2 months ago
13
As European nights go, Qarabag's could not person turned retired overmuch worse.
The squad from Azerbaijan suffered postulation chaos, a shocking punishment miss and a big of spurned chances arsenic 10-man Tottenham survived countless scares to unfastened their Europa League run with victory.
Despite staying a abbreviated region distant successful Stratford, Qarabag were affected by obstruction and roadworthy closures, and arrived astatine Tottenham Hotspur Stadium astatine 19:45 - conscionable 15 minutes earlier the planned kick-off - forcing a delayed commencement until 20:30.
Uefa regulations inquire for teams to get astatine slightest 75 minutes anterior to kick-off, with offenders facing imaginable punishment.
The London Overground, which is the superior way to the stadium from different parts of London, was besides down, forcing thousands of supporters to locomotion from arsenic acold arsenic Liverpool Street station, 2 hours away.
They weren't the lone ones caught out, with TNT pundits Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle having to locomotion the last spot of the journey.
Gurban Gurbanov, who manages the visiting Azeri side, complained "these things shouldn't happen" aft struggling to scope the stadium from their edifice successful Stratford.
When asked wherefore his broadside arrived truthful late, Gurbanov said: "Imagine being caught successful postulation for much than 2 and a fractional hours. I cannot conscionable marque excuses for this; it shouldn’t person happened and determination were nary constabulary to escort us.
"It had a large interaction connected our footballers, but it doesn't instrumentality distant from our opponent. They are a bully squad and we don't crook a unsighted oculus to that.
"As soon arsenic we arrived, we were told to commencement successful 40 minutes and we were not arsenic acceptable oregon prepared arsenic we should person been. These things shouldn’t happen."
The evening could person been precise different, though, aft Spurs defender Radu Dragusin received a reddish paper conscionable 8 minutes in.
Still, Spurs yet rallied to gain a triumph with 10 men arsenic Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke secured triumph - but the visitors volition beryllium wondering however they didn't people connected a chaotic nighttime connected the pitch.
Their 14 shots - compared to Tottenham's 10 - included missed sitters and a horribly skied punishment arsenic they were incapable to instrumentality vantage of immoderate sloppy Tottenham defending.
Spurs brag Ange Postecoglou blamed his side's sloppy commencement connected the delayed kick-off.
"It was conscionable not a large commencement for us," helium said. "We were truly passive with our passing. Whether it was the hold to the crippled oregon whatever, but it's nary excuse.
"So having a 35-minute delay, delays warm-ups, delays each sorts of things but you've conscionable got to woody with it and we've got to woody with it amended than what we did tonight.
"We benignant of changeable ourselves successful the ft and unluckily Radu [Dragusin] paid the eventual terms for it. But arsenic a team, we conscionable didn't commencement the crippled successful the mode we wanted to and the mode we needed to and made the crippled challenging for us.
"The effect was great, absolutely, but disappointed we had to beryllium successful that position."
Spurs brag Postecoglou was near with immoderate precocious concerns aft Son Heung-min limped disconnected successful the 71st minute, and Archie Gray appeared to beryllium successful symptom precocious on.
Johnson was besides withdrawn astatine half-time aft helium continued his affluent vein of form, but the Australian played down concerns astir the Wales international's fitness.
"I haven't spoke to him. He said helium felt a spot tired, but I haven't spoken to him oregon the aesculapian squad yet," Postecoglou said of Son.
"Yeah Brennan's fine. It was conscionable tactical. I thought we would request Deki Kulusevski due to the fact that the mode the crippled is going, Deki is simply a similar a hybrid midfielder and tin besides interruption retired connected that close wing. It was conscionable a tactical switch, but Brennan is fine."
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