A no show in Europa, but it is only half time | OneFootball

If ever there was a performance that can be summed up by a goal, our display in the 1st leg was it. After 18 minutes, AZ Alkmaar's biggest goal threat, Troy Parrott, was inexplicably allowed to get free from a corner to volley the ball across goal, and what should have been a routine clearance for Lucas Bergvall ended up in his own net. It will have happened at some point to most people who have played football at any level: the curious case of striking the ball with your shin. It is curious not just because it happens so rarely, but that when it does the ball seems to end up in some unreachable position flying towards the net. Whether that be a positive, such as, famously, Wayne Rooney's 2011 overhead kick for Man United vs Man City, or a negative such as Bergvall's last night, it is one of those mysteries of football that miskicking with your shin typically ends in something dramatic.

That was definitely the case here. Bergvall's attempted clearance ends up in probably the only one spot that it couldn't be defended: simultaneously far enough out of Vicario's reach and high enough that Djed Spence couldn't head clear. It was one of those that you could see was going to happen the moment it left Bergvall's shin.

So, very unfortunate but the defeat can't be put down to bad luck alone. If anything, luck was on our side in that we didn't lose by more. It really was a no show from Spurs in the 1st leg. I don't recall a shot on target until around the 90th minute and even that seemed more of a cross. We looked incredibly light in attack all game. Spence and Gray had at least some good moments but really it was a difficult evening all around.

Looking at anything positive from this? One would be it is only half time in the tie. Another is that away goals do not count as a tie breaker anymore (or "count double" as was always the slightly misleading term). And of course, there is a 2nd leg this week, and it should be a very different situation at home. With the crowd behind them, I expect Spurs to attack from the 1st minute. Let's hope some injuries clear, that we move the ball quicker, that the team stays patient, and that we can get some kind of interplay between our wingers and other creative players. Also, no more free kick attempts like the one we saw from Maddison and Son in the 1st leg would be welcome as well. The question is whether we can put this in place. We should as we surely can't play as badly again. Either way, the season depends on it.