Tottenham crash out of UEFA as Shakhtar fight back

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The Spurs let a home lead slip against the Ukrainians.

New Delhi: Spurs are out of the UEFA Cup after letting a home lead slip against the Ukrainians.

Harry 'Hotspur' Redknapp looked to his fringe players on Thursday night, as many of his first choice XI were rested for the UEFA cup tie with Shakhtar.

Losing by two goals to nil on aggregate, the Spurs boss fielded an unfamiliar looking side, probably looking to preserve an edge for Sunday's Carling Cup tie.

As the first half unfolded, the visitors looked intent on sitting back and defending their aggregate advantage. It was only after a tenacious first quarter that the home side looked like giving it a go.

Jon Obika drove from range for Tottenham, around the half hour mark, his shot wandering wide of the post. And it was at that point that the home side perked up and started to make a game of it.

A flurry of attempts were sent in the direction of Shakhtar's goal for the rest of the half, but shot-stopper Andriy Pyatov always seemed to be in the right place at the right time, with all of his weight behind the ball.

Just before the first half drew to a close, there were several shouts for a penalty as Frazier Campbell went down in the area after a challenge by Fernaninho. The shouts from the crowd, however, would fall on deaf ears.

Obika popped up again early in the second half, shooting just wide of the mark once again, but it was assurance that Tottenham were not sitting back.

Further bombardment on the Ukranian goal culminated finally on 54 minutes, when Giovani Dos Santos would emerge as the man who broke the deadlock.

The young Mexican capitalised on a pass from Gareth Bale, controlling the ball onto his favoured left peg and finishing high and hard past Pyatov from 20 yards.

One name that people tend to remember from the European Championships is Romanian defender, Razvan Rat. Rat was not a crowd favourite tonight at White Hart Lane, as he was involved in a challenge on Campbell that lead to another outburst of claims for a penalty. Once again, though, the ref waved on.

As Spurs looked for the second goal to force extra time and continue down the European path, so to speak, Fernandinho made further nuisance of himself for the Spurs' faithful. The Brazilian midfielder cut in from the right flank and sent a low shot skidding into the bottom corner of Gomes' goal. This would signify the end of the line for Tottenham, both in this game and their European campaign.

Tottenham Hotspur 1 - 1 Shakhtar Donetsk.