Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas denied suggestions that claimed his side became complacent towards the end of the 1-1 draw against Panathinaikos.
The Greek outfit had given away the lead to Tottenham in the group J Europa League fixture which was played this Saturday in Athens. Tottenham had taken the lead through a http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Michael-Dawson-c25288 header in the first half.
The defender rose to nod home a header from a Tom Huddlestone free kick, and gave his side a deserved lead. Tottenham had been the better team and were in complete control of the game. They dominated possession, dictated proceedings and kept on attacking.
However, they were unable to add to their tally and failed to see the game off. Panathinaikos grabbed a last ditch equalizer in the dying minutes through Toche, and salvaged a vital point.
This result was Tottenham’s second draw in the group stages of the competition. They had previously drawn against Italian outfit http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lazio-c39775 at home. The game had its controversial moments as Tottenham saw three goals disallowed by the referee and the linesmen.
Tottenham paid the price for not failing to see the game off against Panathinaikos, and the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tom-Huddlestone-c35227 all missed important chances to add to their lead. Panathinaikos took full advantage towards the end, and
many said that Tottenham had ‘switched off’ as the game approached its climax.
Villas-Boas however insists that his side did not get complacent, and hailed his players for a determined away performance.
"I don't think we were complacent,” said Villas-Boas. "We have to give credit to Panathinaikos, they pressed much more and started to gain belief from that and that led to the goal. I think the whole team felt a bit disappointed because the first half was
so positive and we were in control of the situation.”
"We were a bit sloppy in the second half. I understand the disappointment at not putting the game to bed, but in the end we congratulated the players because if it had been other way round, the whole perspective would have been different.”
The manager is still confident of progressing through for the knock-out stages of the competition as he looks to win the Europa title with Tottenham.
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