Tottenham fend off KF Shkendija to advance in Europa League

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:14 am

Tottenham players celebrate after an Erik Lamela goal against Shkendija in the Europa League.
Tottenham players celebrate after an Erik Lamela goal against Shkendija in the Europa League.
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Tottenham Hotspur are one game away from the Europa League group stage after beating KF Shkendija 3-1 in the third qualifying round in Macedonia on Thursday night.

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New Tottenham arrival Joe Hart got the start in goal in place of Hugo Lloris and the visitors found themselves in front on five minutes when Son Heung-min set up Erik Lamela for the goal and a 1-0 lead.

Spurs took their lead into half-time, but Shkendija found themselves back on level terms 10 minutes after the restart as Valjmir Nafiu fired an unstoppable shot past Hart for the equaliser.

Soon after the hosts' goal, Jose Mourinho brought on Harry Kane for Dele Alli and Giovanni Lo Celso for Harry Winks to try to regain the upper hand in the match.

Lucas Moura was also brought on and the move paid off when his shot was parried away by Shkendija keeper Kostadin Zahov into the path of Son, who made no mistake with his effort.

Kane then added a third in the 79th minute to seal the win for Tottenham, who advance to the Europa League playoff round, where they will face Israeli club Maccabi Haifa with a spot in the group stage on the line for the winner.