See you in Macedonia
Thank you for bearing with me during an incredibly eventful game of football.
But all that matters is Spurs now travel to Macedonia for the 3rd qualifying round.
Look out for the match report and more reaction on VAVEL.
Goodbye.
A crazy start to the journey
Couldn't have summed it up better!
1-0 down. 2 red cards. Premier Sports collapsing on several occasions. Spurs then win 2-1. Welcome to the Europa League.
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) September 17, 2020
FULL-TIME!
And breathe. I apologise for it not being the best minute by minute report... the channel went down when all the action occurred.
But Spurs are through. They conceded with 20 mins to go, but a Kane penalty and Ndomeble tap-in means they just scrape through.
A frantic ending also saw Plovdiv down to nine men.
Football, eh?
FALSE ALARM
Like most, were convinced by twitter that there was a third sending off.
There hasn't. Plovdiv are only down to nine men.
Stream is back.
90' - Typical. The stream is back as soon as the chaos has ended.
There are four minutes added on.
Ndombele goal video
It's by no means a screamer.. but I don't think they will care.
Tanguy's goal to make it 2-1! #THFC pic.twitter.com/vWUUDb8vu3
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) September 17, 2020
Massive goal
88'- Spurs look to be scraping through... but what could that do for Ndombele's confidence. Could be a massive goal for Tottenham that.
ANOTHER RED!
I can't quite believe what I'm hearing! Plovdiv are down to eight now.
GOAL!! 2-1!
85'- Ndombele scores! A crazy end to the game and Spurs have turned it around in Bulgaria!
Massive opportunity
Ten minutes to avoid extra time against nine men.... can Spurs do it?
What an eventful game.
GOAL 1-1!!!
80' - Kane has scored! The channel has still gone... so I apologise for the lack of knowledge. But it's definitely 1-1 with about ten minutes left.
ANOTHER RED!
Oh my god, what is happening? Plovdiv are down to ten apparently..... and Kane is waiting to take the penalty!
AND A PENALTY!!
THAT'S WHY! Spurs have a penalty!
RED CARD
78'- Plovdiv have gone down to ten-man. Unsure as to the reason why, but that's massive for Spurs to try and save this game.
ALMOST 2-0!
The stream has still gone.. and I don't know if it's returning.
But Lloris has apparently made a wonder save to keep Spurs in it. What on earth is happening?
15 minutes to survive
Tottenham now have 15 minutes to save their Europa League campaign.
This could be diabolical for Jose Mourinho.
GOAL!!!!!!!
71' - Plovdiv 1-0 Spurs!!!!!!!
I can't see the goal - but oh my word. This is absolutely massive. This could be incredibly embarrassing for Spurs.
Stream has gone
The picture is failing again... but I will try and keep you as up to date as possible.
No extra-time...
Spurs are getting more and more frustrated by the minute.
Extra-time would be an absolute nightmare.
AND...... the stream is off again.
Free-kick outside the box
65'- Ndombele looks sharp. He just skipped past a defender on the edge of the box and got brought down.
Kane hits the wall and it goes out for a corner.
Plovdiv deploying low block
62'- Quite understandably, Plovdiv are playing very deep and getting as many men behind the ball as possible.
Ndombele's first couple of passes were good ones, but nothing came of them.
First substitution
60'- Tanguay Ndombele replaces Moussa Sissoko.
Kane gets a sniff
59'- Not much has gone for Kane this evening, but he stabs a shot away only for the keeper to grab into his chest.
Frustrating for Spurs.
No fans. Kinda?
55'- The atmosphere would've been electric, but you can hear the Bulgarian fans outside the stadium chanting.
You have to rate that commitment. There were even fireworks earlier.
How has Son not scored?
53'- Kane plays in Davies who then plays it across to Son.
With only the keeper to beat, the Korean somehow puts it over. The replays suggest it took a bobble but still should've been a goal.
