Tottenham Hotspur 3 Shamrock Rovers 1:For 10 brief but unforgettable minutes, Shamrock Rovers dared to live the dream at White Hart Lane tonight. One-up against the Premier League giants, the latest chapter of remarkable European campaign had the makings of a classic.
Having enjoyed the rub of the green in the first half- – twice the woodwork saved Rovers while goalkeeper Richard Brush was a busy man – Rovers had the temerity to draw first blood against Spurs, Stephen Rice deflecting Pat Sullivan’s shot into the net.
Unfortunately, that was as good as it got for Michael O’Neill’s side as Spurs, who had lacked rhythm at times, hit a purple patch right on the hour mark. First Roman Pavlyuchenko beat Brush with a close-range header before Jermain Defoe scored from an identical situation 60 seconds later.
And the game was up for Rovers in the 65th minute when Defoe released Giovanni dos Santos who blasted beyond the onrushing Brush.
Tottenham had been overwhelming favourites to clinch their first win of the group stages against their semi-professional opposition, and dominated the game from the opening whistle. Dos Santos was Spurs’ liveliest player in the opening 15 minutes and the Mexican played a one-two with Jake Livermore before firing comfortably into Brush’s arms with Spurs’ first attack of the game.
The former Barcelona forward then saw a powerful shot deflected wide before drawing another save from Brush with a low 30-yard drive. Dos Santos then released Defoe down the left, he jinked inside and fired a 20-yard shot which Brush tipped on to the post and rebounded to safety.
Pavlyuchenko should have put Spurs ahead in the 20th minute when he found space in the box but he dallied on the ball when 12 yards out and Brush came out to smother the Russian’s shot.
Rovers rarely threatened and had to wait until the 27th minute to fashion an attempt on goal when Gary McCabe fired well wide with a 30-yard volley.
The game entered a bit of a lull until Danny Rose sparked it in to life with a looping 20-yard shot that beat Brush but rebounded off the bar. Pavlyuchenko then beat his marker to head goalwards but his effort was cleared off the line by Stephen O’Donnell.
The Russian then found himself in space 20 yards out but fired a yard wide of Brush’s goal. Dos Santos raced in to the box in injury time but was smothered by Rovers defenders and the home side went in at half-time disappointed not to have taken the lead.
Rovers then stunned the home side by taking the lead five minutes after the break. Cudicini’s save from a McCabe free-kick fell to Sullivan on the edge of the box. The defender drove a low shot goalwards and Rice, standing just in front of the Italian goalkeeper, diverted the ball past the Spurs stopper into the net before celebrating in front of the ecstatic away fans.
The lead lasted 10 minutes. Dos Santos broke down the left and whipped in the perfect cross for Pavlyuchenko to head home his first of the season. Spurs took the lead in a similar move that led to their first. This time Townsend broke down the left and looped a cross over for Defoe who stooped to head past Brush.
Spurs made it 3-1 in the 65th minute when Dos Santos got on the end of Defoe’s pass and curled a drive past Brush to score his first Tottenham goal since February 2009.
