FERENCVAROS
1     TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
2
   
(0) (1)
  Date : –  Thursday 3rd October 2024
Kick off : –  17.45 (UK time); 18.45 (local time)
  Competition : –  Europa League
Venue : –  Groupama Arena
  Crowd : –   20,795
  Referee : –  Igor Pajac (CRO) Linesmen : – Ivan Mihalj (CRO); Vedran Durak (CRO)
  Fourth official : –  Tihomir Pejin (CRO)
  VAR official : – Mario Zebec (CRO) VAR Assistant : – Ivan Bebek (CRO)
  Weather : – Chilly, rain during match
  Spurs kicked off the first half attacking the South Stand end
  Playing time : –   90 + 10 minutes

 

FERENCVAROS TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
GOAL-SCORERS
      Varga  89m 51s  (asst. Ramirez)   Sarr  22m 30s  (asst. Bergvall)
         Johnson  85m 15s  (asst. Maddison)
  CARDS
    Civic  (foul on Moore)  22  
   
  TEAMS
90.   Denez DIBUSZ  (c) 1.   Guglielmo VICARIO
     
99.   Cristian RAMIREZ  23.   Pedro PORRO
34.   Raul GUSTAVO 17.   Cristian ROMERO  (c)
27.   Ibrahim CISSE 33.   Ben DAVIES
3.   Stefan GARTENMANN  (  25.   Cebrails MAKRECKIS  77)  14.   Archie GRAY
       
15.   Mohammad Abu FANI  (  8.   Aleksandar PESIC  84)  29.   Pape Matar SARR    (  19.   Dominic SOLANKE  82)  
80.   Habib MAIGA 8.   Yves BISSOUMA
 15.   Lucas BERGVALL    (  21.   Dejan KULUSEVSKI  65)  
20.   Adama TRAORE  (  10.   Kady BORGES  77)    
11.   Matheus SALDANHA  (  16.   Kristoffer ZACHARIASSEN  60)  47.   Mikey MOORE
17.   Eldar CIVIC    (  7.   Mohamed Ben ROMDHANE  60)  42.   Will LANKSHEAR   (  10.   James MADDISON  66  )  
    16.   Timo WERNER  (  22.   Brennan JOHNSON  65 
19.   Barnabas VARGA    
Substitutes Substitutes
  1.   Adam VARGA 20.   Fraser FORSTER
  21.   Endre BOTKA 40.   Brandon AUSTIN
  22.   Gabor SZALAI 48.   Alfie DORRINGTON
  93.   Virgil MISIDJAN 37.   Micky van de VEN
  64.   Alex TOTH 59.   Dante CASSANOVA
  88.   Phillippe ROMMENS 30.   Rodrigo BENTANCUR
  30.   Zsombor GRUBER 63.   Damola AJAYI

    = Assist        =  Goal scored       =  Own goal scored

Manager : –  Pascal Jensen Manager : –  Ange Postecoglou
Kit Supplier : – Macron Kit Supplier : – Nike
Shirt Sponsor : –  T Mobile Shirt Sponsor : – AIA
Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – – Shirt Sleeve Sponsor : – Kraken
Back of Shirt Sponsor : – – Back of Shirt Sponsor : – Tottenham Hotspur Foundation
Colours : –  Green and white striped shirts
                    White shorts with green trim
                   White socks with green turnover
 
Colours : –
Images of kits courtesy of the marvellous Colours of Football website

 

MATCH REPORT
  The rain was as persistent as it was in the previous Europa League match at home to Qarabag and while it was almost as difficult as game, but the team performed a professional job on Ferencvaros, riding their luck at times, but enough to secure a 2-1 away win in Europe which hadn’t been the case for the club in recent campaigns.

Changes were expected to the Tottenham side but it was a very young team and a young bench that Ange selected to face Ferencvaros.  There were starts for teenagers Mikey Moore, Will Lankshear, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall, while among the subs were Alfie Dorrington, Damola Ajayi and Dante Cassanova from the Under-21s.

In the first couple of minutes, Spurs were not secure in possession and Porro and Bissouma both conceded the ball to the home side around the Tottenham penalty area.  Adama Traore (no, not that one) got onto a ball over the top and then squared it to Varga who shot high and wide. He was the player who was badly injured against Scotland in the recent Euros and is only six weeks into his comeback.  Traore had another shot that Vicario fielded with an easy dive and catch, but there was space around the Tottenham area to be exploited, although Spurs were starting to get their game together as Werner made space to put in a cross that came off Lankshear’s shoulder.

We were fifteen minutes into the match when Ferencvaros scored when a donkey kick sent Troare away down their right wing and the ball was switched to the other side.  Varga got on the end of a Civic centre to head across Vicario and into the net.  The flag went up, as there striker was offside by a short knee, so the score remained 0-0.

A ball played into the box by Mikey Moore to where Will Lankshear was tussling for the ball with Ibrahim Cisse and then Bergvall challenged for it, but the ball ran loose for Pape Matar Sarr to pass the ball through the keeper’s legs to open the scoring from inside the right side of the six-yard box.  Gartenmann didn’t seem to know where the ball was and it was behind him, as Pape seized on his hesitation to find the net in the 23rd minute.

