NŠ Mura 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
By Matthew Foley.
Image: (REUTERS)
This week's UEFA Europa Conference League game of the week was without a doubt Tottenham Hotspur’s shock loss to Slovenian side NŠ Mura.
This group stage match-up had everything a neutral could wish for. Action, controversy, a last minute winner and a victory for the underdog.
In what was only Antonio Conte’s fourth game in charge of Spurs, the shock defeat means he has a lot of work to do in order to improve his side and save their hopes of European silverware this season. The former Italy boss slammed his team after the loss, saying “It is not simple at this moment because for sure the level of Tottenham is not so high.”
The game could not have started better for Mura who managed to fit the back of the net after just 10 minutes. Tomi Horvat rifled his shot into the back of the net after cutting in from the right hand side.
Tottenham did not manage a single shot on target for the duration of the first half, Bryan Gil’s wayward shot being their best opportunity. Things got even worse for the London club as Ryan Sessegnon was shown a second yellow after a lazy tackle on Mura right-back Žiga Kous.
It took until the likes of Son Heung-Min and Lucas Moura coming on off the bench for Tottenham to propose a threat to Mura. Conte’s substitutes added some extra pressure to the Mura defence and it eventually paid off as the game entered the final 20 minutes.
Moura picked up possession deep in the opposition's half and slid a delightful pass through to Harry Kane who then chipped the ball over the onrushing Mura goalkeeper Matko
Obradović.
Despite being a man down, Spurs continued to push for a winner, but strong goalkeeping and an organised Mura defence meant Conte’s men failed to find the back of the net for a second time.
Tottenham’s lack of composure at one end of the pitch cost them at the other as Mura stole possession with seconds left in the game and substitute Amadej Maroša’s shot deflected off Davidson Sanchez and into the back of the Spurs net.
Image: (REUTERS)
A historic result for Mura and their fans in Maribor whose joy radiated the stadium at full time. Their manager Ante Šimundža simply described it as “phenomenal.”
The loss leaves Spurs in second place, but failure to win against group winners Rennes could mean Antonio Conte’s team falling at the first hurdle in the inaugural season of the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Group G Table going into the final match day:
Group G | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | GD | Points |
Rennes | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 11 |
Tottenham | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 |
Vitesse | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 7 |
Mura | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | -7 | 3 |
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