Tonetto laments his spot of bother

AS Roma left-back Max Tonetto will probably remember 11 March 2009 for the rest of his life. After eleven consecutive penalties had been successful, his wayward effort towards the Curva Nord of the Stadio Olimpico left the final spot-kick scoreline 7-6 in Arsenal FC's favour and Roma's dream of a place in the final at their own ground came to a dramatic end.

Change of direction
"I saw [Manuel] Almunia change direction so I changed the place I was going to put it and it just went all wrong," said Tonetto. "I practised taking penalties this morning and scored every time; unfortunately it happens. The players immediately told me not to think about it."

Backs to the wall
Wary of the threat Arsenal posed on the flanks, Roma coach Luciano Spalletti handed Tonetto an unfamiliar left-midfield role. But an injury to central defender Juan with less than half an hour on the clock scuppered those tactics. The 34-year-old Italian dropped back into his favourite position with John Arne Riise shifting to the heart of defence to form an unlikely partnership alongside on-loan Malian Souleymane Diamoutene. Already without the influential Daniele De Rossi as well as Philippe Mexès, Roma's chances of holding on to the lead Juan had given them after nine minutes appeared slim.

'Running scared'
Not only did they manage it but Tonetto believes the Giallorossi played so well they should have wrapped things up inside 90 minutes. "It was a great performance. Our fans never stopped singing for two hours – they deserved better," he said. "We had enough chances to finish them off in normal time. Arsenal were running scared but we couldn't get the second goal and paid the price in the shoot-out."

Positives
Unsurprisingly, Tonetto is keen to look ahead and feels that the manner of the elimination could help Roma finish the domestic season on a high and clinch a place in next season's UEFA Champions League. "Our objective now is fourth place," he said. "We need to get over the disappointment and aim to beat Sampdoria on Sunday."