Vitesse vs Tottenham LIVE: Europa Conference League result, final score and reaction tonight
Maximilian Wittek’s 78th-minute strike was enough to secure the points and leave Spurs in real bother sat in third in Group G
Tottenham’s decision to leave their big guns at home saw them lose 1-0 to Vitesse Arnhem in Group G of Europa Conference League.
The likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Cristiano Romero and Hugo Lloris did not travel to Holland with Sunday’s clash at West Ham in mind and a second string were undone by Maximilian Wittek’s 78th-minute strike.
The side Nuno Espirito Santo picked still had nine international players, but they were never really in the game and Bryan Gil’s shot that hit the crossbar early in the second half was their only moment of note.
Last time Tottenham played in Holland they enjoyed one of the most famous nights in their history as Lucas Moura’s hat-trick against Ajax sent them through to the Champions League final.
This time the Johan Cruijff ArenA was nothing but a stop on the trainline between Amsterdam and Arnhem and that Moura miracle must seem a long time ago as Spurs now compete in the third tier of European football.
Nuno has shown the competition respect so far, but made it clear where his priorities lay, leaving the entire XI that played 90 minutes at Newcastle last weekend at home to train ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit to the Hammers.
With the return fixture in a fortnight and then a trip to the weakest team in the competition NS Mura to come, the Portuguese decided that leaving his big guns back in London for this game was a risk worth taking.
It was a gamble because this was a big night for Vitesse, who sold out their GelreDome stadium for the first time in seven years.
Before kick-off their partisan fans held up a banner reading “For the city, the colours and our club: This is our night” and, fresh from a derby win over NEC Nijmegen at the weekend, they started with intent.
Nikolai Baden Frederiksen forced Pierluigi Gollini into a save with his feet after being played in in the third minute and then Jacob Rasmussen flashed a header just wide from a corner.
Unsurprisingly given the amount of changes, Spurs were not up to much in an attacking sense in the first half, with teenage striker Dane Scarlett up against it in a lone role in attack.
They immediately showed more after the break and were within inches of taking the lead in the 47th minute.
Giovani Lo Celso showed why he is becoming a key player for Argentina as he went on an enterprising dribble before laying it off for Gil, whose first-time shot rattled the crossbar.
That was as good as it got for Spurs who were pinned further and further back as the second half wore on, with Eli Dasa twice going close with efforts from distance, the second effort bringing a smart stop out of Gollini.
It was no surprise when the goal came 12 minutes from time as Wittek brilliantly volleyed home Dasa’s cross from the edge of the area to send the home crowd wild.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
72 mins: Wittek swings a free kick into the box and attempts to pick out Doekhi in the centre of the box. Tottenham win the first ball but it drops to Openda. He loads up to shoot but the offside flag goes up against the Vitesse captain from the initial cross and Spurs win a free kick of their own.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
69 mins: Dasa’s getting himself into decent positions when he comes in from the right side. Vitesse work the ball out to him and he takes another shot from outside the box. This one is one target but Gollini smothers it low down to his right.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
66 mins: Dele Alli plays the ball out of his own final third and lays it off to Lo Celso. He tries to spur Tottenham into a counter-attack by driving into the midfield but Bero lunges in and wins back the ball.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
63 mins: Vitesse’s final ball into the box hasn’t been great. They’ve attempted a few crosses from the right but nothing has beaten the Tottenham centre-backs.
Close! Darfalou slips the ball to Dasa who’s forward on the right. They’ve got an overload on as Dasa drives towards the box. He shoots just as he reaches the front edge and narrowly sends the effort wide of the near post.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
60 mins: Back to Arnhem where Tottenham’s early momentum at the start of the second half has been slowly eroded away by Vitesse. The home side have taken over possession and the game has developed into a midfield battle.
Line-ups: West Ham vs Genk
Following the conclusion of this game we’ll be focusing of West Ham’s next outing in the Europa League as they take on Genk. Kick off for that one is at 8pm and here are the starting line-ups:
West Ham XI: Fabianski, Johnson, Diop, Dawson, Cresswell, Soucek, Rice, Vlasic, Lanzini, Yarmolenko, Bowen.
Genk XI: Vandevoordt, Preciado, Cuesta, Lucumi, Arteaga, Heynen, Hrosovsky, Bongonda, Ito, Onuachu.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
54 mins: Tottenham have been a bit more aggressive since the restart. Scarlett is throwing his weight around and trying impose himself on the Vitesse defenders. Doekhi is hit by the forward but not before he slips the ball away to Tronstad. Tronstad passes it out to Wittek on the left side and he knocks the ball down the line to give Openda a chase. Sanchez gets back and slides across the Vitesse striker, winning the ball and clearing it for Spurs.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
51 mins: Dane Scarlett is penalised after taking on Bazoer over on the right side of the box. The defender sticks to Scarlett, marshalling him wider and wider before eventually shoving him to ground and toppling over him. I’m not sure Scarlett’s done a lot wrong there but Vitesse are given the free kick.
OFF THE BAR! Gil comes close to an opener!
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
48 mins: Great play from Tottenham. Lo Celso is given the ball just inside his own half. He turns and shimmies past a Vitesse midfielder before driving the ball up the opponents box. There’s no way into the area for him so he squares the ball to Bryan Gil who hits a first-time left-footed shot beautifully. It’s got swerve and dip but just not enough as it smacks into the crossbar and bounces away!
Second half: Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
Kick off: Can Tottenham get a goal in this second half. Judging by the first 45 minutes one goal may be enough for either team to claim all three points.
The visitors get the match back underway. Bergwijn flicks the ball up to Scarlett who chests it down and spins Rasmussen only for the offside flag to go up.
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