Tottenham Hotspur v Asteras Tripoli: Europa League – as it happened!
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Version 0 of 1. 9.54pm BST21:54 Full-time: Tottenham 5-1 Asteras Who said the Europa League was boring? Spurs win and well they should have. They were the better side. Kane was very good – except when he went in goal, of course – and capped a fine performance by taking home the match ball. However, it is Lamela and his utterly outrageous rabona that will be gracing your back pages tomorrow morning. Thanks for all your emails and tweets and comments. Speak soon! Night! Updated at 9.55pm BST 9.52pm BST21:52 90 mins Three more minutes separate Spurs from a win. 9.51pm BST21:51 Barrales rolled the free-kick to the far corner of the net. It’s low and slow but Kane failed to get his body behind the ball and it crept over the line. 9.50pm BST21:50 GOAL!!! Tottenham 5-1 Asteras (Barrales) ... and a goal to Asteras. 9.50pm BST21:50 RED CARD! KANE GOES IN GOAL! 87 mins Lloris walks and well he should. Another ball over the top finds the Spurs defence all square like a 1-1 draw. He takes down Tsokanis a few yards out of his box, clearly stopping a goal scoring opportunity, and the referee is left with little choice. Free-kick to Asteras ... 9.46pm BST21:46 85 mins Lennon has come on for Townsend. 9.45pm BST21:45 84 mins Squeaky bum time and all that: Celtic 2-1 FC Astra. 9.44pm BST21:44 Kane had broke into the box but Kosicky saved his effort from a few yards out. The ball broke across the goal and Fazio galloped to gather it. Once with the ball under control, he looked up and chipped a delightful one to the middle of the box. Under little pressure, Kane headed it home. 5 - Harry Kane has now scored five goals in his last four games for Tottenham (all competitions). Hurricane. Updated at 9.46pm BST 9.42pm BST21:42 GOAL!!! Tottenham 5-0 Asteras (Kane) There’s the hat-trick. 9.42pm BST21:42 80 mins Celtic, by the way, are two to the good but our Scottish correspondent is less than impressed. Saving grace for Celtic fans- imagine this team in the Champions League. 9.40pm BST21:40 78 mins We have some Spurs subs to tell you about. Chadli is on for Adebayor and Eriksen replaces Lamela. And we have some Asteras sub news for you. Parra goes, Fernández comes. 9.38pm BST21:38 Spurs got a corner. They wasted that but got another. Lamela played it short to Dembélé. He drove a rasper at Kosicky, who could only spill the ball into the path of Kane. The striker poked the ball in from all of five yards. The Asteras defence wanted him done for offside. Never in a month. 9.36pm BST21:36 GOAL!!! Tottenham 4-0 Asteras (Kane) Too easy for Spurs. Updated at 9.45pm BST 9.34pm BST21:34 72 mins Rolle is replaced by Barrales. Spurs have a corner. They do nowt with it. 9.32pm BST21:32 69 mins Lamela will get this headlines but this is just as good from Lloris. The boys in front of him are caught out once again by a clipped ball over the top. This time it is Usero who is on the end of it. He smashes one at the French keeper who pulls of a magnificent reaction save at his near post. 9.29pm BST21:29 When he can be bothered, he is very good and tonight, when scoring at least, he has been very good. He won the ball for his side high up the field, gave it to Kane and got it back in the box. Quick feet saw him dance around a few defenders but when he shoots the ball rebound off one defender’s legs and spins up into the air. Lamela kept his eye on the ball and executed a perfectly-hammered volley past Kosicky. 9.27pm BST21:27 GOAL!!! Tottenham 3-0 Asteras (Lamela) And another very, very good goal. Updated at 9.39pm BST 9.25pm BST21:25 64 mins Is it because he wants to distinguish Harry from Big Daddy? 9.24pm BST21:24 63 mins Can anyone explain why? Andy Townsend never says 'Kane'. It's always always 'Harry Kane' 9.23pm BST21:23 61 mins A foul on Townsend wide on the right leads to a Spurs free-kick. He who was fouled takes it but it is a foul effort and Asteras get rid of the ball from their area easily enough. 