Key events
GOAL! Spurs win the ball back high up, Solanke slips a pass through to Johnson who finds the bottom corner.
GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Qarabag (Johnson, 12)
Three in three for the winger.
12 mins: Will Qarabag be more proactive in their attacking play or accept there will be greater space to exploit on the break. They are certainly putting in the hard yards in when it comes to pressing.
Udogie replaces Bergvall. Such a shame for the teenager but needs must. Silly Dragusin.
10 mins: Udogie is already being prepared to come on. Sacrifice Gray?
RED CARD! Dragusin
8 mins: Juninho hunts down Dragusin on the halfway line, nicks the ball away from him and is through on goal until the Romanian pulls him down. What a useless bit of defending and thinking. Postecoglou shakes his head.
6 mins: Qarabag will very much be playing on the break. Juninho does not look afraid of going up against the Spurs back four when the opportunity arises.
4 mins: Spurs are dominating possession and Qarabag have all 11 men in their own defensive third. This could be a long night of trying to find an opening for Spurs.
2 mins: Spurs have lower case letters for the names on their shirts. I think this should be banned.
Not much has happened in footballing terms.
Kick off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we (finally) go!
No one needs the Europa League anthem at this point. Just start the match, please.
The players are finally on the pitch. I am weeping with joy.
The referee has made the Qarabag captain sort his socks out. This is going to delay the kick-off more. Come on now, lads. The players are still in the tunnel.
They’ve turned the lights out at Tottenham. After the delay, I am now concerned they will fuse the lights.
We are getting somewhat closer to kick-off. Has the delay built up the tension? Not really.
Taha Hashim has some actual football to write about.
The teams are out to warm up. How exciting.
“Enjoy the game, Will. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Bahlul Mustafazade gets on up against Dominic Solanke. Elvin Cafarquliyev has also been brilliant every time I’ve seen him. Regards, Mr Peters, Karabakh.”
Christoph emails: “The 2004/05 Bundesliga opener was set to happen with an 8pm kickoff in Bremen. Minutes before the game was supposed to start, an electrical failure nearby caused all the technical stuff in the stadium to be unavailable (though curiously the floodlights still worked). And just when the delayed kickoff was set to happen at 21.16pm, three out of the four iconic floodlight masts went out, causing further delay. The game ultimately started at 21.36pm, and Nelson Valdez’ 83rd minute winner will likely be the latest Bundesliga goal ever scored.
“The Weserstadion has some history with electrical issues, too: I remember attending a Germany v Scotland friendly in 1999 in which the lights went out during the half-time break, delaying the restart considerably. Much to the chagrin of attending fans it got fixed, meaning a lot of people had to sit through even more dreadful football than they already did. And to add insult to injury Scotland won 1-0.
“Enjoying your minute by minutes,
“Christoph”
Content is king.
“Assuming you will be paid for the late kick-off, the game running on much longer than planned?” asks Mr Harris.
I’ve already phoned the union.
Qarabag needed to walk the final stretch to reach the ground too. What a day for their players.
Kick-off confirmed for 8.35pm
We have start time
Hoddle and Crouch are talking about the greatest ever Spurs player. Hoddle backs Jimmy Greaves, adding that Son is in his top six or seven.
Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle had to walk the last leg of their journey due to the problems on the surrounding streets.
Qarabag arrive
QARABAG IN DA HOUSE!
I was at the Erik ten Hag press conference (more about that on Sunday). Jamie Jackson was there for more immediate reportage.
Might need to drag this out … ermmmmm … what’s your favourite ever postponed kick-off?
Brennan Johnson: “I am really excited, it is something all the players have been looking forward to.
“It is just about getting in the right position, if I do that I will get the opportunity to score.
“It is a really good opportunity to win a trophy, we have a great squad.”
We will not know the kick-off time until they arrive. Pint?
Qarabag are yet to arrive at the stadium …
Kick-off delayed
BAD NEWS! The kick-off is being delayed due to travel disruption in the vicinity of the stadium.
Ange Postecoglou: “It is exciting to be back in Europe. Not being in Europe, you miss it. The players are excited and want to create a legacy.
“Whenever you play continental opposition, it is always a different task to normal. It helps the team evolve.
“It is going to be a great experience for the young lads starting to night, I am sure they will learn a great deal.
“Not winning things become a millstone around the neck and to get rid of it, you need to win things.”
Will there be any dark arts in north London tonight?
Pre-match reading.
Starting lineups
Tottenham (4-3-3): Vicario; Gray, Dragusin, Van de Ven, Davies; Bissouma, Sarr, Bergvall; Johnson, Solanke, Son
Subs: Forster, Austin, Pedro Porro, Udogie, Bentancur, Maddison, Kulusevski, Moore, Werner, Lankshear
Qarabag: Kochalski, Silva, Julio Romeo, Benzia, Zoubir, Muatafazade, Juninho, T. Bayramov, Jafarguliyev, V Huseynov, Andrade
Subs: Mammadzada, Buntic, Jankovic, Addai, Leandro Andrade, Almeida, Kashchuk, Gurbanli, Isaev, A Huseynov, Akhundzade
Preamble
Welcome to the start of a new Spurs European campaign. Where will it lead? Nobody knows. What is evident is the fact it starts tonight against Qarabag! Will Ange Postecoglou rota? Almost certainly. Will Spurs win? Almost certainly.
A much-needed victory over Brentford at the weekend is being billed as the kickstart Spurs’ season needed, so they will want to use tonight as a momentum-builder.
What we want, however, is a bit of a shock and some fun. The Azerbaijanis find themselves in Europe’s second tier after losing to Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League playoff 5-0 in aggregate, which indicates their level.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