Spurs began sharply from the restart and won the ball to force a corner.  The team then carved out a chance for Sarr on the edge of the box that this time he hit straight at the keeper.  A corner in the 32nd minute caused chaos in the Hungarian box that was cleared but not out of the area, so Porro nipped in and was tackled.  The Spaniard went down but jumped up, nutmegged an opponent and bent a ball low to the far post that hit the woodwork. The corner again led to a scramble and Romero got on the end of a sliced clearance back over their own defence but it all ended in a free-kick when Lankshear went for the loose ball, but the keeper dived across him to get there first.

Fani seemed to be an angry little man and put in a NFL-style block on Porro to concede a free-kick 25 yards out, but didn’t get the yellow card that it deserved.  A free-kick was given conceded by Davies riding on a defender’s shoulders when it was played in, but the ball was at the Ferencvaros end again with a neat one-touch passing move that won a corner. Nothing came from that and it was the last notable action of the half.

At the start of the second half, Tottenham controlled possession and Saldanha, wearing different coloured boots (so he must be good), tried a curler into the bottom left hand corner of the Spurs goal, but Vicario got down to it at full stretch to tip the ball around the post. The corner was cleared but soon after the game had to be stopped for a short while as smoke from the flares waved by the many Ferencvaros made visibility very difficult, not helped by either team’s kit.

A corner conceded under no pressure allowed Spurs to win a header through Romero that the keeper had to tip over the bar and from a later corner, Werner rolled the ball a couple of feet forward for Porro to whip in a cross that Lankshear volleyed just over the bar as he was falling backwards.  Will had another good chance which came about as Tottenham played the ball from back to front when it looked as though Archie Gray was trapped in the corner at the end we were defending.  He dragged the ball back and back-heeled it to Bissouma, who knocked the ball to one side of an opponent and ran the
other side before striding forward to set Lankshear through.  As he got into the penalty area, he was bumped over by a defender, but nothing was given.

When a ball down our left caught Davies underneath it, Zachariasson drilled a ball across the box and it was kept in beyond the far post where the home side won a corner, but Tottenham broke quickly, with Mikey Moore playing a delightful pass behind the defence for Timo Werner.  With only the keeper ahead of him, instead of trying to beat him with a shot, he took the ball to his left, but it went too wide and his shot ended up in the outside of the
side-netting.  It was a great chance and it was the last that Werner would get, as he was one of three players substituted straight away. Kulusevski, Maddison and Johnson replaced the German, Bergvall and Lankshear.

Ferencvaros made a couple of subs and started to put the Spurs defence under a bit more pressure with Borges trying to beat Vicario at his near post, but the keeper had time to get down to it.  Spurs were able to play the ball out from the back as the press was not co-ordinated and when Ben Davies got a firm pass in to Dejan Kulusevski in midfield, a simple touch on to Archie Gray saw him take it on into the space ahead of him before passing it to the right where Brennan Johnson fired a shot from just inside the area that hit the bar and bounced out.  Striking it first time, it was obvious that Brennan now feels confident having hit a scoring streak and his instinct in front of goal does contrast with how Timo Werner operates in similar situations.  When the home side got forward again on their right, Makreckis chose to drive the ball at goal going for the near post rather than going across the keeper when inside the area and he missed by a good six feet. Borges had a free header but only guided it at goal rather than get any power behind the header.

Spurs started to put their passes together and worked the ball from back to front again.  Mikey Moore did well running at the defence and putting a pass down the line in behind the full back for Dominic Solanke.  He crossed the ball but it was cleared, but only as far as Maddison, who immediately played the ball to his right for Brennan Johnson.  Moving the ball inside onto his left foot as Kulusevski made a decoy run outside him on the right, he curled the ball low in off the keeper’s right-hand post and into the net for a second Spurs goal that came just at the right time to give a buffer to counter the home team’s fight for an equaliser.

Ferencvaros did get a goal that started with a pass out from the back that Johnson tried to cut out, but missed out on intercepting allowing Ramirez space to get away down their left wing.  He played in an inviting cross for Varga to get an outstretched foot to and volley it past the keeper from close in to make it 2-1 in the final minute of normal time.  It was a very well-taken goal and despite a VAR review, it did stand.

All that was left was for Tottenham to play out an uncomfortable five added minutes, but managed to do so, mainly at the Ferencvaros end and without too many hiccups.

The Hungarians were a decent side, but lacked pattern to their play, although they were getting a lot of space down the Tottenham left, with a lack of
cover for Gray
.  Playing in an unaccustomed position, it was necessary for the defensive midfield to help him out, but too often he was isolated with one or two opponents to cope with.  In the second half, people criticised him for deserting his post, but he was pushing on, no doubt under instruction form the management.  Mikey Moore looked comfortable on the ball all game and despite some attempts to scare him out of the game, it made him more willing to get on the ball and take players on, while Will Lankshear did well on his first start in the senior side, but did get drawn into physical battles which didn’t always help him when the ball arrived in the box.  Lucas Bergvall didn’t have his most effective game, but was always looking for the ball and was keen to challenge for it, like the tackle that led to Sarr’s goal.

