Tottenham Hotspur 1 Rubin Kazan 0 Europa League

Tottenham had Roman Pavlyuchenko to thank for the goal which was enough to earn the three points to take them to the top of Group A in the Europa League.  With seven points they are clear of PAOK who have five with Rubin on four.  Spurs' next match is in Russia and they know that it will be a difficult task to take anything from that encounter.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 Rubin Kazan 0

                                            Scorer: Pavlyuchenko

Team: Gomes; Walker, Livermore, Bassong, Rose; Lennon (Modric), Sandro (Kaboul), Carroll, Giovani Dos Santos (Assou-Ekotto); Defoe, Pavlyuchenko.  Subs (unused): Cudicini, Kane,Townsend

SuperPav Super Strike Wins it For Tottenham

Roman Pavlyuchenko

Roman Pavlyuchenko shook off his lethargy to fire an unstoppable free-kick high into the Rubin Kazan net after thirty three minutes to win this Europa League encounter against his fellow countrymen.  From the outset Pavlyuchenko was out to show his prowess, taking the every opportunity to shoot. 

As was to be expected from a team who had Champions League experience and who had defeated Barcelona in Spain two seasons ago, Rubin Kazan came to win the match and were positive throughout, having the majority of the possession and creating opportunities to strike for goal.  The only element that was missing from their game was a coolness in front of goal as Heurelho Gomes was relatively untroubled during the first forty five minutes.

Spurs with only Kyle Walker and Jake Livermore from the starting eleven at Newcastle, had Sebastien  Bassong and Livermore in central defence so depleted is Harry Redknapp for centre backs.  Danny Rose was at left back while Sandro and Tom Carroll were in midfield with Aaron Lennon, returning from injury, and Dos Santos on the wings.  Pavlyuchenko was partnered by Jermain Defoe as strikers.

Tottenham were neat and tidy in possession but didn't really threatened on goal with the two strikers rarely working as partners.  Bassong and Livermore found it difficult to develop any understanding and were grateful for the lack of firepower from the visitors.  Lennon and Dos Santos offered little as they mostly ran themselves into trouble with Rose and Walker being left to do much of the forward running.  Carroll and Sandro worked hard in midfield to contain the quick passing Russian team.

It was from a Rose foray towards the penalty area that Spurs won a free-kick.  Centre of goal, on the edge of the 'D' Roman Pavlyuchenko hammered the ball into the top corner of the net, giving the keeper no chance.  Spurs were ahead but hardly deserving of the advantage which they held comfortably to half-time with Pavlyuchenko having another drive well saved.

In the second half Rubin Kazan increased the pressure and Spurs were reduced to defending to try to stop the flow.  Gomes was coming in to play more often and he dealt with most situations easily with only the occasional anxious moment.  As the half wore, in recognition of the threat being presented by Rubin Kazan, Harry Redknapp opted to strengthen his team to ensure the victory.  He introduced Younes Kaboul and Benoit Assou-Ekotto to defence and brought on Luka Modric in central midfield beside Carroll. 

The changes enables Spurs to see out the game to claim their three points.  Gomes has played three games this year without conceding a goal, Carroll played well and is benefiting from these Europa League games,  Rose had a good game at full-back and then moved forward to left midfield and was dangerous on the break late in the game, earning corners for his endeavours.

Mission accomplished for Harry Redknapp and the Tottenham Europa League squad.  After three games they are on target for qualification to the knock-out stages in the new year.

Tottenham v Rubin Kazan Europa League

The third match in the Europa League Group Stage gives Spurs home advantage over Rubin Kazan who are currently at the top of the Group 1 with four points, ahead of Spurs on goal difference.  Tottenham who have used squad and younger players in Europa league games will need to take this game seriously as Rubin Kazan will provide them with a stern test and any slip up could jeopardise their chances of finishing at the top of the Group.

Last season Rubin Kazan finished third in the Russian League having been Champions in the two previous seasons.  They qualified for the Champions League but lost to Olympique Lyon in the final play-off Round (2 - 4 on aggregate) and so dropped into the Europa League.  They won their first match 3 - 0 in Dublin against Shamrock Rovers and drew their home match with PAOK Salonika 2 - 2.  this match against Spurs is their first in European competition against an English team.  this is their sixth season competing in European competitions since first taking part in 2004 - 05.  In the past two seasons they have qualified for the Champions League Group Stages and were drawn with Barcelona on both occasions.  Last season they drew 1 - 1 at home but lost 0 - 2 in the away match to finish third in the Group and so went into the Europa League where they lost to FC Twente.  The previous year they had a scoreless draw at home to Barcelona but won the match in Spain 2 - 1.  Inter Milan were also in that group and Rubin also drew at home 1 - 1 but lost 1 - 2 in Italy.  They again finished third and so went into the Ruropa League where they reached the Round of 16, only to lose 2 - 3 after extra time to Wolfsburg.


In their last match against PAOK Salonika, Rubin Kazan found themselves  agoal down at half-time but two goals early in the second half put them ahead.  However, PAOK snatched a point with a goal nine minutes remaining.

Former Newcastle United striker and past team mate of Sebastien Bassong, Obafemi Martins now plays for Rubin Kazan and scored their first goal against Shamrock Rovers.  He scored in his first four games against Spurs and was on the winning team each time.  He is best remembered at White Hart Lane for a wonder strike for Newcastle which helped them to a 3 - 2 win in January, 2007.


Roman Pavlyuchenko has played against Rubin Kazan during his days in Russia, scoring twice from the penalty spot.  A former Tottenham player, Sergei Rebrov, finished his playing career with Rubin Kazan.

Previous Meeting with Russian Team
Tottenham Hotspur played Spartak Moscow in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage, Luka Modrić and Tom Huddlestone scored as they came back from 2-0 down at White Hart Lane to draw their only previous match against a Russian side 2 - 2.


Injury Problems for Spurs
Harry Redknapp has injury problems in central defence and with the lack of adequate replacements may have to use first team players, Younes Kaboul and Bassong.  The only possible alternative would be to move Jake Livermore back into defence, a position he has played for the Spurs XI team earlier inn the season.  Carlo Cudicini will return in goal and Aaron Lennon and Steven Pienaar are expected to play as they have recovered from injury.  Pavlyuchenko will probably start while Jermain Defoe could appear as well.  Redknapp will probably have a strong substitutes bench to supply strength if the game doesn't go as planned.  Young Tom Carroll will probably start in midfield where he has performed well in the previoius Europa League matches.  Tottenham will be looking for a comfortable win so that they won't have to take too many of the senior players to Russia at the beginning of November.

Tottenham - Europa League Group Stage

The draw for the group stages of the Europa League was made in Monaco this morning.  Having successfully, negotiated the qualifying round against Hearts with an aggregate win of 5 - 0, Spurs were among the top seeds and were placed in Group A.

The second seeded team in the group was Rubin Kazan from Russia, the Greek team PAOK FC were in the third group with Shamrock Rovers from Ireland as the minnows when they became the first Irish team to reach the Group stages of any UEFA competition. The meetings between these teams will be Spurs first encounter with any of them.

Fixtures:

Thursday, 15th September: v PAOK (a)

Thursday, 29th September: v Shamrock Rovers (h)

Thursday, 20th October: v Rubin Kazan (h)
Thursday, 3rd November: v Rubin Kazan (a)

Wednesday, 30th November: v PAOK (h)

Thursday, 15th December: v Shamrock Rovers (a)