Sampdoria are out of Europe on away goals as they were unable to break down a spirited Aalborg defence on a sodden pitch.

The Blucerchiati entered the game realistically knowing they needed a win to go through after a 2-2 draw at Marassi in the first leg.

The Italians dominated throughout, but they couldn't break down the brick wall of the Danish defence and their UEFA Cup run ended prematurely on away goals.

Antonio Cassano was given the start alongside Andrea Caracciolo with Claudio Bellucci playing behind.

After just three minutes Bellucci nearly opened the scoring when his low drive finished just inches wide.

A minute later, the ex-Bologna star weighted a beautiful ball for Caracciolo, but goalkeeper Karim Zaza got there first.

Cassano picked up an unfortunate booking after 12 minutes when he didn't hear the referee's whistle and fired into an empty net after play had stopped.

The Italians continued to apply the pressure and Caracciolo clipped the post with a superb strike after a tricky solo run.

The Danes responded on the half-hour mark as Andreas Johansson's pinpoint cross was headed just wide by ex-Udinese South African Siyabonga Nomvethe.

Samp had a dubious offside decision to thank when Nomvethe played through Swedish hitman Rade Prica just seconds later.

The pace slowed before the break as Paolo Sammarco and Sergio Volpi struggled to click in the midfield, much to boss Walter Mazzarri's frustration.

The second half began as the first 45 minutes had ended, with Doria pressing for a crucial goal, but they nearly went behind when Peter Enevoldsen's angled drive was brilliantly saved by Luca Castellazzi.

Defender Hugo Campagnaro's header skimmed the bar after Cassano's neatly lofted ball.

However, the ex-Roma man failed to make his presence felt before being replaced by Vincenzo Montella on 62 minutes.

The hosts succeeded in slowing down the game and Mazzarri threw on Gennaro Delvecchio for defender Luigi Sala in a bid to inject some life into the game.

The rising tension was clear for all to see as Reto Ziegler scythed down Jeppe Curth and received a justified booking.

Castellazzi kept Samp at 0-0 with an impressive save on an Enevoldsen effort as the Danes made a rare break out of their half.

The game had been drained of all life as Aalborg saw the finish line in sight and closed ranks to try and grind out a prestigious victory.

The hero of the qualifying round Montella was guilty of exasperating selfishness when he refused to play in the unmarked Sammarco and lost the ball on the edge of the box.

With just minutes remaining, Mazzarri's rage was evident and understandable and Samp's European run ended with a whimper on a damp night in Denmark.

Aalborg: Zaza; Olesen, Califf, Jakobsen, Pedersen (Olfers 81); Nomvethe (Curth 71), Augustinussen, Risgaard, Enevoldsen (Lindstroem 83); Johansson, Prica

Sampdoria: Castellazzi; Campagnaro, Sala (Delvecchio 70), Lucchini; Palombo, Bellucci, Sammarco, Volpi, Ziegler (Pieri 80); Cassano (Montella 62), Caracciolo

Ref: Verbist (Bel)