Johnson took his goal well and showed that any criticism that came his way was well mis-founded, while Solanke, Kulusevski and Maddison did well coming off the bench.  Sarr and Bissouma did some of the dirty work when they settled and held and used the ball well, with Davies and Romero doing well enough in the middle, but a lot of the openness at the back could be put down to unfamiliarity among the players in match conditions.  Vicario made one fantastic reflex save to stop Varga from close range when it looked like he must score, but the offside flag was waved so it wouldn’t have counted, but Vic didn’t know that.  Which just leaves a concern about Timo Werner.  His contributions in assists and causing problems for defenders wide on the left are all assets, but his finishing is baffling.  His pace gets him into good positions, but when it comes to scoring goals, it is almost as if having too much time makes him confused about his options.  It will take come work on the training ground to sort it out, but if he can add goals to his game, he will be a valuable player in the squad.

Six points from two games and plenty of fringe players getting minutes under their belts is good news and to keep the winning run going is also important for confidence for the Brighton game that comes up on Sunday, so a short turnaround time, but that will be the case for the foreseeable future. 

The Polyphant

 

MATCH NOTES
 
  • Ange Postecoglou takes a Tottenham team for the 50th time as Head Coach.
  • Will Lankshear makes his Spurs debut.

 

OTHER RESULTS
  Elfsborg (SWE) 1 AS Roma (ITA) 0
  FC Porto (POR) 3 Mancashter United 3
  Real Sociedad (SPA) 1 Anderlecht (BEL) 2
  SS Lazio (ITA) 4 OGC Nice (FRA) 1
  PAOK (GRE) 0 FCSB (ROM) 1
  Slavia Prague (CZE) 1 Ajax (NED) 1
  FC Twente (NED) 1 Fenerbahce (TUR) 1
  TSG 1899 Hoffenheim (GER) 2 Dynamo Kyiv (UKR) 0
  Viktoria Plzen (CZE) 0 Ludogorets (BUL) 0
  Union Saint-Gilloise (BEL) 0 Bodo/Glimt (NOR) 0
  Glasgow Rangers 1 Olympique Lyonnais (FRA) 4
  Qarabag (AZE) 1 Malmo FF (SWE) 2
  Athletic Bilbao (SPA) 2 AZ Alkmaar (NED) 0
  Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) 0 FC Midtjylland (DEN) 2
  Rigas FS (LVA) 2 Galatasaray (TUR) 2
  Besiktas (TUR) 1 Eintracht Frankfurt (GER) 3
  Olympiakos Pireaus (GRE) 3 Sporting Braga (POR) 0

Europa League Table 2024-25

Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Goal difference
1 SS Lazio 2 2 0 0 7 1 6 +6
2 Olympique Lyonnais 2 2 0 0 6 1 6 +5
3 Tottenham Hotspur 2 2 0 0 5 1 6 +4
4 FCSB 2 2 0 0 5 1 6 +4
5 Anderlecht 2 2 0 0 4 2 6 +2
6 Ajax 2 1 1 0 5 1 4 +4
7 Eintracht Frankfurt 2 1 1 0 6 4
4 +2
8 Galatasaray 2 1 1 0 5 3 4 +2
9 Midtjylland 2 1 1 0 3 1 4 +2
10 Slavia Prague 2 1 1 0 3 1 4 +2
11 Athletic Bilbao 2 1 1 0 3 1 4 +2
12 TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 2 1 1 0 3 1 4 +2
13 Fenerbahce 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 +1
14 Bodo/Glimt 2 1 1 0 3 2 4 1
15 Olympiakos Pireaus 2 1 0 1 3 3 3 +1
16 Elfsborg 2 1 0 1 3 3 3 0
17 Glasgow Rangers 2 1 0 1 3 4 3 -1
18 AZ Alkmaar 2 1 0
1 3 4 3 -1
19 Malmo FF 2 1 0 1 2 3 3 -1
20 Sporting Braga 2 1 0 1 2 4 3 -2
21 Mancashter United 2 0 2 0 4 4 2 0
22 Viktoria Plzen 2 0 2 0 3 3 2 0
23 FC Twente 2 0 2 0 2 2 2 0
24 FC Porto 2 0 1
1 5 6 1 -1
25 Real Sociedad 2 0 1 1 2 3 1 -1
26 Union Saint-Gilloise 2 0 1 1 1 2 1 -1
27 AS Roma 2 0 1 1 1 2 1 -1
28 Ludogorets 2 0 1 1 0 2 1 -2
29 Rigas FS 2 0 1 1 3 6 1 -3
30 OGC Nice 2 0 1 1 2 5 1 -3
31 Ferencvaros 2 0 0 2 0 2 0 -2
32 Maccabi Tel Aviv 2 0 0 2 1 4 0 -3
33 PAOK 2 0 0 2 1 4 0 -3
34 Qarabag 2 0 0 2 1 5 0 -4
35 Dynamo Kyiv 2 0 0 2 0 5 0 -5
36 Beskitas 2 0 0 2 1 7 0 -6