Basel Oust Tottenham on Penalties

Tottenham’s Europa league journey ended last night as Swiss side Basel eliminated them from the competition on penalties. Spurs made a spirited effort to take the game to penalties but eventually lost as only one player was able to convert from the spot kick.
Having drawn the first leg 2-2 at White Hart Lane, Spurs knew they had to score if they are to qualify for the last four of Europa league. The visitors started piling pressure on Basel’s defense in the early stages of the match and were rewarded as Dempsey scored the opening goal in the 23rd minute.
The lead did not last for long, four minutes later Basel equalized as Streller took the ball in midfield and set up Salah who drew level. Once again, Spurs needed a goal to turn the things in their favor but from there onwards, home side had the upper hand.
The teams went into the break at 1-1 and Basel continued testing Tottenham’s defense from the start of the second period. Four minutes into the second half and the home side lead the tie again thanks to Dragovic who scored from close range.
Spurs desperately looked for the equalizer to level the tie on aggregate as well as on away goals but were constantly denied any clear cut opportunity by the Basel’s defense. In came Tom Huddlestone to help Tottenham. The English man produced a wonder pass for Dempsey who made no mistake and scored his second on the night to bring his side back into the game.
Vertonghen was not at his usual best in yesterday’s game and he made things worse for the visitors by getting red carded for a tackle on last man Streller who was clear through on goal.
Going into the extra time, Basel were a man up but could not take advantage of that situation. The tiredness of both set of players was visible and none was able to score for the 30 added minutes.
Onto penalty kick lottery, Basel players were prolific as they scored all there penalties. On the other hand, only Gylfi Sigurdsson scored from the spot for Spurs as Adebayor and Huddlestone failed and eventually Basel qualified for the semi finals of Europa League.
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