Vitesse vs Tottenham LIVE: Europa Conference League result, final score and reaction tonight
Maximilian Wittek’s 78th-minute strike was enough to secure the points and leave Spurs in real bother sat in third in Group G
Tottenham’s decision to leave their big guns at home saw them lose 1-0 to Vitesse Arnhem in Group G of Europa Conference League.
The likes of Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Cristiano Romero and Hugo Lloris did not travel to Holland with Sunday’s clash at West Ham in mind and a second string were undone by Maximilian Wittek’s 78th-minute strike.
The side Nuno Espirito Santo picked still had nine international players, but they were never really in the game and Bryan Gil’s shot that hit the crossbar early in the second half was their only moment of note.
Last time Tottenham played in Holland they enjoyed one of the most famous nights in their history as Lucas Moura’s hat-trick against Ajax sent them through to the Champions League final.
This time the Johan Cruijff ArenA was nothing but a stop on the trainline between Amsterdam and Arnhem and that Moura miracle must seem a long time ago as Spurs now compete in the third tier of European football.
Nuno has shown the competition respect so far, but made it clear where his priorities lay, leaving the entire XI that played 90 minutes at Newcastle last weekend at home to train ahead of Sunday’s Premier League visit to the Hammers.
With the return fixture in a fortnight and then a trip to the weakest team in the competition NS Mura to come, the Portuguese decided that leaving his big guns back in London for this game was a risk worth taking.
It was a gamble because this was a big night for Vitesse, who sold out their GelreDome stadium for the first time in seven years.
Before kick-off their partisan fans held up a banner reading “For the city, the colours and our club: This is our night” and, fresh from a derby win over NEC Nijmegen at the weekend, they started with intent.
Nikolai Baden Frederiksen forced Pierluigi Gollini into a save with his feet after being played in in the third minute and then Jacob Rasmussen flashed a header just wide from a corner.
Unsurprisingly given the amount of changes, Spurs were not up to much in an attacking sense in the first half, with teenage striker Dane Scarlett up against it in a lone role in attack.
They immediately showed more after the break and were within inches of taking the lead in the 47th minute.
Giovani Lo Celso showed why he is becoming a key player for Argentina as he went on an enterprising dribble before laying it off for Gil, whose first-time shot rattled the crossbar.
That was as good as it got for Spurs who were pinned further and further back as the second half wore on, with Eli Dasa twice going close with efforts from distance, the second effort bringing a smart stop out of Gollini.
It was no surprise when the goal came 12 minutes from time as Wittek brilliantly volleyed home Dasa’s cross from the edge of the area to send the home crowd wild.
Group G standings
That defeat drops Spurs down to third in Group G after Rennes defeated Mura 2-1. The French side are first with seven points, Vitesse have six and Tottenham three.
There’s still three games to go in the group stages so Spurs have time to pull it back but they’ll need to play a whole lot better than they did tonight.
Full-time: Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
90+4 mins: There goes the final whistle. Vitesse beat Tottenham in the Europa Conference League. The Vitesse fans go wild in the GelreDome. This is the first time this team has beaten an English opponent.
Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
90+2 mins: Dele Alli flicks a ball into the area for Markanday but Schubert gets to the ball first, grabs hold and falls on top of it. He ekes out a few vital seconds for Vitesse as they look to hold on to this lead.
Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
90 mins: Four minutes of added time to play. It’s not going to be enough for Tottenham. They could play an extra 45 minutes and I don’t think they’d score an equaliser. It’s been a poor performance from Nuno’s men this evening.
Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
87 mins: Vitesse’s hero Maximilian Wittek gets a standing ovation as he’s replaced with Tomas Hajek. Wittek has four goals in European competition this season and has probably given the Dutch side a vital three points.
Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
84 mins: Vitesse break on the counter-attack with Frederiksen bringing the ball through the middle. Openda and Darfalou give him options to the left and right but Frederiksen goes it alone and belts a shot from range well over the crossbar.
Bazoer and Winks get into a bit of argy bargy off the ball and the referee has to come over to put a stop to it.
Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham
81 mins: That goal could be crucial. Vitesse weathered a flurry from Tottenham at the beginning of this half but have grown in confidence since. Of the two teams they’ve been the one that has looked more likely to score. Their fans are cheering and singing very loudly now. They believe their team is going to win this one.
GOAL! Vitesse 1 - 0 Tottenham (Wittek, 78’)⚽️
78 mins: Finally! The deadlock is broken! Wittek sends the ball up to Openda and continues his run into the box. Openda flicks it over to the right wing where Dasa makes a forward run. He brings the ball under control before chipping it to the front edge of the box where Wittek has drifted into space. He hits the dropping ball on the volley and smokes it wonderfully into the near bottom corner to give Vitesse the lead!
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
77 mins: Nuno Espirito Santo takes no chances on Dane Scarlett and replaces him with 20-year-old Dilan Markanday.
Vitesse 0 - 0 Tottenham
75 mins: Yellow card for Scarlett! A long ball comes up to the striker who knocks it past Bazoer. He turns quickly and chases after the ball as Schubert comes flying out of his box. The Vitesse goalkeeper gets to the ball as Scarlett dives into a challenge. Schubert jumps over the striker’s legs and theatrically throws himself to ground convincing the referee to pull out a card.
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