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Wednesday 30 November 2011

THE GUARDIAN - Tottenham Hostpur v PAOK Salonika, Nov 30, 2011

Tottenham v Paok Salonika
Tottenham v Paok Salonika. Photograph: Nick Potts/PA
Here are the teams, including the surprisingly strong one selected by Harry Redknapp, who clearly doesn't want to have to go Dublin in the last game of the group needing to beat the mighty Shamrock Rovers.
Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, Gallas, Bassong, Rose, Lennon,
Livermore, Modric, Pienaar, Defoe, Kane.
Subs: Cudicini, Bale, Falque, Walker, Townsend, Fredericks, Carroll.
PAOK Salonika: Chalkias, Etto, Malezas, Contreras, Stafylidis, Lazar, Pablo Garcia, Fotakis, Salpingidis, Georgiadis, Athanasiadis. Subs:Kresic, Balafas, Cirillo, Sznaucner, Ivic,
Arias, Papazoglou.
Referee: Bas Nijhuis (Holland)
7.53pm: Some wacky hijinks in this tournament already tonight, notably in Slovenia, where Maribor were 3-0 up and cruising against Clube Burrge before the Belgians hit four goals in the last 15 minutes to win 4-3. Celtic, meanwhile, lost 1-0 at home to Atletico Madrid, Birmingham lost by the same score in Brage and Shamrock Rovers went down 4-1 at Rubin Kazan.
8.00pm: Out waddle the players to an almighty tumult in the stands, created by thousands of boisterous Greeks.
8.05pm: Now begins a minute's applause for Gary Speed.
1 min: Spurs get the game going, with every touch by the home side eliciting ferocious boos from the visiting hordes.
3 min: Danny Rose gets a chance to gallop down the left wing but confidence abandons him and he slows down to look for support, and gets dispossessed.
4 min: Steven Pienaar. Just thought I'd given him a mention to remind you that he is at Spurs. I had forgotten. He really hasn't done anything since leaving Everton, other than suffer an unfortunate injury, obviously. Would be nice to see signs that he's getting back to his best tonight.
GOAL! Spurs 0-1 Paok (Salpingidis 5') An absurdly easy opener for the visitors! Gallas lost possession on half-way, Georgiadis scampered down the left and is given time to size up a cross. He clips it into the centre, where Salpingidis - in total isolation - heads simply into the net!
7 min: The Tottenham fans wake up and begin to sing in response to the visitors, who've been the only ones making noise since the outset. But when will the Tottenham players wakes up?
10 min: Spurs are made to look leaden-footed again as Paok open them up with ease. They got in behind Rose, who has made a very dodgy start to proceedings, and had men streaming into the box ... but Etto pulled the ball back too far, allowing the hosts to clear.
12 min: The sight of Gallas and Bassong getting in a muddle over marking and thereby conceding a goal illustrates two things: (1) that not playing regularly is bad for players and (2) Younes Kaboul has been superb this season without getting much acclaim.
GOAL! Spurs 0-2 Paok (Athanasiadis 14') Too easy again! It was sweet passing by Paok but Spurs again stood and watched. Georgiadis raced behind Corluka to receive a nice through-ball and then delivered an excellent pass across the face of goal and Athanasiadis arrived unaccompanied by any defenders to slide it into the net from eight yards.
16 min: Premier League millionaires striking out of solidarity with public sector workers? That's what it looks like Spurs are doing.
18 min: Etto hurtles down the right - Rose, like Corluka for the goals, allows players to get behind him far too easily. This time Etto's cutback is good but Spurs recovert sufficiently to force the ball out for a corner. "I get believe how bad Tottenham's positional play is," gasps Graham Taylor on Channel Five.
20 min: Paok are toying with Tottenham, who can barely get the ball. "Corluka should never play for Tottenham again and those two goals show why," barks Martin O'Connor.
22 min: A section of the topless dancing loolaas supporting Paok have erected a banner reading "STEAL FROM THE RICH TO GIVE TO THE POOR". A comment on the Eurozone crisis? The riots in these parts?
25 min: After Paok pull Gallas and Bassong all over the shop, Rose comes to their rescue, hurling himself in front of a Salpingidis shot from the edge of the box. "The difference about the Spurs first team defence is that anyone (including me) would look superb alongside Ledley King, not just Kaboul," quips John Tunbridge. Maybe, but kaboul has looked superb even when King was missing.
27 min: Spurs fizz the ball about with fluency for the first time in the match, without even hinting at penetration. And then Pienaar gives it awayt with a sloppy pass and Paok tear forward anew, demanding an urgent intervention from Bassong.
30 min: Kane battles to get on the end of a hopeful punt from the back. After much bluster the ball breaks to Lennon on the right. He smacks it into the danger zone, whereupon Pienaar attempts to get off a shot from the penalty spot but Paok crowd him out.
