AZ beat Tottenham 1-0 in the first leg of their Europa League last 16 tie
AZ Alkmaar took the first towards qualifying for the Quarter Finals of the UEFA Europa League on Thursday by winning the first leg of their last 16 tie 1-0 at home to English side Tottenham Hotspur. An own goal by Lucas Bergvall gave AZ the win. The second leg will be played in London in a week's time.
Maarten Martens was given a boost prior to the match as the team’s captain, Jordy Clasie, was fit enough to return to the starting lineup. The midfielder came on for the Alkmaarders after an hour played in their 3-1 loss against Heerenveen. He took Kristijan Belic’s position in midfield. It was the second time that the two teams faced each other this season. Tottenham had beaten AZ in the league phase of this competition.
AZ took the lead in the 18th minute. A corner was knocked back into the danger area and was then sliced by Tottenham’s Swedish midfielder Lucas Bergvall, resulting in the ball looping into the far corner.
As has been the case in most of AZ’s Europa League matches this season, the Alkmaarders were dominant in the AFAS Stadium. They should have made it 2-0 after half an hour played when Denso Kasius, who had come on in the first half for the injured Mayckel Lahdo, gave Troy Parrott a one-on-one chance after a brilliant dribble. However, the Irishman failed to convert the chance against his former team.
A cross caused trouble again for Ange Postecoglou’s side shortly before halftime. Seiya Maikuma’s chip found David Møller Wolfe in the box. What followed was a goalmouth scramble in which AZ had four attempts at goal but they were each blocked by a Tottenham player.
There were not many attacks of note in the second half. Ernest Poku came close with a free shot in the box, which really should have been at least on target. But that was really the only source of danger in the second half for either side.
Martens will be pleased with the win. But AZ will also know how difficult the match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will be next week.