9.20pm BST21:20 58 mins Dembélé gets across Rolle and shoulders him to the ground. Asteras drift down the right from the resulting free-kick and then switch play to the left. Just inside the box, Tsokanis puts a dangerous ball across the face of the goal that Vertonghen is forced to hoof to safety. The Greeks are coming right back into it. Updated at 9.21pm BST 9.17pm BST21:17 56 mins Asteras get a corner after some decent covering from Vertonghen. A bit of defensive panic kicks in before Kane kicks in and kicks the ball out for another one. That is sent to the edge of the box but when Asteras try to put it back in, order has been restored in the Spurs back-line and three players are caught offside. Updated at 9.18pm BST 9.15pm BST21:15 54 mins “As a Peruvian Spurs fan, you can imagine that I’ve experienced my fair share of suffering” pains José Bolivar. “I must say that a very famous (and somewhat proud national moment) that is rabona related came thanks to Andres Vasquez, who played (plays?) in Sweden for IFK Göteborg. He scored this beauty then he fell into obscurity and I never heard the name again. Beter than Lamela’s, huh? 9.12pm BST21:12 51 mins Sankaré takes down Adebayor and somehow manages to avoid a yellow card. The resulting free-kick (about 35 yards out, just left of centre) is aimed, by Lamela, to Fazio but the centre-back is beaten to it by Panteliadis. 9.10pm BST21:10 49 mins A lovely knock-back in the box by Adebayor lands at the feet of Lamela. He shoots but his effort is blocked and diverted out for Spurs’ first corner of the second half. Lamela it is who takes it but the Greek side soon rid their box of any danger. 9.09pm BST21:09 47 mins “The best rabona I saw (no video proof, so it never happened, right?) was when I was at school and some friends of mine got jobs stocking shelves in a local supermarket,” reminisces Scapegoat. “We were playing football in the vegetable aisle with a cabbage, and unfortunately the trick shot in question hit an old lady who was busy feeling all the apples in a bin. The manager thought I’d done the shot in question, grabbed me and said ‘You’re fired’. I tried to look contrite, said ‘OK’ and left, but as I wasn’t actually an employee, the others kept their jobs … until the manager later caught them shoplifting a bunch of whiskey.” 9.07pm BST21:07 46 mins No changes to tell you about just yet. 9.06pm BST21:06 45 mins And we are back. “On the Rabona Wikipedia page,” says Chris Mapleston, “the ‘Players who have completed the skill in competition’ section has already been updated with Lamela’s details.” Deary me. Who are these people doing this so quickly? 8.52pm BST20:52 Half-time: Tottenham 2-0 Asteras That’s your lot for now. One very good goal and one outrageous goal separate the sides. Take these 15 minutes to send in your best rabona examples. Half-time scores, #UEL Groups A-F ... Don't miss a kick of the second half action: http://t.co/1XwUHgKyuO pic.twitter.com/CpEMlTmxcw Updated at 9.05pm BST 8.50pm BST20:50 43 mins “What’s a rabona?” asks Lionel Faull. Anyone want to enlighten? Updated at 8.50pm BST 8.47pm BST20:47 41 mins Asteras get one corner. And another. Lloris claims the second one with ease. 8.46pm BST20:46 40 mins Townsend gets the ball about 30 yards out. He takes one touch, pushes the ball forward and then swings one towards the top right corner. Kosicky spreads his body but the ball misses its intended target by a whisker. 8.44pm BST20:44 38 mins That rabona though. It was struck so cleanly. Updated at 9.05pm BST 8.43pm BST20:43 37 mins Panteliadis chops down Townsend as a lumberjack would a tree. Unlike a lumberjack though, the defender gets a yellow card beside his name. 8.41pm BST20:41 35 mins Meanwhile in Scotland: Celtic making Astra look good here. Slack, sloppy, poor stuff. 8.40pm BST20:40 34 mins By the way, just moments before Lamela did his thing, Parra missed Asteras’ second golden opportunity of the game. In fairness to the striker, Lloris saved well at the near post and the rebound was blocked brilliantly by Davies but he still should have done better. Updated at 8.42pm BST 8.37pm BST20:37 This. Is. Unreal. Lamela has just rabona-ed one into the goal from the D. Let’s just repeat that. Lamela has just rabona-ed one into the goal from the D. One more time? Lamela has just rabona-ed one into the goal from the D. And another? Lamela has just rabona-ed one into the goal from the D. Pochettino didn’t even smile. Lamela's goal for spurs is the ultimate showboat !! WOW!! #THFC ⚽️⚽️⚽️ Updated at 9.25pm BST 8.35pm BST20:35 GOAL!!! Tottenham 2-0 Asteras (Lamela) Oh. my. God. Updated at 8.49pm BST 8.33pm BST20:33 26 mins A free-kick to the Greek side is looped to the back post by Panteliadis. It finds Rick Rubin Zisopoulos but his equally looping header loops its way over the bar. Speaking of loops, do they still make Loop-de-loops? They were great. 8.30pm BST20:30 23 mins Capoue picks the ball up near the centre circle. He strides forward and plays the ball to Adebayor. The striker lays it back to Kane as Capoue continues his run. Kane finds that run but brave keeping from Kosicky keeps Spurs’ goal count at one. Updated at 8.30pm BST 8.28pm BST20:28 21 mins Just saw a replay of that Tsokanis chance. It looked like he heard the keeper coming and pulled out of the chance. He’ll need to be a bit braver next time, he said, typing from the comfort of his office without having a big, hairy keeper bearing down on him at speed. 