All of which means that Besiktas win the group and Tottenham go through in second. And that’s all from me. You can follow Everton’s match here. Hopefully the Goodison Park floodlights last the distance. Bye!
Full-time: Besiktas 1-0 Tottenham
I did not see the final three minutes but I assume they were epic.
This never happened under Christian Gross. Or Jacques Santini. Or, lest we forget, Tim Sherwood.
These could be the greatest ever three minutes of injury time. So it could all be worth it.
“As a 35+ year Spurs fan and thinking about our recent performances (Everton excluded) I reckon we should always play in the dark,” parps Conrad Hart. “Definitely doesn’t hurt as much as watching in normal well-lit conditions.”
Apparently the players are back but ITV4 have switched to the Everton game.
“Hang on, you can still see the advertising boards?” says Kate Lyons. “For the second consecutive Europa match, Spurs’ play is interrupted and sponsors stand out? I smell a very vague conspiracy theory which I can attempt to make fact...”
I mean, humanity does deserve to be crushed by our robot overlords if we can’t even get some floodlights to work properly.
Perhaps Europa League Group C will never end. Perhaps it will go on for ever and ever and ever; even when the robots have taken over and humanity has been crushed, squashed, the only thing that will be left over will be this match between Besiktas and Tottenham.
Updated
The electric advertising boards around the pitch are still on but the floodlights are out. This is ludicrous. They’ll probably decide to have extra-time. What a business.
THE LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT AGAIN!
90 min: There will be three minutes of stoppage time. But wait! The lights have gone out again and play has to be suspended again! This is a farce. Maybe they should replay the game.
Updated
88 min: Lamela’s pass, intended for Lennon, drifts out for a goal-kick. Time is running out for Tottenham.
85 min: Ismail Loybasu replaces Gokhan Tore. Necip hasn’t gone offf yet. “So Necip was whacked by his own teammate there - no sign of Lamela even getting his foot into that scrimmage,” says John Willoug.
Updated
83 min: Necip hobbles off the pitch. He’s wincing a bit. I doubt he’ll continue.
82 min: Necip is down after taking a whack to the leg. The medical staff are on.
80 min: Tottenham need to up the pace. They’re quite laboured when they go forward.
77 min: Tore goes on a jig through a cluster of Tottenham defenders on the right but his shot is blocked. But Besiktas continue to turn the screw. A cross from the left threatens to cause problems for Chiriches but he just about manages to get it behind for a corner in unorthodox style.
76 min: Capoue comes on for Kyle Walker.
75 min: Lamela tries to release Chadli through the middle but the pass is overhit. Etienne Capoue will be on soon. The Europa League is so useful, it allows you to remind yourself of every player in the Tottenham squad, even the ones you’d completely forgotten about.
74 min: Besiktas are a threat on the break. Tore feeds Sosa on the right and he brilliantly beats Chiriches inside the area, only to swipe his shot over the bar when he should have at least worked Vorm.
72 min: Tottenham are camped inside the Besiktas half now but Besiktas are defending well in numbers.
69 min: Tottenham make two changes, Erik Lamela replacing Roberto Soldado and Aaron Lennon on for Paulinho.
Updated
68 min: Now Frei wastes a glorious chance to finish Tottenham off! Tottenham’s defence was prised open by a wonderful flick from Sahan that sent Frei clear but he clipped his shot past the left post with only Vorm to beat! He holds his head in his hands and well he might!
67 min: Besiktas break when a Tottenham attack collapses. Former Fulham legend Kerim Frei is found in space on the left but he’s too selfish when he had team-mates well-placed to his left and right, trying to score without success from 20 yards. They look at Frei imploringly.
65 min: This is a good response from Tottenham and now it’s Besiktas’s turn to look a little rattled as the visitors pile on the pressure. A loose ball falls to Rose 20 yards from goal and his well-struck effort is decent enough but too close to Vengin.
64 min: Tottenham, seeking an equaliser, go direct, the ball pumped long to Chadli. He knocks it down to the edge of the area for Soldado, arriving late, but his shot is deflected wide. From the corner, Chadli heads on at the near post and Soldado’s snapshot from six yards out is deflected wide again. He looks despairingly at his team-mates. It just won’t run for the Spaniard.
62 min: Having done very little for the majority of the first hour, Besiktas have their tails up now and Tottenham are rocking. “Slaven Bilic looks like a character from a Dostoevsky novel in that half-time photo,” says Justin Kavanagh. “Tonight’s match is the House of the Dead (Rubber), I suppose.”
61 min: That goal means that Besiktas will win the group, unless Tottenham can score an equaliser.
