EUROPA CONFERENCE LEAGUE GROUP G
(Matchday Three)
THURSDAY 21ST OCTOBER, 2021
(5.45pm BST)
VITESSE ARNHEM 1(0) TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR 0(0)
Scorer:-
Wittek, 78
Attendance:- 23,931
Referee:- Harm Osmers
Assistants:- Marco Achmüller & Robert Kempter
Fourth official:- Robert Schröder
(All officials from Germany)
Teams:-
Vitesse (3-4-3):- Schubert; Doekhi(Capt.), Bazoer, Rasmussen; Dasa, Bero, Tronstad, Wittek (sub Hajek, 87); Frederiksen (sub Buitink, 85), Darfalou, Openda (sub Oroz, 90+1)
Subs not used:- Houwen, Van Haveren (GKs); Cornelisse; Gboho, Domgjoni, Vroegh, Huisman; Vonmoos, Yapi
Booked:- Bero (foul on Scarlett), Wittek (foul on Markanday), Buitink (kicked ball away after free kick award)
Spurs (4-2-3-1):- Gollini; Tanganga, Sanchez, Rodon, Davies (Capt.); Winks, Lo Celso; Gil, Dele, Bergwijn; Scarlett (sub Markanday, 75)
Subs not used:- Austin (GK); Fagan-Walcott, Cesay, Lyons-Foster, White; John, Clarke, Matthew Craig, Michael Craig
Booked:- Bergwijn (preventing free kick), Sanchez (foul on Openda), Scarlett (foul on Schubert), Winks (Dissent)
Nuno’s B-Team proves to be second best
When the match commentator mentioned that in 6 previous European meetings with English clubs Vitesse had failed to even score, you knew they would break their duck today. So it proved, as Nuno’s B-Team very much proved itself to be second best and second rate. A number of questions arise from this result:-
1. Do Spurs really care about this competition?
2. Did Nuno grossly under-estimate his task in this game?
3. Does his decision to leave Sunday’s first eleven at home in preparation for West Ham leave the players who started tonight with psychological damage in the sense they know they are the second choice for Premier League games?
The evidence certainly supports the idea that none of tonight’s team did enough to prove themselves worthy of selection over those at home. Vitesse had their biggest crowd in ten years tonight and the atmosphere they created and maintained throughout the game was white hot. Either the pitch was heavy, or Spurs were just not fit or fast enough to offer decent opposition. There were too many failures in vital areas; too many poor touches, passes and final balls. The fact that Bryan Gil hit the bar early in the second half does not hie a poor performance. Vitesse wanted it so much more and deserved their win and the climb above Spurs into second place in Group G. Those Spurs fans who travelled (I didn’t) were let down badly.
Vitesse kicked off, and Spurs were nearly caught out trying to play out from the back with Rodon giving the ball away, but Spurs recovered from that faux pas. It was not the last. Openda lifted a ball forward towards Frederiksen, but Gollini raced out to reach the ball first. Spurs seemed to settle down and Rodon gained confidence, but that feeling did not last. Bergwijn tried to put Scarlett through, but his pass was over-hit and ran to the goalkeeper, who was not tested much all night, with Spurs hitting only one shot on target.
After a corner for Vitesse right wing-back Dasa hit a shot which took a deflection for a second corner. Dasa was one of several players who were a danger all night. I suspect this was, after all, the Vitesse first team. Vitesse claimed a penalty when Wittek went down under Gil’s challenge, but the Spurs man had got the ball first. Bero was then booked for stopping Dane Scarlett’s attempt to break out. Vitesse were offering plenty of physicality and referee Harm Osmers was not stopping them much, although Spurs did win several free kicks much to the disdain of the partisan home crowd.
After a Vitesse throw on the right a weak shot by Openda was easy for Gollini. We struggled again to play out (Vitesse have been watching us. Have we been watching them?) and Gollini started to hit more long balls. Spurs made a decent break down the left channel with Bergwijn feeding Dele inside him. Dele, in turn passed to Lo Celso, but his final attempt at a p[ass for Scarlett failed. Spurs might have found the pitch heavy, but of course it was the same for both teams.
