
"I think the player made an individual technical error, but these things can happen. He tried all he could and you can't always get what you want."
With the miss, Osvaldo went five games without a goal but the Roma coach would not give his opinions on whether the 27-year-old is suffering from a loss in confidence.
"I cannot know that, you'd have to ask him," replied Andreazzoli.
Udinese were down to ten men in the 71st minute when Thomas Heurtaux was sent off for an ill-advised two-footed challenge. But the Giallorossi could not break the deadlock and Andreazzoli accepted full responsibility for the result.
"After taking the lead we could've dealt with certain situations better, even if the pitch wasn't in perfect condition.
"Towards the end I replaced a midfielder with a forward, but nothing much came of the change. It was a tactical error when we conceded the goal."
Roma could fall behind by as much as five points from the Europa League qualification spots if Inter Milan and Lazio secure wins against Bologna and Fiorentina respectively.