Tottenham vs Eintracht Frankfurt LIVE: Pedro Porro cancels out Hugo Ekitike opener in entertaining Europa League draw
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt: Hosts rue missed chances but showed fight and spirit that has been missing
Tottenham drew 1-1 with Eintracht Frankfurt in an entertaining, chaotic first leg of their Europa League quarter-final clash on Thursday evening.
It was a sloppy start by Spurs as Frankfurt turned the ball over in midfield and star striker Ekitike sprinted away to slot in a beautiful finish by Vicario in just the sixth minute.
But Pedro Porro scored a brilliant equaliser from a James Maddison cutback, flicking in an inventive backheel just before the half-hour mark.
Visiting keeper Kaua Santos was the hero of the night, making multiple saves in the second half, with the Bundesliga side clinging on for a draw despite waves of Spurs pressure late on, while Frankfurt continued to threaten on the break in a frantic, end-to-end encounter.
With pressure mounting on manager Ange Postecoglou and Spurs enduring a difficult season in the Premier League, where they sit 14th with just seven matches left to play, the Europa League represents their last chance of silverware and although they will feel unlucky to be level going into the second leg in Germany next week, they will still feel a semi-final spot is within their grasp.
Follow all the Europa League action with our live blog below:
Fans 'outstanding' - Postecoglou
We’ll give Ange Postecoglou the final word.
Asked about whether the belief is still there, after this promising performance, that a trophy is still possible, he says: “We’ve never lost our belief. We’re in there with a chance, we’re fighting.
“I thought the fans were outstanding tonight, they helped the group, and hopefully we can repay them next week.”
All square in north London
And all to play for next week.
What next?
Tottenham head to Germany for the second leg of this finely poised tie next Thursday, 17 April.
Whoever wins will face the winner of Bodo/Glimt vs Lazio in the semi-finals, with the Norwegian side 2-0 up after the first leg of that tie earlier today.
Kulusevski a possibility to play in second leg, Postecoglou says
“I thought Destiny [Udogie] was outsanding in terms of his running capacity. That’s the ability we have to kind of over-run teams, and that’s what we’re going to have to do in the second leg. I thought the guys that came on gave us some energy.
“The second leg’s going to be tight for sure, we’re going to need all the lads ready to go, and the good thing is we’ve got most of them back.”
He adds that Dejan Kulusevski is “touch and go” for the second leg. The Swede and Kevin Danso are due to return to team training by early next week.
“I don’t think they’re a possibility to start but Kulusevski’s a chance to be involved,” he adds.
'On any other night you’d go away with a comfortable victory'
“I had a feeling they’d play fairly conservatively,” Postecoglou continues. “Conceding so early played into their hands, I always felt that we’d finish strongly. We created so many chances in the second half, we hit the crossbar three times, I think.
“On any other night you’d go away with a comfortable victory. If we can repeat that performance I definitely think we’re giving ourselves a chance.
“Players know what’s at stake and everything has a little bit of an edge on it. I think it’ll be a cagey affair, it’ll come down to moments. If we repeat those moments next week one of those will fall to us and we’ll get what we need.”
Postecoglou: 'Disappointing to concede the way we did'
Ange Postecoglou has a chat with TNT Sports. He says: “I can’t ask anymore of the lads. It was disappointing obviously to concede the way we did. Even before that I thought we were well in control of the game, we didn’t create a lot in the first half but I thought we were making them work awfully hard which would bear fruit for us in the second. It did in every aspect but the goals.”
On the equaliser: “It was the kind of thing we’d worked on, getting people across the front of their defence. Dom’s done awfully well to hold it up, Madders is really good in the box in these situations, we’ve got Brennan at the far post, we’ve got guys in those areas all the time. It’s a great finish.”
Tottenham held by Eintracht Frankfurt but demonstrated a quality that could yet save their season
Tottenham Hotspur may not have the lead in this Europa League quarter-final, but they do have a sense of life. They were much the better team against an awkward but uninspired Eintracht Frankfurt, in a 1-1 home draw that could have gone much worse.
Ange Postecoglou can tell his players they have the winning of this tie even in Frankfurt. He himself might say that would make a difference from the rest of the talk around Spurs of late. There’s a bit of hope, and spirit. They’re alive in a competition that can yet save the manager’s job and the season, when the campaign has seemed moribund.
Tottenham held by Eintracht but demonstrated quality that could save their season
Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
That was a frenetic, end-to-end game. Spurs will feel unlucky to come away with a draw, with Johnson missing a late chance to put them ahead and Santos making several crucial saves.
In the end it was two first-half goals that decided the game, with Ekitike’s lovely sixth-minute strike cancelled out by Pedro Porro’s backheel 20 minutes later. Still, a much brighter performance by the hosts than they’ve shown recently.
FULL-TIME: Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
All square at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium!
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