By Alan Duffy
FC Basel 2-2 Tottenham Hotspur (agg 4-4 Basel win 4-1 on pens) – Europa League – 11th April 2013
Emmanuel Adebayor and Tom Huddlestone both missed from the penalty spot as Spurs lost out to Basel in a rain-soaked St. Jakob Park on Wednesday night.
The game was nicely balanced at 2-2 following the first leg in White Hart Lane, and Clint Dempsey got the Bale-less north Londoners up and running on 23 minutes, firing home to put his side 3-2 up in the tie.
However, Mohamed Salah and then Aleksandar Dragovic put the home side in the driving seat, leaving Spurs needing to equalise to force the game into extra-time. And that’s just what Dempsey did, on 82 minutes, courtesy of a fine left-footed effort.
Andre Villas-Boas’ men had to play the entire extra-time period with just 10 men after Jan Vertonghen had seen red at the end of normal time, but they managed to hold out, only for Huddlestone and then Adebayor, courtesy of a horrendous effort, to miss in the penalty shoot-out and allow Basel to progress to the last four. A tough way to go out of the tournament indeed.
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Photos: PA