tottenham see off partizan to progress published: thursday 27 november 2014, 23.07cet tottenham hotspur fc 1-0 fk partizan mauricio pochettino's side reached the round of 32 thanks to benjamin stambouli's first goal for the north london club.
• tottenham overcome partizan 1-0 to qualify for the round of 32. • benjamin stambouli scores his first goal for spurs on 49 minutes • hugo lloris's late save denies vladimir volkov an equaliser • spurs travel to beşiktaş on matchday six needing a draw to top group c. • next games: beşiktaş v tottenham, partizan v asteras (11 december)
tottenham hotspur fc edged into the last 32 of the uefa europa league with a 1-0 success at home to fk partizan.
benjamin stambouli's first goal for the club in the 49th minute proved decisive and the london side will only need a point from their final group c match at beşiktaş jk to top the section ahead of the turkish outfit, who have also qualified.
victory would have assured tottenham of a place in the last 32 regardless of the result in the other group game and roberto soldado almost provided the perfect start in the opening minute but his drive veered just wide. partizan were proving effective on the counterattack, though, as danko lazović fired wide with hugo lloris beaten before the goalkeeper was called into action to smother a low shot by nikola ninković.
stambouli and ninković both demanded straightforward saves from the respective custodians before the referee had to withdraw the players from the pitch following three separate pitch incursions shortly before half-time.
the contest needed a spark after the interval and stambouli supplied it, galloping forward before releasing soldado then firing in the rebound after the spain striker's effort had rattled the post. lazović sent another presentable chance wide before soldado was denied from point-blank range by the increasingly busy milan lukač.
marko nikolić's men were struggling to keep pace with a buoyant home team and the impressive erik lamela blazed wide, then over as mauricio pochettino's side unleashed a number of attempts from distance. andrija živković clipped an opportunity over to maintain a threat from the visitors and vladimir volkov's late header required a sprawling stop from lloris as spurs held on.
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