GOAL! Besiktas 1-0 Tottenham (Cenk, 60 min)
Besiktas had just been showing signs of life in the past couple of minutes and Tottenham were not alive to the danger. They kept giving the ball away in their half and when it was played over the top, Sahan popped up to the left of the six-yard box and tapped it across goal to Cenk, who slammed it high into the net from close range! But where were the Tottenham defenders?
Updated
59 min: Besiktas hit the bar! Everyone wakes up! Kaboul’s slack header falls to Cenk and he chests it down before lashing a magnificent rising shot against the bar from 25 yards! But wait ...
55 min: Well this is better, Tottenham’s thrust provided by their full-backs. First Rose spanks a low cross into the six-yard box, forcing Zengin to push it aside, then Walker bursts past a defender on the left and flashes in a cross that has to be headed behind. Walker has done well on his return from injury.
Updated
53 min: “If we’re going down the meteorological route, readers might be interested to know that it’s raining right now in San Francisco,” says Alan Sheppard. “2-4 inches of rain expected in 48 hours which I’m told is a lot. All hell is breaking loose here in the local media - it’s like snow in the UK but with more panic and bad driving.”
That is interesting. I’d be delighted to hear more about the weather in places where I am not, because nothing is happening on the pitch.
52 min: “Just dropping in for the second half, may as well get used to this Europa League malarky (cheers, Brendan),” says Matt Dony. “First impression is that the ref looks like some Roberto Soldado/Stephen Ireland mash-up.”
On that note, Liverpool are going to beat Everton 2-1 in the final, the on-loan Andy Carroll scoring the winner in the last minute.
51 min: Rose drives down the left and then drives a cross into the Besiktas area. It’s deflected behind for a corner. Paulinho takes it. It’s headed away at the near post, back to Paulinho, whose subsequent cross is sent straight to the keeper.
48 min: Townsend falls over and loses the ball on the right. “This match should be encapsulated into a pill,” says Joseph Amaral. “In tablet form, this match would serve as a non hypnotic sleep aid. You’d forget about it by morning. I’m from California but watching this sad display of sport is enough to consider hari-kari.”
46 min: Besiktas have brought on Antic Nukan, who’s six foot six, for Ersan Gulum. That should liven things up! “I’ve not been watching the game, being at work and all, but I did see you sounding lonely and bereft of emails,” says Ivan Victor. “Did you know it’s going to rain heavily here in Los Angeles tomorrow? I thought you should know.” I was in LA this time last year. Sigh.
Have you ever thought that Tottenham’s assistant manager, Jesus Perez, looks like Steve Carrell? Now you do.
@JacobSteinberg Congratulations on the promotion. How best to describe Spurs Assistant Manager Jesus Perez? http://t.co/Yy3E4OeNUS
— Ed Stern (@EdStern) December 11, 2014
Half-time: Besiktas 0-0 Tottenham
The best bit was when the lights went out, but Tottenham are 45 minutes away from finishing top of the group. “Tottenham don’t really do draws,” says Sam Matterface as the players walk off. They drew their last game, 0-0 against Crystal Palace.
Updated
42 min: “Spurs fan in central Massachusetts here - I’d just like to say that Chiriches looks pretty pacy on the occasions I’ve seen him - I’d like to suggest that any ‘implosions’ (min 7) aren’t likely to be of the dawdling kind…” says John Willoug. “Does that make any difference?” He is quick but he does like a dawdle on the ball and it doesn’t always look like he’s fully using his pace.
41 min: “That’s just banter, right?,” says Simon McMahon. “#bantz.” It will be banter.
39 min: Besiktas win a debatable corner on the right, the officials deciding between themselves that the ball had gone out of play off Rose, although none of them really seemed that sure. The corner does not result in a goal.
37 min: My first act will be to give Richard Keys a daily column on whatever takes his fancy.
36 min: I might as well let you know that I’ve been appointed the next editor of the Guardian.
35 min: Who remembers when everyone thought that Dembele was going to be the best midfielder in the Premier League? Ah, what fools we were, so young, so easily impressed. But now I’ll never trust anyone again.
Updated
34 min: Dembele’s shot from the edge of the area is easily saved by Zengin, who almost looks insulted that Dembele would look to beat him with such a weak attempt.
33 min: The Besiktas fans have been impressively loud given that there aren’t many of them present. I’m surprised they’re this up for it.
31 min: Tottenham respond with an attack down the right. Townsend cuts inside and resists the urge to shoot, slipping a deft reverse pass through to Soldado. He tries to turn it into the six-yard box to Paulinho but his cross is cleared, a little desperately if truth be told.