8.26pm BST20:26 19 mins Spurs counter via Townsend on the right. He cuts inside and passes to Lamela. The ball goes back and then to the right to Davies. Adebayor then tires to muscle his way into the box but the Greeks repel him. Meanwhile, down the other end, Spurs are caught out by another long ball over the top and Tsokanis is this close to beating Lloris to the ball. The keeper was forced to clear the danger on the edge of his box with his head. 8.23pm BST20:23 17 mins If you saw Kane’s goal against Besiktas, this one was very similar only from the other side. 8.21pm BST20:21 Tottenham had spent the last few minutes playing a bit of keep ball in the Asteras half. Asteras had 10 players behind the ball but no one got out to Kane quick enough. He was serviced the ball by Dembélé a good 25 yards out on the right. He looked up, shifted the ball forward and struck it low and hard and into the far corner of the net. It as a wonderful, wonderful strike from an increasingly impressive player. Updated at 8.59pm BST 8.19pm BST20:19 GOAL!!! Tottenham 1-0 Asteras (Kane) Call the doctor because this goal is sick. Updated at 8.31pm BST 8.17pm BST20:17 10 mins Davies concedes a free-kick for a foul on Mazza then Capoue does one on Parra. It’s all a bit scrappy at the moment, with no team really finding their feet and/or rhythm. 8.14pm BST20:14 8 mins That was a dead good opportunity for Mazza. Asteras may come to regret that later on. 8.13pm BST20:13 7 mins Spurs get a free-kick, bear the corner flag on the left, after an unfriendly shoulder barge by Lluy on Davies. Davies sends it over but Asteras deal with it. Moments later, a long ball over the top is misjudged by Dembélé and allows Mazza in on goal. He has time and space but at the edge of the area, he loses his cool and rolls a shot wide. 8.10pm BST20:10 4 mins Lamela picks the ball up in the middle. He cuts inside and beats one player. He tries to set up Kane but his pass is behind the young forward. 8.09pm BST20:09 3 mins Contrary to the team sheet, Townsend has started on the right and Lamela has started on the left. 8.08pm BST20:08 2 mins Spurs get an early throw on their left. It lands at the foot of Dembélé. He tried to Hollywood it across the pitch and in doing so he hacks it right out of play. Asteras get their throw and their first taste of the ball. They pass it around, exhibiting few early nerves. 8.06pm BST20:06 1 mins The referee gives his whistle a short blast and it is off we go. Spurs are playing in their usual white number and doing so in a right to left fashion. Asteras are decked in a kit that has a solid strip of yellow surrounded by a sea of navy. The home side are the one who get us going. 8.02pm BST20:02 The lads in the studio have some bantz and the players are making their way out on to the pitch. Won’t be long now. Excited? No, didn’t think so. Updated at 8.02pm BST 7.55pm BST19:55 Hope for Spurs: 0 - Asteras Tripolis have never won an away match in Europe (lost three, drawn four, including qualifying matches). Sickness. 7.51pm BST19:51 It’s all over in Lille. It was a deary enough affair – like watching brown paint dry – but Everton will be happy as they leave the stadium with a point in their pocket, a point that sends them back to the top of their group. 7.38pm BST19:38 So when you read that March 24 was the day that both Ivan Kruzliak and Chris Bosh were born on, the same day that Hickland and Hasselhoff became one and the same day that The Breakfast Club is set, you thought that day could not get any better, right? How wrong you were. Let Simon McMahon explain why. “Things that happen on March 24? It’s National Tree Planting Day in Uganda, you know,” he cheers. Updated at 7.38pm BST 7.25pm BST19:25 Tonight, you shall be watching this mötley crüe do their respective things. Tottenham, it would seem, are taking the game pretty seriously by returning Adebayor and Townsend to their starting lineup. Joining them is Vertonghen, about whom speculation regarding his future just won’t go away, and Kane – who, along with Lloris, has been one of Spurs better players in this competition this season. Chadli who had been suffering with an unspecified injury makes the bench but Danny Rose and Kyle Naughton are not so lucky. As for Asteras, the curse of the preamble has struck for Barrales and he too will be watching from the comfort of the bench. Those teams in full then are as follows: Tottenham: