Consolation prize suits Rubin's Noboa

Despite regretting his side's missed opportunities during their 2-0 defeat by FC Internazionale Milano, midfielder Christian Noboa remained calm about FC Rubin Kazan's UEFA Champions League elimination and upbeat about their UEFA Europa League prospects.

Stern test
The Russian champions needed to win to be certain of reaching the knockout stage of Europe's premier club competition and gave Inter a stern test before the Nerazzurri took the lead through Samuel Eto'o on the half-hour. Further chances fell Rubin's way early in the second half before Mario Balotelli effectively ended the contest with a free-kick on 64 minutes.

'Punished'
"It was a good match," Noboa told uefa.com. "I thought we played really well but we're a bit angry with ourselves because 2-0 was not a fair reflection of the game. Unfortunately we made two mistakes and they punished us. We had three or four chances but we failed to put them away and now Inter and Barcelona are through to the next round instead of us."

Noboa prominent
It might have been different had the visitors made the most of their openings, the first of which came to Gökdeniz Karadeniz on seven minutes following an excellent through ball by Noboa. The Ecuadorean international, who enjoyed a productive evening in his attacking midfield role, also put Alejandro Domínguez through after the interval, only for the latter midfielder to be denied by Júlio César. Noboa himself threatened a breakthrough, but scuffed his shot after Domínguez picked him out from a corner. Ultimately, Rubin paid for their lack of sharpness in front of goal and must settle for a UEFA Europa League place after finishing third in Group F.

Missed chances
"If we'd have scored the first goal, it could have been very different," said Noboa, who signed from Ecuador's CS Emelec in 2007 before winning back-to-back titles with Kurban Berdyev's men. The 24-year-old also starred in Rubin's memorable 2-1 victory over FC Barcelona at Camp Nou on Matchday 3. "If me, Domínguez or Gökdeniz Karadeniz had taken our opportunities then things would have been different but that's football. If you don't take your chances, you get punished.

'Feeling good'
"We had to wait a while to play this game [after the Russian Premier-Liga season ended] and we felt that a little bit. After 15 days without playing, we didn't quite reach the same level we managed against Barcelona and Dynamo Kyiv, but we're feeling good about ourselves. We played good football this season and created chances. The fact we are in the Europa League is a good result for us and we must focus on doing well. If we approach that competition in the same way, we will do well."