30 min: Space opens up in the Tottenham half as Benfica benefit from a lucky ricochet. The ball is worked out to Sahan, who has support to his left and right. He ignores all his team-mates and embarks on an unconvincing but surprisingly effective jaunt into the Tottenham area, despite never really looking like a professional footballer as he did so, more someone who was discovering how to walk for the very first time. He bundles through one challenge and realises that a shooting opportunity is there - but his effort goes high and wide.
27 min: The pitch is not good. There are a lot of divots.
25 min: “Evening Jacob,” says Simon McMahon. “Tottenham in the Europa League is the gift that keeps on giving. If they draw Liverpool in the next round it should be on Gold.” That’s a great idea, one that could only be improved if the players of Tottenham and Liverpool swapped roles with the full cast from Dad’s Army. Not sure if that’s possible but if someone could look into building a time machine, that would be great.
24 min: Another chance for Soldado. He’s played clear on goal on the right but takes too long to get his shot away and, from an angle, his shot is deflected behind for a corner by the covering Ersan. The corner comes to nothing. “You’re not alone!” says Michael Huston. “Michael in Chicago here. Quite enjoyed the power cut - thrilling stuff. Not sure about the rest of the game so far. Can’t see Townsend either but I suspect he’s there somewhere. At one point he’ll take a characteristic shot from the halfway line to announce his arrival.”
23 min: Chadli is caught offside. Tottenham look the likelier side. I’m going to leave that open. You know what I mean but it always pays to be safe with Tottenham. Essentially I mean they’re the likelier side to score but you can’t trust them. They could be likelier to score an own goal or give away a penalty or to fall down a well.
Updated
22 min: “I’m here,” announces JR in Illinois, although I could have just made this email up. “I wouldn’t miss a definitely not meaningless Europa League matchday six encounter. Here in the U.S. they switched us over to Qarabag-Inter while the lights were out. Never seen Qarabag before. Very exciting. Only thoughts so far is that both Chiriches and the Europa League Referee’s kits are really, really bad.”
21 min: Ersan is booked after being turned by Soldado and pulling him back 40 yards from goal. You get the feeling both sides aren’t completely at it tonight. They are not going full throttle. In fact, I’m not sure they’re even going throttle.
17 min: The team sheet is insisting that Andros Townsend is playing but I haven’t seen any evidence of this spurious claim on the pitch yet. “I have a vison of you and a demob happy Alan Rusbridger kicking back together watching this game, sharing a six-pack or two, and making banal and childish comments about the game, colleagues, etc,” says Colin Flint. “Am I close to the truth?” He’s just done a Jagerbomb.
16 min: A free-kick to Tottenham on the left. It’s hoicked to the far post, where Kaboul rises highest and nods it down into the six-yard box for Soldado, who’s totally unmarked. He should score but, well, how to frame this without kicking a man when’s down. Instead of making firm contact with the dropping ball, Soldado completely fluffs his effort, mishitting it and sending a lame shot straight at Zengin. Hmmm. That’s a poor miss.
Updated
15 min: Is anybody out there?
13 min: Dembele is robbed of the ball just outside the Tottenham area and Tore slides a pass through to Cenk. But he’s just offside. Up the other end, Soldado cleverly chests a high ball down into the path of Chadli, who advances towards the area before dribbling a low shot straight at Zengin.
Updated
10 min: From the low of conceding a corner a minute ago to the high of winning one a minute later for Chadli. In some ways, it’s a cheery metaphor for life, if you think about it carefully. Nothing is ever as bad as it seems. Paulinho curls the corner in from the left and it bounces right through the area and behind for a goal-kick, no Tottenham player able to get a telling touch as the Besiktas defender stood around gawping at the ball.
9 min: From there, Tottenham manage to concede a corner, the ball spooning off Chadli and behind. Sosa whips it to the near post and Cenk skips away from his marker but nods tamely at Vorm.
8 min: Play resumes after a 16-minute delay with a Besiktas throw on the left. How do they know that’s where they left it? The lights were out. Disgrace, Uefa just making it up as they go along and thinking that us plebs won’t notice, conspiracy, shambles, outrageous, sack them all. Not to worry, though, Tottenham soon have a thrown-in on their left. Justice! “Pitch invasions, blackouts,” says Lauren Gallagher. “Seems like the Europa league & Tottenham don’t go together. Great scenes from the fans though, looked like the Blackpool illuminations more than a football game.”
THANK YOU FOR HOLDING. WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE. THE PLAYERS ARE BACK.