Dangerous free-kick for Plovdiv
50' - Lo Celso gives away a silly free-kick in a dangerous crossing position but again it comes to nothing for Plovdiv.
The Argentine tries to break away but gets taken down.
Corner
49'- Doherty forces a corner but it comes to nothing.
Kane and Son almost link-up
47'- Kane drops deep and tries to play Son in behind with a fantastic through ball but Son can't quite grasp it in his path.
Second-half!
45' Lokomotiv Plovdiv get us underway.....
Not impressed
This fan certainly feels some way about that half!
Levy has severed the broadcast so Bale can’t see this and change his mind
— Billie (@Billie_T) September 17, 2020
Half-time!
Back to the game, and the half-time whistle has blown.
Spurs will be frustrated they're not in the lead. Bergwijn should have had a penalty and he has rattled the crossbar.
However, Tottenham will be concerned with the lack of intensity and it will need to be better if they want to nick this game in Bulgaria.
Second-half pending.
I forgive you.
We are sorry for the picture break up on the game. There is an issue with the host broadcasters satellite uplink that is affecting all international takers. We are working with the supplier to resolve.
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) September 17, 2020
Yep, this.
.@PremierSportsTV pic.twitter.com/FXYl7sRFem
— The Spurs Web ⚪️ (@thespursweb) September 17, 2020
Still 0-0
42' - I can't see it, but the game is still stuck in a 0-0 stalemate.
I take that back - the picture from Premier Sports has now completely gone.
Sorry for this inconvenience.
Chance for Spurs
37'- Lo Celso whips in a corner, which Kane nods on and Doherty looks destined to tap in but he's in an offside position.
The picture is playing up - so apologies if I'm late to anything!
Spurs free-kick
34'- Tottenham have a free-kick in a dangerous position.
Might be too far out for a shot.
Yep, Dier crashes it into the wall.Spurs frustration
30' - Spurs look dangerous, but the longer they go without a goal, the more desperate they will get.
They have got to be patient.
Penalty shout
27'- Doherty fizzes a ball into Bergwijn's path in the box, and he immediately turns only for a Plovdiv defender to take him down but the referee is having none of it.
Have to admit - it looked like a penalty. Mourinho is not very happy.
Lo Celso on form
24' - The Argentine is the centre of all things positive.
He picks up the ball on the left-hand side and plays a brilliant pass to Bergwijn that split apart the Plovdiv defence.
The Dutch international couldn't make anything from and it then got the ball stuck in his feet.
Plovdiv working hard
20'- Tottenham are controlling the ball as expected but Plovdiv are working hard to keep the score as it is.
Although, they do look very vulnerable when Spurs get in behind.
Nice play from Tottenham
16'- Spurs pass the ball from left to right with good intent.
The ball eventually finds Lo Celso who fires his shot well over the bar.
Lazy play from Dier
12'- Dier, with all the time in the world, hits the ball out for a throw-in when trying to find Ben Davies on the left-hand side. Moments later his long ball veers away for a goal-kick. Poor from the English centre back.
Crossbar!
11'- Spurs look dangerous!
Lo Celso fires a ball to the edge of the box - Bergwjin meets it with a great strike that rattles the crossbar. Best chance so far.
Offside
9'- Nice interchanging play between Son, Kane, and Bergwijn but the offside flag goes up.
Good pressure from Spurs
7'- Spurs starting to grow into this game. The pattern of the game is forming.
Lo Celso looks lovely - he just danced around the edge of the box before trying to find Son but he could not do so.
Slow start
5' - Both teams finding each other out in the opening minutes.
Nothing of note so far apart from a decent Son chance in the first minute.
The yellow kit does look tidy though.
Chance for Son!
2'- Lo Celso drives forward with the ball and lays it off to Son. He shifts the ball to his left but the keeper is equal to it.
And we're off!
0' - Lo Celso gets us underway.
Teams are out!
Both teams are out and are moments away from starting their Europa League campaigns.
The tight, 13,000 capacity stadium is not one Spurs are used too.