Wittek won a corner with a deflected shot and took the kick himself from the right. Rasmussen’s header passed all the way across the Spurs goal, with Gollini flailing and not reaching the ball. Frederiksen headed wide after a cross by Dasa. Spurs had a free kick 22 yards out after 25 minutes, following a foul on Gil by Bero. Lo Celso floated the kick beyond the back post and Spurs won their first corner. Nothing came of that, but Gil was subsequently fouled out on the right wing. Lo Celso took the kick and Gil hit the ball at team-mates with the ball looping to the keeper. Vitesse got forward quickly, and the Spurs defence was looking shaky again, looking second fastest and leaving too much space. After another attack, Harry Winks lost the ball and Wittek had an opening but fired well over.
After a foul on Ben Davies out on the left wing, Lo Celso’s kick led to a header by Sanchez, cleared as far as Gil who fired over. Towards the end of the first half there was a good combination by Bergwijn, Lo Celso and Davies, but that broke down without a meaningful shot. Bergwijn had shown skill inside the box, displaying good close control.
Spurs kicked off the second half, but of course played backwards. They had a good start though with Lo Celso turning near the halfway line and racing forward before passing to Gil, whose left foot shot had Schubert beaten, but the ball rebounded off the bar. Winks made a good pass forward for Scarlett, but the Vitesse defence cleared. Scarlett got forward into the box on the right soon after and won a corner. There was some intricate play by Spurs after a short corner, and Scarlett went down in the box when he was very strongly tugged back by his shirt. The referee found a free kick to the home side somewhere. Davies fed the ball forward to Bergwijn who tried a deep cross/shot, but that passed wide of the far post.
After 55 minutes Lo Celso put Bergwijn clear, but Bergwijn failed dismally with a pass inside when he should have taken a shot on goal. Both these players failed to make the most of a loose ball in the Vitesse half after a defensive error. More pressure by the home side came to nought and Ben Davies made an important and successful tackle near the edge of his area.
There was space for Dasa whose right foot shot had Gollini worried, but the ball passed outside his left post. The Spurs keeper then had to make a decent save, low to his right from another Dasa shot. Spurs were again coming under pressure. Scarlett was in the clear after a ball forward but was deemed to have fouled the keeper. He got a card for his trouble too and was soon replaced by 20-year-old Dilan Markanday who was making his senior debut for Spurs. Dilan has scored 6 goals for the U-23s this season, and he had a quite impressive cameo tonight.
Davies showed good effort when his cross came straight back towards him, and he dived forward to head the ball back into the danger zone. Dele advanced towards the Vitesse area and had potential passes but chose to shoot. Schubert picked up an easy ball after it had taken a heavy deflection. Sad to say, but Dele was not getting involved enough and looked a shade of his former self.
Wittek’s goal came after the yellow and black shirted home team was afforded too much space around the area. Dasa lifted a cross from the right and with Winks and Gil slow to cover Wittek’s left foot shot beat Gollini low to his left.
Spurs were getting frustrated at decisions not going their way. Winks was booked for dissent, and was subsequently the victim of Bazoer’s foul, but got nothing for that either. Wittek was booked for a foul on Markanday who had left him standing with a clever turn, control, and speed.
The Vitesse coach Thomas Letsch introduced his subs, two of which were defenders for attacking players, and Spurs failed to penetrate. Lo Celso hit a cross/shot straight at the keeper after taking a pass from Gil, and in the last minute of added time the Argentinean hit another cross/shot which passed wide.
We thought the battle in this group was going to be between Spurs and Rennes for top place and a route straight to the Round of 16. Now we are third and I suspect our remaining games are “must-wins” if we are to win the group, or even to qualify perhaps.
West Ham comfortably won their Europa League game, and they are comfortably top of their group. They’ve also been able to rest a few players. Spurs have a tough task on Sunday and that first team had better get a result to help us forget tonight’s defeat.
Europa Conference League Group G
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Rennes 3 2 1 0 6-4 2 7
2. Vitesse 3 2 0 1 4-2 2 6
3. Spurs 3 1 1 1 7-4 3 4
4. NS Mura 3 0 0 3 2-9 -7 0
