Panathinaikos Deny Tottenham with a Late Equaliser (Europa League)
By Logan Holmes
Michael Dawson led by example and scored Tottenham’s goal [Photo: PA]
Tottenham were held by Panathinaikos after conceding a late equaliser in their Europa League match in Athens. Michael Dawson had given Spurs the lead ten minutes before the interval but with less than fifteen minutes remaining Toche equalised to earn Panathinaikos a point in a match which Tottenham had controlled but had been unable to turn their superiority into goals. Andre Villas-Boas will be disappointed at dropping two points which would have put them joint top with Lazio who defeated Maribor by a single goal in the other Group J match in Rome. Tottenham are now third on two points and visit second placed, Maribor, at the end of the month knowing that they need a win to keep alive their chances of qualifying for the knock-out stages.
Panathinaikos 1 Tottenham Hotspur 1
Scorers: Toche Dawson
Team: Lloris; Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Vertonghen; Huddlestone (Sandro), Dembele; Lennon (Townsend), Dempsey (Sigurdsson), Bale; Defoe Subs: (unused) Cudicini, Gallas, Falque, Mason
Tottenham fielded a strong team with Hugo Lloris, Dawson and Tom Huddlestone replacing Brad Friedel, Wiliam Gallas and Sandro respectively. Villas-Boas has talked up the Europa League and showed it respect by making only three changes to the team which won at Old Trafford. Panathinaikos, on the other hand, are a team besought with problems on and off the pitch and the opening to the game clearly showed this in both teams’ approach.
Tottenham started much the more positive and purposeful with three corners inside the opening three minutes. From the first, Steven Caulker headed the ball back towards the goal but it bounced up and struck the defender’s arm before Jermain Defoe’s shot was deflected for another corner. Appeals for a penalty were ignored but the defender can consider himself fortunate at the early let-off as he clearly moved his arm towards the ball. Panathinaikos were a team very unsure of themselves and low on morale with the low attendance being a sign of the times in Greece and demonstrated the disillusionment of the supporters with the club. Initially, Spurs attacked at will and put in crosses and shots but without causing any real problems for the Greek goalkeeper.
From the intensity of a packed Old Trafford last weekend to the sparsely populated Olympic Stadium in Athens, Spurs’ game was lacking a cutting edge. While they passed their way through or around the home defence, they failed to create any clear cut scoring opportunities or cause too much alarm for the home defenders.
After fourteen minutes Panathinaikos threatened with a long ball out wide but the cross was collected confidently by Lloris. Spurs were trying to get Bale and Lennon in behind the home defence but the final pass went astray too often. Clint Dempsey put a shot over from a free-kick after twenty minutes and then on twenty four, Defoe went on a run and cut in from the left to put in a cross/shot which the goalkeeper blocked but no-one had followed up for a rebound. Lennon had a run down the centre but his final shot lacked power.
Spurs controlled the game but the tempo was slow and there was a lack of urgency in their play. This encouraged Panathinaikos but both sides were guilty of misplacing their final pass. With ten minutes to half-time, a free-kick, taken by Huddlestone, brought about the goal as Dawson flicked it on at the near post, into the net. It was Tottenham’s first goal in Greece in their third match in European competitions. This brought Spurs to life and gave their play some impetus with a Bale shot from distance causing the goalkeeper some difficulty but he got his feet to it and out for a corner. Then Defoe and Lennon worked well together before Defoe set up Huddlestone for a shot which was saved low by the goalkeeper.
The home side seemed to have lost all ambition and direction when a free-kick for a foul by Bale inside the Spurs’ half ended up back with their own goalkeeper. Lloris mishandled a cross late in the half but caught it at the second attempt.
The second half saw Tottenham continue to amble their way through the game, sitting deeper, but they hadn’t as much control and occasionally Panathinaikos showed a glimmer of life. Spurs had let their play drift to the levels of the home side and they were unable to raise their game to add a second goal which would have secured the points. While Tottenham had only a single goal advantage there was always the threat of an equaliser. Spurs continued to put in shots and crosses but the home keeper was less active and with fifteen minutes to go, Panathinaikos found a pass between Caulker and Dawson for Toche to shoot low across Lloris for the equaliser.
Stunned, Spurs tried to rectify matters but were unable to raise their game above the sedate pace they had allowed it to slip to through the game. The home side had something to hold on for and even went forward in search of another goal. Spurs didn’t really threaten in those final minutes and while Panathinaikos were satisfied with a point, Spurs knew that they had disappointed and let themselves down.
Aaron Lennon on Twitter summed up the feelings of everyone after the match.
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The result leaves Tottenham in third place in Group J, a point behind Maribor and two behind Lazio. Spurs next match is in Slovenia against Maribor so it is a must not lose game but a win would be preferable in order to rein in Maribor and to prevent Lazio opening up too big a gap at the top of the Group.