Bille sums up Danish frustration

For anyone wondering about the depth of Danish frustration after their deflating opening loss to Switzerland, the sight of Nicki Bille Nielsen storming off the pitch at the end said it all.

With a face almost as red as his shirt, the popular striker was one of the first Denmark players to descend the steps into the bowels of the Aalborg Stadium, letting off steam as he headed for the home dressing room on Saturday night.

Bille Nielsen had come closer than any Denmark player to salvaging a point when he finally found the back of Yann Sommer's net only to be adjudged offside. That last-minute effort was the culmination of growing pressure by the UEFA European Under-21 Championship hosts as they sought a reply to Xherdan Shaqiri's 48th-minute goal, but it proved to no avail.

"When I scored, I was the happiest guy in the world, and a second after when I saw the flag up, I was so disappointed," the Villarreal CF forward told UEFA.com. "For one second I was the luckiest man, and the second after I was the angriest man."

That the Danes finished with ten shots on target to Switzerland's three explained the frustration, although it also provided a source of hope to Bille Nielsen. "We created the chances to win the game so have to take that with us. We created big chances – I am sad we didn't score but hopefully we can put them in the net next time."

The hosts' best chances all came in the second half with Andreas Bjelland, Bille Nielsen himself, Daniel Wass and substitute Henrik Dalsgaard all foiled by Switzerland keeper Sommer. Bille Nielsen expects them not to wait so long, however, in Tuesday's second Group A assignment against the early section leaders Belarus – a match they must win to retain hope of progress in the competition.

The 23-year-old added: "Today was the first game and there were nerves from us and I think Switzerland as well were nervous. I think the next game we will attack more and not wait. We can't wait any more so the next game we have to attack."

If Denmark rued their missed opportunities, they had another cause for regret – namely the failure to heed the warning of Shaqiri's string of first-half goal attempts. Coach Keld Bordinggaard's interval instructions to deny the Swiss No10 further space were ignored as he struck soon after. "He is a good player, but the shots he had [in the first half] were away from goal," said Denmark captain Andreas Bjelland. "The second half he got too close to goal, and we had to close him down better."

Yet defender Bjelland also found positives as he looked ahead to the must-win meeting with Iceland's conquerors, Belarus. "We played a good second half and in the last 30 minutes we created a lot of chances; unfortunately they had a great goalkeeper who stopped every shot we had. Right now we are disappointed, but we have to look to the next game and be ready for Belarus, who played a very good match and won 2-0. It is going to be very tough, although we have to win to have a chance of getting to the semi-finals."