After a first half repeatedly disrupted by an
apparent marketing stunt, Benjamin Stambouli eventually scored the
decisive goal early in the second period at White Hart Lane
From midway through the first half, apparent participants in a marketing stunt disrupted the game, with the third occasion leading to a 10-minute stoppage as the referee withdrew the players from the field.
After the resumption, a goal early in the second half from Benjamin Stambouli proved the difference, the midfielder capitalising on the rebound from one of several missed chances by Roberto Soldado.
Substitute Harry Kane thought that he had made it two in the late stages but his effort was rightly ruled out for offside, while Stambouli should have had a second in a subsequent two-on-one counterattack.
Tottenham's qualification from Group C means that top spot will be up for grabs when they visit Besiktas on matchday six. Spurs are two points ahead of the Turkish side.
Partizan, who were already eliminated prior to this game, round off their campaign with a home match against Asteras Tripolis - who drew 2-2 with Besiktas on Thursday.
Goalkeeper Hugo Lloris returned from a Europa League suspension for the hosts but Federico Fazio was missing due to a ban of his own. Aaron Lennon was given a start in his 400th career appearance as Soldado led the line - the Spaniard dragging an effort just wide in the first two minutes.
Tottenham were sluggish in the first half, though, and Partizan - who had not won in their past 16 games in European group stages - caused them occasional problems on the break.
Petar Grbic stormed down the right and saw his cross clip the shoulder of striker Petar Skuletic, while Danko Lazovic chested down Sasa Ilic's hooked ball before shooting narrowly wide under pressure in the 18th minute.
Soldado just missed Erik Lamela's ball across the face of goal but the most animated that the White Hart Lane crowd got during a lacklustre beginning was after two pitch invasions in quick succession.
The situation descended into farce after the third, though, and, once play finally resumed, Lamela fired wide in the 11th minute of stoppage time to end an elongated first half.
Spurs did not have to wait long to take the lead after the break as Stambouli - who played in Soldado - pounced after the striker had been denied by the woodwork.
It just was not Soldado's night - he was one-on-one with Partizan goalkeeper Milan Lukac - but could only shoot straight at the onrushing Serbian, while Lamela missed the target on two further occasions.
The competition's joint top-scorer heading into the match - Harry Kane - was introduced as Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino sought to kill off the game with a second goal.
Kane quickly produced a powerful free kick, only for Lukac to be equal to the task, and the England Under-21s forward also had an effort correctly ruled out for offside with seven minutes left.
Spurs then had Lloris to thank as, with four minutes left, the Frenchman made an outstanding reaction save to keep out a header from the unmarked Vladimir Volkov.
And the stop proved crucial as Stambouli's goal sealed Tottenham's European progression - despite Lamela fluffing his lines and shooting wide after the Frenchman strangely elected to pass rather than shoot in the dying stages. Lamela also saw a curling effort tipped over by Lukac but it mattered little.
0 comments:
Post a Comment