The Europa League represents Tottenham’s last chance of ending their 17-year wait for major silverware this season, but they faced a tough task against Alkmaar, who they beat 1-0 in the league phase.
And, while the first half was hardly a classic, the hosts will have been far happier with proceedings as they entered the break in front.
The Dutch side suffered a blow inside the opening 10 minutes when Mayckel Lahdo was forced off with an injury and was therefore replaced by Denso Kasius, yet that setback didn’t stop their positivity.
The only goal of the opening 45 minutes was a fortuitous one for Alkmaar, but they will hardly be complaining.
A corner found former Spurs academy graduate Troy Parrott at the back post and, while his effort on goal lacked both power and direction, Lucas Bergvall could only slice it over Djed Spence and into the back of the net.
Ernest Poku, one of AZ’s brightest sparks early on, later dragged an attempt wide, and Guglielmo Vicario needed to make himself big to prevent Parrott from slotting into the corner when one-on-one.
Vicario also did well to keep out Kasius’ poke from close range during a period of pinball in the Tottenham penalty area. In response, Bergvall headed wide and Brennan Johnson fired over during a lacklustre half from the visitors.
After the restart, the game progressed in much the same manner. Tottenham did register the first two shots of the half, although Rome-Jayden Owusu-Oduro was not troubled by either, yet Alkmaar were soon back on top.
Had it not been for Vicario, who got down very well to palm Poku’s low shot to safety, Alkmaar may well have been in an even more comfortable position.
Alkmaar were subsequently a little more tentative as they appeared eager to preserve their narrow lead, but they were never put under any real pressure by their opponents.
In fact, Ange Postecoglou’s men did not register so much as a shot on target until late on, in what was a lacklustre display. They still have time to turn it around at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next week, but they must produce a performance significantly better than this to do so.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Ernest Poku (AZ Alkmaar)