PLEASE WAIT WHILE WE PUT YOU ON HOLD. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE.
That’s all from Sam and Clarke for now. It’s back to the ITV studio, where Matt Smith and chums will analyse the first eight minutes. This wouldn’t happen in the Champions League.
While we wait for the players to return, Sam Matterface and Clarke Carlisle are doing emergency patter. Let’s hope they don’t run out of things to talk about. You’ll know they’re teetering if one of them starts talking about their favourite flavour of crisps. “I’m going for zero goals, 4 pitch invasions, and Levy singing an aria from The Marriage of Figaro at full time,” says Kate Lyons. “If I’m right on all 3 counts Paddy Power are paying out big time.”
PLAY SUSPENDED
Someone call an electrician.
Updated
FARCE! THE LIGHTS HAVE GONE OUT!
8 min: Tottenham just can’t catch a break. Last time it was the pitch invasions at White Hart Lane, this time the lights have gone out in the Olympic Stadium and the players are walking off down the tunnel. For crying out loud. The supporters are lighting up the scene with their phones. What a lovely scene actually. It’s quite the spectacle.
7 min: Besiktas have done absolutely nothing so far. Perhaps they’re waiting for Chiriches to implode.
6 min: Iniesta Chadli dashes down the left, running on to a pass from Alba Rose and firing a cross into the area towards Messi Soldado. But the cross is too high.
5 min: Tottenham still have the ball. It’s just like watching Barcelona. Except Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets are Dembele, Chadli and Stambouli, and Messi is Soldado.
4 min: Now Tottenham look to take the sting out of the occasion with a spell of harmless possession. They stroke the ball around inoffensively for a while.
2 min: Chiriches hovers near the self-destruct button as he faffs around with the ball on the edge of the Tottenham area, ludicrously trying a piece of skill in an unwise position and handing the ball straight to Sosa when it hits a bobble. Luckily for Chirches, Sosa is crowded out before he can capitalise on the error. But what on earth was Chiriches playing at? Is it really necessary for him to be acting the buffoon already? No, it is not.
And we are off! It’s cold, it’s wet and it’s the Europa League and ... actually, it’s quite loud, despite the small number of fans inside the stadium. Besiktas, wearing white shirts and black shorts to Tottenham’s all-yellow number, get us going and they’re kicking from left to right in the first half.
Here come the teams, walking out to a muted atmosphere. That’s right, a muted atmosphere in Turkey. But that’s not a surprise. This match is being played in the Olympic Stadium, which is in the middle of nowhere, because Besiktas’s home stadium is being refurbished. There aren’t many fans present. They think it’s a dead rubber! But it’s not! Is it!
Besiktas were only expecting a 5000 crowd for this game. Might be 10000 here but it's far from full.
— Jack Pitt-Brooke (@JackPittBrooke) December 11, 2014
Updated
Here’s Mauricio Pochettino. “Every time you play it’s important to get the victory and the points,” he says.
Preamble
Evening! That’s not dead rubber you’re looking at! There’s life in that rubber yet! Stop poking that rubber with a stick! Stop it! Stop it now! It’s alive! Look! It’s twitching! It appears to be making a moaning noise! Stop it! Throw that stick away! Throw it away now, you vile brute! You disgust me! With your poking! Of the rubber! Which isn’t dead! The not-quite-dead rubber! Have some respect for living creatures, even rubber! For crying out loud! It is not a dead rubber, it is an alive rubber! Got it?
The point I’m trying to make here is that even though Tottenham and Besiktas have already qualified for the Europa League’s round of 6 32, Mauricio Pochettino’s side still to make sure they don’t lose in Istanbul this evening in order to finish top of Group C, and that means it’s all to play for! Not a dead rubber! Do not, under any circumstances, pick up that stick again! Walk away from that stick! Do it. Do it now. I’m watching you. Don’t think for one single moment that I’m not watching you, like an angry hawk. You leave that rubber alone, it’s alive, barely, but it’s alive.
Besiktas: Zengin; Kurtulus, Franco, Gulum, Ramon, Uysal, Tore, Koyunlu, Sosa, Sahan, Tosun. Subs: Metin, Koybasi, Yaman, Karaal, Nukan, Kaya.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vorm; Walker, Kaboul, Chiriches, Rose; Stambouli, Dembele; Townsend, Paulinho, Chadli; Soldado. Subs: Lloris, Lennon, Lamela, Fazio, Capoue, Davies, Onomah.
Referee: Stefan Johannesson (Sweden)
Kick-off: 6pm.
