published: thursday 28 november 2013, 21.00cet tromsø ıl 0-2 tottenham hotspur fc
two second-half strikes helped spurs to five straight victories in group k as andré villas-boas's charges were confirmed as section winners.
tottenham hotspur fc posted their fifth straight victory in uefa europa league group k, two second-half goals putting tromsø ıl to the sword in the arctic circle.
tottenham had already confirmed their place in the knockout stage and although they extended their 100% record via adnan Сausevic's 63rd-minute own goal and mousa dembélé's cool 76th-minute finish, their status as section winners was in fact confirmed at half-time – fc anji makhachkala having been held 1-1 by fc sheriff in the early fixture.
the thermometer read -3c at kick-off and spurs were caught cold inside the first minute, grateful that zdeněk ondrášek slid wide of the target under pressure from outrushing goalkeeper brad friedel.
tottenham became accustomed to the snow-dusted surface and began to get on top. andros townsend's clever reverse pass set up gylfi sigurdsson to drill just past the upright, before the england winger tested goalkeeper benny lekström with his own skidding effort.
after weathering a period of concerted tromsø pressure at the start of the second half, tottenham found the breakthrough. defender vlad chiricheș got a toe on sigurdsson's fizzing, near-post cross, and the ball ricocheted off sliding tromsø defender Сausevic and beat lekström.
ıt was two-nil 13 minutes later. again sigurdsson was the provider, squeezing a pass through to an unmarked dembéle around the penalty spot, and he had all the time in the world to calmly pick out the bottom-left corner. that goal wrapped up the points, though moments later the belgian missed the chance to add further gloss to the scoreline, his shot coming back off the base of the post.
