'Stuck for two and a half hours' - Qarabag's Tottenham nightmare

As European nights go, Qarabag's could not person turned retired overmuch worse.

The squad from Azerbaijan suffered postulation chaos, a shocking punishment miss and a big of spurned chances arsenic 10-man Tottenham survived countless scares to unfastened their Europa League run pinch victory.

Despite staying a short region distant successful Stratford, Qarabag were affected by obstruction and roadworthy closures, and arrived astatine Tottenham Hotspur Stadium astatine 19:45 - conscionable 15 minutes earlier nan planned kick-off - forcing a delayed commencement until 20:30.

Uefa regulations inquire for teams to get astatine slightest 75 minutes anterior to kick-off, pinch offenders facing imaginable punishment.

The London Overground, which is nan superior way to nan stadium from different parts of London, was besides down, forcing thousands of supporters to locomotion from arsenic acold arsenic Liverpool Street station, 2 hours away.

They weren't nan only ones caught out, pinch TNT pundits Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle having to locomotion nan last spot of nan journey.

Gurban Gurbanov, who manages nan visiting Azeri side, complained "these things shouldn't happen" aft struggling to scope nan stadium from their edifice successful Stratford.

When asked why his broadside arrived truthful late, Gurbanov said: "Imagine being caught successful postulation for much than 2 and a half hours. I cannot conscionable make excuses for this; it shouldn’t person happened and location were nary constabulary to escort us.

"It had a large effect connected our footballers, but it doesn't return distant from our opponent. They are a bully squad and we don't move a unsighted oculus to that.

"As soon arsenic we arrived, we were told to commencement successful 40 minutes and we were not arsenic fresh aliases prepared arsenic we should person been. These things shouldn’t happen."

The evening could person been very different, though, aft Spurs defender Radu Dragusin received a reddish paper conscionable 8 minutes in.

Still, Spurs yet rallied to gain a triumph pinch 10 men arsenic Brennan Johnson, Pape Matar Sarr and Dominic Solanke secured triumph - but nan visitors will beryllium wondering really they didn't people connected a chaotic nighttime connected nan pitch.

Their 14 shots - compared to Tottenham's 10 - included missed sitters and a horribly skied punishment arsenic they were incapable to return advantage of immoderate sloppy Tottenham defending.

Spurs leader Ange Postecoglou blamed his side's sloppy commencement connected nan delayed kick-off.

"It was conscionable not a awesome commencement for us," he said. "We were really passive pinch our passing. Whether it was nan hold to nan crippled aliases whatever, but it's nary excuse.

"So having a 35-minute delay, delays warm-ups, delays each sorts of things but you've conscionable sewage to woody pinch it and we've sewage to woody pinch it amended than what we did tonight.

"We benignant of changeable ourselves successful nan ft and unluckily Radu [Dragusin] paid nan eventual value for it. But arsenic a team, we conscionable didn't commencement nan crippled successful nan measurement we wanted to and nan measurement we needed to and made nan crippled challenging for us.

"The consequence was great, absolutely, but disappointed we had to beryllium successful that position."

Spurs leader Postecoglou was near pinch immoderate precocious concerns aft Son Heung-min limped disconnected successful nan 71st minute, and Archie Gray appeared to beryllium successful symptom precocious on.

Johnson was besides withdrawn astatine half-time aft he continued his rich | vein of form, but nan Australian played down concerns astir nan Wales international's fitness.

"I haven't said to him. He said he felt a spot tired, but I haven't spoken to him aliases nan aesculapian squad yet," Postecoglou said of Son.

"Yeah Brennan's fine. It was conscionable tactical. I thought we would request Deki Kulusevski because nan measurement nan crippled is going, Deki is simply a for illustration a hybrid midfielder and tin besides break retired connected that correct wing. It was conscionable a tactical switch, but Brennan is fine."