Tottenham Hotspur joined Fulham in bowing out of the Europa League yesterday, despite winning 4-0 away to Irish champions Shamrock Rovers thanks to goals from Steven Pienaar, Andros Townsend, Jermaine Defoe and Harry Kane.
The Premier League side needed to win whilst hoping that Rubin Kazan lost in their game away to PAOK Salonika, and also needed to overturn a goal difference deficit to the Russians of five.
Nevertheless, at half-time it looked as if Spurs might complete a remarkable turnaround and join Stoke City as well as Champions League dropouts Manchester United and Manchester City in today’s draw for the last 32.
In Greece, Rubin had to face playing for almost 80 minutes with 10 men after goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov was sent off for giving away a penalty which Vieirinha converted to give PAOK the lead.
Meanwhile, Tottenham raced into a 3-0 interval lead against their hosts, who had lost all five previous group games.
First, a Pienaar shot from the edge of the area was deflected into the net just before the half-hour.
Then, Townsend doubled the Premier League side’s lead seven minutes before the interval with a brilliant curling effort from 18 yards, before a neat Defoe turn and finish from six yards then put Spurs 3-0 up right at the end of the first period.
At that point, the two-time UEFA Cup winners were just one goal away from going through, but Rubin crucially drew level in their game three minutes after the restart.
Gokdeniz Karadeniz crossed for Paraguayan international Nelson Valdez to volley home first-time and give the visitors the point they needed.
Back in Ireland, Tottenham were pushed back for most of the second-half but it was Spurs who went on to make it 4-0 at the death when teenage substitute Kane struck.
Udinese through
Celtic crashed out after a 1-1 draw at Udinese in their final Group I game.
The visitors took the lead in the 29th minute when Gary Hooper took advantage of a mix-up in the Udinese defence to tap home.
But veteran striker Antonio Di Natale notched from close range himself with seconds remaining in the first half to put the Italians through.
Birmingham bowed out despite Adam Rooney’s goal earning a 1-0 victory over NK Maribor in their final encounter at St Andrew’s.
Club Brugge and visiting Braga went through to the last 32 after their 1-1 draw in Belgium and they finished one point ahead of Chris Hughton’s side in group H.
Results and standings
Group A
PAOK Salonika vs Rubin Kazan 1-1; Shamrock vs Tottenham 0-4.
Standings: PAOK 12; R. Kazan 11; Tottenham 10; Shamrock 0.
Group B
Hanover vs Vorskla Poltava 3-1; FC Copenhagen vs Standard Liege 0-1.
Standings: S. Liege 14; Hanover 11; Copenhagen 5; V. Poltava 2.
Group C
H. Tel-Aviv vs Legia Warsaw 2-0; PSV vs Rapid Bucharest 2-1.
Standings: PSV 16; Legia Warsaw 9; Hapoel 7; R. Bucharest 3.
Group G
AZ Alkmaar vs Metalist Kharkiv 1-1; Austria Vienna vs Malmo 2-0.
Standings: M. Kharkiv 14; Alkmaar, A. Vienna 8; Malmo 1.
Group H
Club Brugge vs Braga 1-1; Birmingham City vs Maribor 1-0.
Standings: Brugge, S. Braga 11; Birmingham 10; Maribor 1.
Group I
Udinese vs Celtic 1-1; Atletico Madrid vs Rennes 3-1.
Standings: A. Madrid 13; Udinese 9; Celtic 6; Rennes 3.
Note
Top two qualify for last 32 where they will be joined by eight teams who finished third in Cham-pions League group stages.