Lloris; Dier, Vertonghen, Fazio, Davies; Dembélé, Capoue; Lamela, Kane Townsend; Adebayor. Subs: Vorm, Chiriches, Lennon, Chadli, Eriksen, Stambouli, Soldado. Asteras: Kosicky; Lluy, Zisopoulos, Sankaré, Panteliadis; Mazza, Usero, Munafo, Rolle, Tsokanis, Parra. Subs: Theodoropoulos, Kiriakopoulos, Fernández, Barrales, Bakasetas, Badibanga, Gianniotas. Referee: Ivan Kruzliak (who is from Slovakia and who was born on the same day as Chris Bosh, which is also the same day that Catherine Hickland became the envy of all women around the world by marrying David Hasselhoff and also – and this is the best thing you will read tonight – the same day upon which The Breakfast Club is set. Seriously. What a day, eh?) Kick-off: 8:05pm Updated at 7.27pm BST 7.05pm BST19:05 Hi, how are you? The common consensus is that most players/fans would prefer to declare themselves a god, realise that meant sex was only for mortals, study monks and vasectomies and then perform one on themselves before jumping off a two-story balcony, rather than be associated with the Europa League. And somedays it’s hard to argue against that. In an already pretty crowded schedule, there are far too many games to reach the top, there are far too many teams trying to reach the top and the idea that a Champions League team can be rewarded for their failure in that competition by just swanning in and taking a place in the round of 32 makes the whole thing stink of farce and taste like that cheap and nasty, yellow pack rot-gut they used to sell in Quinnsworth.And yet, glory is glory is glory is glory is glory is glory. Should Tottenham progress past the group stages, navigate the round of 32, do one over another in the round of 16, get a decent draw in the quarters, go hard in the semis and reach the final, you’d have to be one hella stubborn Spurs supporter/player not to get excited about the thought of winning a European trophy, especially given the Champions-League tasting carrot that is attached to it. Given their form and placing in the league right now ( Mauricio Pochettino wasn’t wrong when he called it “a tough period”) could that route be Tottenham’s best chance of traipsing across the biggest stage next seasons? Hmmm, yeah, maybe, but if so, they have already made life hard for themselves.Their first game in the group C saw them enter an intimidating atmosphere in Belgrade and leave with a point, after some resolute rear-guard action and plenty of profligacy up front. Their second game saw them take on Besiktas, saw them played off the park and once more saw them end with a point, after Demba Ba converted a penalty one minute from time thanks to bone-headed defending from Vlad Chiriches. All of which has left Spurs in third place, two points behind the group leaders and tonight’s opposition, Asteras Tripoli.You probably know (the Greece version of) Tripoli as the birth place of former Greek prime minister, Konstantinos Georgakopoulos, and for the fact that it is twinned with Peine, Germany, but, of late, Asteras Tripoli have been the reason for the southern city’s fame. It has been quite the rise for the Arcadians. Eleven years ago, they were playing in the fourth flight of the Greek league but it took them just another four to secure the back-to-back titles and take their spot in the Super League. Their first few season up top were shaky and there was a bit of slap and tickle with relegation but the the last three have been steadier and seen them record top six finishes, as well finish as runners-up in the Greek Cup.To get where they are today, they have beaten Mainz, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Partizan and drawn away to Besiktas, so any one who thinks Spurs are going to have it easy tonight best take their thinking back to the drawing board. While there, they might want to think about the fact that the Greeks are unbeaten in five games. In his pre-match presser, Staikos Vergetis, indicated that his side would rock up at White Hart Lane with defence in mind (and that is what they worked on in the a cold north London last night) but this is a side that is laced with some silky and strong Argentinians, not least their main goal threat, Jerónimo Barrales (who know that he has been mentioned here will surely be dropped to the bench). They won’t stay back forever – though their back four will be hampered by the loss of Dorin Goian to an ankle injury – and they will look to hit and hurt Tottenham on the counter (only Mainz have stopped them from scoring in Europe this season).This is going to be a tough one for Tottenham. News of the 11 men that Pochettino thinks can do this is on its its way, as is 90 minutes of football. Woop! |