text: This will prove yet another bitter pill for Saracens to swallow. The hurt of losing back-to-back European and domestic finals last year took Mark McCall’s men all of last summer and a good chunk of this season to overcome. This time they must lick their wounds and refocus their efforts on the Aviva Premiership after coming up short against Clermont. Clermont warm up in front of their supporters at Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Etienne . Clermont centre Wesley Fofana attempts an offload following a crunching hit from Marcelo Bosch . Saracens flanker Maro Itojie secures a loose ball on the deck during a tight first half of action . There should be no shame in this defeat. Whereas Northampton capitulated embarrassingly against the same opponents a fortnight ago, Saracens stood tall on Saturday. Saracens’ long-suffering chairman Nigel Wray, who has pumped tens of millions of pounds into this club over the past two decades, took the opportunity on Saturday morning to repeat his conviction that English clubs will never be able to compete with French teams if the domestic salary cap is not raised. But it can only be a matter of time before Saracens deliver. With five of their starting pack under the age of 24 — all English qualified — they have forwards who will surely develop into a world-class outfit. Twenty-year-old Maro Itoje was impressive making his first start in Europe, while the Vunipola brothers were magnificent. Ultimately the better side won, and Clermont will head into their second European final confident they can land their first European title. Saracens pressurised Clermont with the same fierce defence that knocked them so spectacularly off their stride in last year’s semi-final at Twickenham. Sarries No 8 Billy Vunipola makes a strong run as Radosavljevic tries to halt his progress . The difference this time was that Clermont knew what was coming and were able to keep their wits about them, buoyed by a partisan crowd. ‘I’ve never experienced an atmosphere like that,’ said McCall. ’The effort and many aspects of our performance were phenomenal. We made Clermont play a a game they didn’t want to play. The game was on a knife edge with 10 minutes to go but games like that are decided by small margins.’ As evidence of their dominance, Clermont will point to Wesley Fofana’s superbly taken second-half try and a 19th-minute incident which saw Naipolini Nalaga denied what should have been a penalty try. Chris Ashton knocked him into touch without attempting to wrap his arms around him. Saracens full back Alex Goode tries to sidestep Clermont scrum half Ludovic Radosavljevic . But, had Jacques Burger been able to cling on to a knock-on from Nalaga with less than 10 minutes on the clock after Richard Wigglesworth’s superb chase and tackle of Alex Goode’s clearance, Saracens could so easily have won this game. It is hard to comprehend how the club will pick themselves up from yet another shattering defeat to deliver domestic silverware. But, after winning at Racing Metro in the quarter final while watching Premiership rivals Northampton capitulate to Clermont two weeks ago, McCall’s men still have every chance of delivering a trophy this season. ‘It won’t deter us from our goal,’ insisted Wigglesworth, who is playing the best rugby of his career. Richard Wigglesworth feeds the ball into a Saracens scrum as referee George Clancy watches on . ‘It’s easy to focus on the negatives when we have just lost a game like that. But we’re unbelievably proud of that performance and we’ve got a week to rest out battered bodies and go again.’ Saracens face Northampton at Stadium MK next Saturday, before having the following weekend off when they will watch on enviously as Clermont contest the Champions Cup final at Twickenham against either Leinster or Toulon, who will go head to head on Sunday. But on reflection, Saracens will be buoyed by this performance. Itoje is a rare prospect capable of explosive bursts of power and hugely athletic around the field while Billy and Mako Vunipola are two of the most destructive carriers in Europe. They have both returned to their best following a slow start to the season, while Saracens scrum is also in fine shape. Saracens fly half Charlie Hodgson clears his lines under pressure from the Clermont defence . Charlie Hodgson missed two critical long-range penalties on Saturday but the veteran fly half has been magnificent this season and the second-half appearance of Owen Farrell from the bench saw the England No 10 make his first appearance since rupturing knee ligaments in January. With Schalk Britz and Brad Barritt both fit again, only the absence of Captain Alistair Hargreaves with concussion-related symptoms weakens McCall’s squad. They will hurt from this no doubt. But in the cold light of day, Saracens will realise many of their boys became men on Saturday. The future remains bright for them on the field.
target: Saracens lead 6-3 at the break thanks to two Charlie Hodgson penalties .
  Wesley Fofana raced onto a Brock James chip for the opening try .
  A late Owen Farrell penalty kept Saracens in the hunt .
  But Brock James struck a  72nd penalty to seal the win .