‘I can’t believe what I saw tonight’ says Shaun Tooze. “I watched about 90% of the Rangers match in Malmö before this and Ranger could, or rather should I’ve had 5 of them. This first half here has continued in the same way. It is unbelievable that Qarabag is not on the scoresheet here.

“The night of missed golden opportunities. Absolutely unfathomable.

“Anyway, sorry, just baffled.”

Some of the football has already been completed.

Halftime: Tottenham 1-0 Qarabag

46 minutes: Davies loses the ball in his own half, Juninho picks it away and is through until Vicario wins the ball back 30 yards from his own goal.

45 minutes: An additional minute has been added.

44 minutes: More opportunities for Qarabag. Silva brings in a cross, but Van de Ven is there to block the header on goal. Benzia’s follow-up shot flashes wide.

I suspect we can use Pedro Porro for Gray at half-time.

42 minutes: Qarabag can break at speed, that’s for sure. This time it is necessary for Van de Ven to stop Benzia and give away a corner for his troubles. Spurs have to keep this up until half time.

40 minutes: What a miss! Another attack down the left allows Jafarguliyev to put the ball on a plate for Juninho to tap home, but he botches the finish and sends a terrible shot wide.

38 minutes: Qarabag seems to think Gray is a weak point at right-back as Spurs focus on him thanks to the extra man. A tough day for the teenager who is a midfielder by profession.

36 minutes: Qarabag flashes the ball across the penalty area and Juninho is ready to pounce, but Vicario reads the danger and dives to push the cross away before the Brazilian can pounce.

34 minutes: Poor Bergvall is shown on the couch. He has his coat pulled over his face and looks miserable. We’ve all been there, buddy.

32 minutes: The 700 Qarabag fans have purchased a lot of Azerbaijani flags. They do their best to make some noise.

30 minutes: Benzia tries to knock down a cross in the penalty area, but the ball is cleared from his feet before he can shoot. There is enough threat in this Qarabag team.

28 minutes: What does the goalkeeper do? Kochalski moves the ball outside the area to make a long pass over the top, but Johnson reaches the ball first, passes the goalkeeper and takes aim, only to see his shot go wide.

26 minutes: Spurs still have most of the ball, but cannot create a second chance.

24 minutes: Gray limps a bit after the mistake. I’m not sure Postecoglou wants to make a second change at this early stage.

22 minutes: Qarabag breaks five on three, but Spurs remain in a last-ditch challenge or two to keep them upright and win the ball back. This could be a fun evening.

Gray is cleared on the right wing. Advantage is played until Jafarguliyev is shown a yellow card for the foul.

Krishnamoorthy says: “Your mention of Johnson Solanke and Son sounds like a law firm that seems capable of manipulating the lower case names on their shirts.

20 minutes: Bayramov is played through on goal and looks ready to cross the ball past Vicario, but Udogie comes back, shoulder to shoulder and sets off the Qarabag man who stumbles in the penalty area.

18 minutes: Johnson, Solanke and Son put a lot of pressure on the Qarabag defense. No chance for them to rest.

16 minutes: Apologies, Udogie has been moved to the left back position with Davies alongside Van de Ven.

15 minutes: Martin Gamage says: “Yes, that was a really mindless piece of defense against Dragusin. If you mess up defending it like that early in the game, let the attacker go and see if the goalkeeper can deal with him. There’s no point in spending eighty minutes with ten people.”

14 minutes: It will still be a long night out for the Spurs players as they are lightweight. Udogie has established himself as a central defender. Spurs now 4-4-1, while wingers remain high.

GOAL! Spurs win the ball back high, Solanke slides a pass through to Johnson who finds the bottom corner.

GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Qarabag (Johnson, 12)

12 minutes: Will Qarabag be more proactive in their attacking play or accept that there is more space to exploit on the break? They certainly try their best when it comes to pressing.

Udogie replaces Bergvall. Such a shame for the teenager, but it has to be done. Silly Dragusin.

10 minutes: Udogie is already being prepared to perform. Sacrifice gray?

RED CARD! Dragusin

6 minutes: Qarabag will play a lot during the break. Juninho doesn’t seem afraid to take on fourth-place Spurs if the opportunity arises.

4 minutes: Spurs dominate possession and Qarabag has all eleven men in his own defensive third. This could be a long night trying to find an opening for Spurs.

2 minutes: Spurs have lower case letters for the names on their shirts. I think this should be banned.

Not much has happened in terms of football technicality.

Kick-off

Nobody needs the Europa League anthem right now. Just start the match, please.

Finally the players are on the field. I cry with joy.

The referee has let Qarabag’s captain sort his socks out. This will delay the kick-off even more. Come on, guys. The players are still in the tunnel.

They’ve turned the lights off at Tottenham. After the delay I’m now worried they will melt the lights.

We’re getting closer to kick-off. Has the delay built up tension? Not really.

Taha Hashim has real football to write about.

The teams are warming up. How exciting.

“Enjoy the game, Will. I’m really looking forward to seeing Bahlul Mustafazade take on Dominic Solanke. Elvin Cafarquliyev was also brilliant every time I saw him. Kind regards, Mr. Peters, Karabakh.”

Emails from Christoph: “The opening of the 2004/2005 Bundesliga was to take place with a kick-off at 8 p.m. in Bremen. Minutes before the match was due to start, an electrical fault in the area made all technical matters in the stadium unavailable (although strangely the floodlights still worked). And just as the delayed kick-off was due to take place at 9.16pm, three of the four iconic floodlight masts went out, causing even more delays. The match finally started at 9.36pm and Nelson Valdez’s 83rd minute winner will likely be the last ever Bundesliga goal.

“The Weser Stadium also has a history of electrical problems: I remember attending a friendly match between Germany and Scotland in 1999 where the lights went out at half-time, significantly delaying the restart. Much to the chagrin of the fans present, it was resolved, which meant that many people had to experience even worse football than they already did. And to make matters worse, Scotland won 1-0.

“Enjoying you minute by minute,

“Christoph”

Content is king.

‘Assuming you get paid for the late kick-off, even though the match lasts much longer than planned?’ asks Mr. Harris.

I’ve already called the union.

Qarabag had to walk the last part to reach the ground. What a day for their players.

Kick-off confirmed at 8.35pm

Hoddle and Crouch talk about the best Spurs player ever. Hoddle backs Jimmy Greaves and adds that Son is in his top six or seven.

Peter Crouch and Glenn Hoddle had to walk the last part of their journey due to problems in the surrounding streets.

Qarabag arrives

I was at Erik ten Hag’s press conference (more about that on Sunday). Jamie Jackson was there for a more direct report.

Maybe you should postpone this for a while… ummmmm… what is your favorite ever postponed kick-off?

Brennan Johnson: “I’m very excited, it’s something all the players have been looking forward to.

“It’s about getting into the right position, if I do that I get the chance to score.

“It’s a really good chance to win a trophy, we have a great squad.”

We won’t know the kickoff time until they arrive. Pint?

Qarabag has yet to arrive at the stadium…

Kick-off postponed

Scary Postecoglou: “It’s exciting to be back in Europe. If you’re not in Europe, you’ll miss it. The players are excited and want to create a legacy.

“When you play against continental opposition it is always a different task than normal. It helps the team to develop.

“It will be a great experience for the young boys from tonight, I am sure they will learn a lot.

“Not winning things becomes a millstone around the neck and to get rid of it you have to win things.”

Will there be dark arts in North London tonight?

Read before the match.

Starting lineups

Preamble