34 min: Paok have eased back a little and are allowing Spurs to have the ball, but only in the Tottenham half. Spurs are showing no signs of doing anything dangerous with it.
36 min: A shot from Tottenham, an actual shot! Livermore and Kane did well before feeding Defoe, who opened fire from 20 yards, forcing the keeper to push it out for a corner.
PENALTY TO SPURS AND RED CARD FOR PAOK! Stafylidis is deemed to have handled the ball on the line to keep out Kane's header from the corner and is dismissed. Replays are inconclusive, it may have hit the side of his torso.
GOAL! Spurs 1-2 Paok (Modric pen 38') The Croatian sends the keeper the wrong way and the ball into the net.
41 min: Well that has changed things, as Spurs now have a spring in their step and are driving the undermanned Greeks backwards.
44 min: So Spurs are enjoying all the possession now as the very harsh dismissal of Stafylidis convicnes the Greeks to change strategy and seek just to hold on to their lead.
Half-time: After an sloppy and sleepy start Spurs deservedly found themselves two goals down but have got themselves back into it thanks in part to a harsh red card. This game could go either way now. As for me, I'm going for a coffee.
46 min: No changes by either side during the break, which must come as a pleasant surprise for Corluka, for one.
47 min: Disallowed goal by Gallas after Paok push up from a freekick and catch five Spurs players offside.
49 min: Defoe meets Modric's header at the near post but a defender gets in a sturdy block.
51 min: Nice play by Rose, who has started this half much better than the first. After beating his man down the left he clipped in a lovely ball, plum on the forehead of Kane. Alas, the young striker nodded over from close range.
54 min: Paok are defending well, particularly with their well choreographed offside play, which is continually catching out Spurs.
57 min: Awful mis-hit by Pienaar after Modric and Corluka had worked an opening down the right.
59 min: Paok are doing well with 10-men and still merit their lead. Redknapp has ordered Bale to warm up .... Meanwhile, if you for some insight into why Sunderland decided to get shot of Steve Bruce check outthis interesting piece by Louise Taylor.
61 min: Spurs unjustly awarded a corner. Modric takes it short to Lennon, whose cross triggers chaos in the box. But eventually Paok scramble it away.
63 min: Spurs change: Rose off, Bale on.
65 min: Paok really are defending heroically, continually hurliong heir bodies in the line of fire. Can they keep doing it? The pressure is now incessant.
67 min: Spurs swtich: Pienaar off, Walker on.
70 min: Splendid cross from the right by Walker. Kane throws himself at it but just fails to connect. It comes to Bale, who bangs over the bar from 14 yards.
71 min: Spurs substitution: Kane off,. Falque on.
75 min: Lazard does brilliantly to win the ball in his own half and the take it all the way towards Tottenham's left corner flag before drawing a foul from Gallas.
CHAOS! AND POSSIBLY A GOAL TOO! As Conteras lay injured on the Paok goal-line after clearing Falque's shot , it's played back to Defoe, who is being kept onside by the injured player and, after pausing to see whether he'd be allowed to proceed, whacks it into the net. After a lengthy delay the ref decides to award a free out. Confusion reigns. But it's NO GOAL
81 min: Again Paok clear off the line, this time from a header from a Modric corner! Then Lennon is brought down in the box and the ref, whose performance has been bizarre tonight, waves play on.
83 min: Decent effort by Falque, whose left-footed curler skims the post on its way wide.
84 min: This is half slapstick, half heroic. Paok continue to resist somehow, Tottenham's latest incursion falling down when Lennon runs into two team-mates at the edge of the box.
87 min: Is there a slower play in the Premier League than Corluka?
89 min: Replays suggest that the reason that Defoe's "goal" was disallowed was that he fouled Contreras in the build-up and the linesman brought this tardily to the ref's attention.
90 min: Paok will have to continue defending magnificently for five more minutes.
90 + 1min: Defoe's header is pushed over for a corner.
90+ 3 min: Bale is brought down some eight yards outside the area. As he lines up the freekick, Walker goes down in the box as if to suggest he was fouled. Replay shows he's a clown, exaggerating a little shove from Salpingidis in an attempt to get a penalty. Bale then taps the freekick into the keeper's arms.
Full-time: Tottenham have lost and are close to out, needing Paok to do them a favour in the last match. The Greeks were superb tonight: they played Tottenham off the park until getting a man harsahly sent off and then defended like warriors to retain the lead that they had established

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