Tottenham Hotspur   2    Spartak Moscow   2      (Half-time score : 0-2)

  1 Gomes

16  Gunter
  4  Zokora
20  Dawson (c)
11  Gilberto (  7  Lennon 46)

  5  Bentley
  6  Huddlestone
24  O'Hara
  3  Bale

14  Modric

18  Campbell

Unused subs: 
21  Cesar
32  Assou-Ekotto
51  Bostock
52  Parrett
63  Dervite
80  Obika

- Pletikosa

Parshivlyuk
Fathi
Jiranek
Rodriguez

Shishkin (Bazhenov 85)
Kovalchuk
Ryzhkov (Grigorev 60)
Maloyan (Zotov 73)
Saenko

Dzjuba
 

Unused subs: 
- Dzanaev
Stranzl
Pavlenko
Prudnikov

Modric 67
Huddlestone 74

Dzjuba 23
Dzjuba 33

Surreally enough, as the game went on and the result came in from the NEC Nijmegen game, one more goal for Tottenham would have left Spurs top of the group and facing a third place team from another group in the next stage of the competition.  As it was we now have to play a drop out from the Champions League repercharge.

With Spartak not having played for a few weeks, It was hoped that Spurs would get a quick start to catch the Russians on the hop.  While Tottenham moved the ball around well, they failed top produce a killer pass in the last third of the pitch, with crosses not finding a Tottenham head on most occasions.  Spartak were starting to get into the game and Mayolan put a dangerous ball into the area along the six yard line, but Gomes came out to grab the ball before if got through to a red shirted player and then caught Dzuba's shot from inside the area, which was directed straight at him.

While the ball was being passed well, Spartak were starting to close Spurs down and when Bale hit a pass back to Gilberto, the Brazilian left it for his compatriot in goal, even though Gomes was further away from the ball than him.  With the two caught in no-man's land, Dzuba nipped in to prod the ball through the keeper's legs to give Moscow the lead in the 23rd minute.  This gave the visitors some confidence to push forward, with manager Michael Laudrup having inspired his side to victory at White Hart Lane last season, when he was coach of Getafe.

After the restart, Spartak tested Gomes with a 20-yarder from Rizhkov, forcing Gomes to tip it wide and then had to save from a Fathi volley.  Spurs at last caused some consternation in the Russian penalty area when O'Hara played a low ball across the face of goal, with no white shirt there to turn it in.  Spurs went closer in the 31st minute, as Fraizer Campbell did well to retrieve possession from a seemingly lost position and draw the ball back for Tom Huddlestone to drive a shot at goal that Pletikosa fisted out double-handed, but looked less than secure.  However, a couple of minutes later, a moment of skill by lanky striker Dzuba left Zokora standing as the ball was nicked around him, with Tottenham holding a defensive line trying to play offside.  The forward ran past the Spurs defence and Gomes came out as far as he could, but Dzuba slid the ball past the keeper to make it 2-0.  It had suddenly become a position that Spurs did not want to find themselves in.

With the ball moving upfield from the kick off, Tottenham had a good opening, when Bale put in a deep cross to Bentley at the far post, but he was caught in two minds about whether to get a header on goal or to head it across goal for a colleague.  This left it floating and being picked out of the air by the Spartak keeper.  Another header, this time by Dawson from Bentley'#s right wing free-kick, beat Pletikosa, but also the bar, as it flew over the top.

With Gilberto looking like he did not want the ball and not being the fans favourite after the first Spartak goal, Harry brought on Lennon in his place, with Bentley swapping to the left, which gave Tottenham a more potent attacking force on the right wing.  It also allowed space for others, as the Russians doubled up on the speedy winger.  O'Hara made the most of it and put in a far post cross that Campbell got on the end of and his header was well beaten out at full length by Pletikosa in the 50th minute.  The two linked up again three minutes later, when O'Hara almost set up the on loan striker, who took the pass, but slipped as he was about to shoot and the effort went wide.  Bentley almost found Dawson at the near post, but the ball flashed past him and across goal, then Huddlestone hit two long range shots too high.  It looked like Spurs were pushing for a goal to get back in the game, but Zokora's clearance dropped kindly for Dzuba, who hit a shot straight at Gomes thankfully.  The Peter Crouch look-a-like almost grabbed another when he had a free header, but put it well wide.

It was the stroke of luck Spurs needed, as they broke on the right wing, where Aaron Lennon beat his man and got tight to the dead ball line and pulled a low cross into the near post, where Luka Modric made the sort of run the midfielders need to do with only one man up front.  The Croatian tucked away the volley to pull the score back to 1-2.

The first goal for the club from the midfielder sparked Tottenham into some decent attacking play at last.  And the equaliser came six minutes later.  Bentley received the ball from Gareth Bale, who took the return and put in a pacy cross that Tom Huddlestone met at the near post to thump a header past the goalie to level the score to 2-2.  Tom had one of those games, where he does all that is expected of him and hopefully he will be able to take this form into the Premier League and dominate games.

Michael Dawson stayed up front following a set-piece and when Lennon's cross was won by the captain's head, he was unlucky to see his effort flick off a defender and go just wide, as Pletikosa went the other way.  The keeper was also in action as he managed to awkwardly smuggle the ball wide for a corner as Bentley stepped inside his opponent into the box and struck as shot in low to the near post.

Bale had had an uncertain first half, with his touch lacking, but now he had a taste for getting forward and found new energy.  Another low ball into the near post from the left saw Fraizer Campbell slide in with Fathi, but the Spurs man got there first and his effort hit Pletikosa and was kept out.  There was still one last opportunity, when O'Hara hit a hopeful 30-yarder straight at the keeper, who took it comfortably.

I am not sure if Spartak knew of their fate with the score tied, but they failed to make much progress towards the Spurs goal after the equaliser.  As it was, a good second half performance proved enough to go through to the knock-out stage of the UEFA Cup, but with a tie against a Champions League side, the team will need to be more on guard than they were in the first half.  Our cup-tied players may be available by the time the next round comes around, with some more players available if we have made further improvement in our league position.  It is not inconceivable that we could go further in the competition, if the draw is kind to us and if Harry decides it is a necessary evil ... being one of the ways we might get European football next season.

PURCELL COLE