Fulham defender John Arne Riise described Saturday's draw with Aston Villa as "positive".
The Whites opened the new Barclays Premier League season with a goalless draw at Craven Cottage but were arguably the better of the two sides.
Both teams created chances as Bobby Zamora was twice denied by Villa 'keeper Shay Given, while Riise went close to breaking the deadlock early on.
"I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't score as it was a good chance," he told fulhamfc.com. "We had a few opportunities on the day but the goal proved elusive. Okay, we didn't score but the important thing was that opportunities were created.
"The second-half was better for us, we sensed that we could have perhaps taken something. But at the end of the day Villa are a very good side and it was a decent game.
"When you break it down it was a positive performance, and we have to be happy in keeping a clean sheet. We may not have taken all of the points but at the same time we did not lose - that was very important because no team wants to start the season with a defeat."
Riise made his first league appearance for Fulham following his summer move from Roma, returning to the Premier League after three seasons in Italy.
"It was great to be back, I had missed it," he added. "For me, this league is the best in the world. I'm very thankful for the Club for giving me the opportunity.
"Hopefully we can have a successful season and I'm very much looking forward to what lies ahead. There's a lot of football to be played, but we're all excited about the possibilities. This is a good team and I'm very much enjoying being part of things."