Kick-off moments away!
Chance to impress
With Bale's stunning deal back to N17 set to be announced tomorrow, the likes of Steven Bergwijn and Erik Lamela should be motivated to make a big impression tonight.
15 minutes until kick-off!
Not long now!
The match is fast approaching and we only remain 15 minutes away from kick-off.
You nervous, Spurs fans?
Foyth not in plans?
An interesting take from the team news is that Carter-Vickers has seemingly leapfrogged Foyth, who has been excluded from the European squad and is ineligible.
The American defender is on the bench tonight.
Lucky charm?
A game of many firsts today. One of them is the new brand new yellow third kit being worn.
We won't have any kit clashes, that's for sure.
🟡 The players will be wearing our 2020/21 @nikefootball third kit for the first time today!
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 17, 2020
Get yours now! ⤵️#THFC ⚪️ #COYS
Strong team!
No messing about from Mourinho. Only four changes from the defeat against Everton.
An extremely strong line-up that sees Lo Celso return, Son and Kane up top, and Davidson Sanchez in the starting XI replacing Alderweirld, who has been left in North London.
All pressure is on a Tottenham win now.
Team news!
This is how Spurs line-up.
📋 Lloris (C), Doherty, Dier, Sanchez, Davies, Hojbjerg, Sissoko, Lo Celso, Bergwijn, Son, Kane.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 17, 2020
📲 @WilliamHill latest (18+) https://t.co/VSgWFoCiMl#THFC ⚪️ #COYS pic.twitter.com/DobANyngeM
Who will Mourinho go with?
Team news will be coming out very shortly.
Very interesting to see how Tottenham line-up.
Any youth? Joe Hart debut? Kane and Son to play 90 minutes?
Everything will be revealed very soon.
Berbatov offers his thoughts
Not many connections can be drawn from this game.
But this man is certainly one!
"When I saw that Spurs had drawn a Bulgarian team, I thought ’yes!’"
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) September 17, 2020
🇧🇬 Dimitar Berbatov offers his insight on today's Europa League clash.#THFC ⚪️ #COYS
Underdog story?
Not many will know the ins and out of Lokomotiv Plovdiv, but there are plenty of signs that suggests they will make life very difficult for Spurs today.
The owner of the club, Hristo Krusharski, is more confident than most.
He told BTV Novinite: “I don’t play any lottery but I know that we’ll beat Spurs!”
“Mourinho? Let him come with a bigger basket [to concede goals]. As for the Spurs stars, we’ll get them drunk so that they can’t play!”
Mourinho's thoughts
"I think we were very unlucky with the draw. Of course, I also think Plovdiv were very unlucky with the draw too.
They could have much easier opponents, and we could have much easier opponent too. Looking to this round, there are lots of teams that don’t have half of their potential. They are a good team and will be a difficult opponent.”
TEAM NEWS
Jose Mourinho has left eight senior players behind but has declined to say which, confirming only that Harry Kane would have to start against Lokomotiv Plovdiv tonight in the absence of another forward.
Dele Alli and Toby Alderweireld are reportedly two that have been left out.
The starting XI is almost impossible to predict, but it will be very telling for Mourinho's intentions in this competition.
PREVIEW
Despite the imminent Bale and Reguilon transfers taking all the headlines - Spurs must turn their attention to Bulgaria where they face the champions Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League.
Tottenham will want to win and get home as quickly as possible, but their opponents will not make it easy for them.
A must-win for Jose Mourinho, especially after his side's poor showing against Everton.
How to watch
In the UK, Premier Sports have acquired the rights to broadcast all Europa League qualifying matches involving Spurs this season, subject to their progression in the tournament.
Coverage of this evening’s match begins on Premier Sports 2 at 4.55pm.
Welcome!
Welcome to VAVEL's live text coverage of Tottenham Hotspur v Lokomotiv Plovdiv in the Europa League.
I am your host William Furness and I will keep you up to date with all the happenings in today's encounter in Bulgaria.