Tigers crash out of Europa League on away goals
Robbie Brady's heroics weren’t enough as Hull’s dreams were left in tatters.
Steve Bruce’s men went out on the away goal, despite a hard-fought victory on the night, to miss out on today’s draw for the group stages.
Brady struck early in each half, but the Irishman’s goals weren’t enough as Lokeren’s solitary strike shortly after half-time proved decisive.
Hull were given an ideal start as Brady bundled home the opener after just six minutes. But the Tigers failed to build on such an ideal platform.
Lokeren had only to wait four minutes into the second half for their vital goal.
Allan McGregor pushed Killian Overmeire’s stinging 30-yard free-kick over, but the visitors levelled from the resulting corner.
Jordan Remacle, took a pass from Nill Depauw to beat McGregor at the near post with a crisp finish.
Bruce’s side were back ahead within six minutes, Koen Persoons harshly judged to have handled Ahmed Elmohamady’s cross.
Brady ignored the protests to send Verhulst the wrong way with a cool finish.
It set up what should have been a grandstand finish – but Hull’s momentum was lost when Sagbo was ordered off.
Bruce refused to make excuses after seeing Hull’s European dreams left in tatters.
He admitted his side were under-par after he made six changes, and he said: “If we’re honest we didn’t play to the levels we expect even though we’ve won on the night. To lose on away goals is a cruel way to go out.
“To be honest, we made too many mistakes and gave the ball away too often and too cheaply. Four or five of the lads didn’t get to the level you’d expect. That’s the disappointing thing.
“To say the sending off is harsh is an understatement but I’m not going to use that as an excuse. There was no way that would have been a red card in the Premier League.”
Bruce added: “My bunch are a resilient mob and we will bounce back from this, but we all know it’s an opportunity missed. We should have been able to put away a side like Lokeren.”
Spurs pull off comfortable 5-1 aggregate Europa League
He warned them not to “do a Manchester United” and Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham responded with a fourth win out of four.
Liverpool will pose a far tougher test than this when they roll into town for a Premier League tear-up on Sunday.
Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling and Mario Balotelli will be far harder to contain than the Cypriots, who simply enabled Tottenham’s second string to get a good run-out.
But Pochettino’s reserves showed that they too are getting the message after the first team eviscerated Harry Redknapp’s QPR last Sunday.
With the winners of the Europa League now being handed a Champions League place for next season, the current Spurs boss has already made it clear that he intends to take the tournament seriously.
It was for that reason that he warned his men to heed the example of United who were humiliated at MK Dons in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday.
By the end of this contest, Pochettino was a happy man as his side filled their boots. He said: “I am very pleased with the team.
“It was a very good performance as it wasn’t an easy game. The Europa League is difficult to play but we showed respect for Limassol and we played very, very well.”
Asked whether he was impressed by the speed with which his players are buying into his methods, Pochettino added: “It is easy method! It is not difficult. Our philosophy is play football along the grass. Good combinations, work hard. At the moment they are happy.”
Kane, who hit a late winner in the first leg last week, was indeed a man inspired once more in this return leg.
After a lengthy delay, Fegrouch was stretchered off - in a neck brace and oxygen mask - and taken to hospital with suspected concussion.
England Under-21 striker Kane, who had to wait seven minutes as the Moroccan was being treated, put his eventual spot-kick straight down the middle but saw it saved by the legs of substitute keeper Pulpo Romero.
Undeterred, Kane continued to cause problems.
He saw an 18th-minute shot saved, a header deflected wide and another effort over the bar. His reward came on the stroke of half-time as he put a low drive past Romero after Paulinho had intercepted a back pass to release him.
Paulinho himself emerged from the break to find the net himself on 48 minutes. The Brazilian powered a diagonal drive past Romero after Vlad Chiriches had robbed midfielder Diallo Guidileye inside the box.
Townsend’s 64th-minute penalty came after Edmar had handled from Naughton’s chip. The England winger made no mistake, sending Romero the wrong way.
By then, Limassol simply wanted it to end and were waving the white flag.
An important 90 minutes for Spurs' second string, however, has increased confidence and the options available as Pochettino bids to continue his winning streak.
Pochettino hailed Kane's bottle after the striker fought back from missing his penalty to help Spurs into Friday’s group stage draw.
“We’ve always believed in Harry since the first day. It is possible to miss a penalty, but it is not important," he said. “The important thing is that he scored, he played [well] and it didn’t affect his performance.
"His reaction was good. He showed character and personality. He has a very strong mind and is a very good player too.”
Tottenham introduced new defender Federico Fazio to the fans before kick-off and are hopeful the £8million Argentine, signed from Sevilla, will be joined by Manchester United and England striker Danny Welbeck on loan ahead of Monday night’s transfer deadline.
Pochettino added: “We have a lot of players with good quality, great quality. But we need to give the balance to the team.”
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