Source: Daily_Mail
Tottenham off the hook as Roman Pavlyuchenko hits stunner in Berne
Relieved Harry Redknapp called Tottenham's nightmare in the Swiss capital 'a great defeat' after his side clawed their way back from the brink of Champions League elimination. [LNB]Sebastien Bassong and Roman Pavlyuchenko scored the goals which pulled the Premier League side back into the tie against Young Boys on the artificial pitch, giving them hope of overturning their 3-2 deficit in next Wednesday's return leg, which is worth up to £30million to the victors. [LNB] Enlarge Back of the net: Roman Pavlyuchenko scores Tottenham's second of the night [LNB]Manager Redknapp said: 'I told the players that it was a great defeat, if there is such a thing. At 3-0 down we were staring down the barrel and in desperate trouble. We were looking sorry for ourselves. [LNB]'I had a nasty feeling yesterday about today. I watched the players on the pitch in training last night and saw they were not happy about this and that. And I thought it would be a difficult night.[LNB]'Young Boys pressed us, the ball was bouncing off us and suddenly we were 3-0 down and almost out of the tie. [LNB]In with a shout: Pavlyuchenko is congratulated by Keane (left) and Dos Santos[LNB]'We got the lifeline of a goal just before half-time and I told the players we had to go and get at them and get another one. Luckily we eventually got there.[LNB]'We had lots of possession in the second half but they were very dangerous on the break and in the end it took a great finish from Pavlyuchenko. He had a very quiet night but then he came up with a great goal.[LNB] 'Our plan now is to get after them at White Hart Lane. There will be a great atmosphere and we have to win. Chances are if we do that we go through. It won't be easy, but we're at home and we will be a lot better there.'[LNB] Redknapp criticised the artificial surface which confounded his team early on. Young Boys looked more comfortable on it, even though this was their first home win of the season. [LNB]Redknapp added: 'I'm not making excuses about the pitch because Berne played really well, but I left four players out because they were not comfortable on it. It's a good pitch but you have to get used to playing on it.[LNB]I played on Astroturf myself and hated every minute of it when we had it at QPR. I don't agree with Astroturf and I don't think it should be used in a competition like this.' [LNB] Enlarge Relieved: Redknapp congratulates Vladimir Petkovic at the final whistle [LNB]Tom Huddlestone, who was a substitute, had warned when the draw was made that his side must not repeat Everton's failure in 2005 when they missed out on the group stages after a defeat by Villarreal in the qualifiers. [LNB]Team-mate Michael Dawson echoed his manager's sentiments about the two precious away goals. [LNB]He said: 'The first half an hour wasn't good enough. We went in at half-time, sorted things out and stuck together. To get to 3-2, we've got to be happy with that. '[LNB]'The first half hour could have been disastrous but now we go back to White Hart Lane full of confidence. 'We can't blame the pitch. We can't make excuses.' [LNB]Young Boys boss Vladimir Petkovic said: 'I'm very happy. The first 25 minutes, we were almost perfect. Tactically, we played very well. It was difficult to keep that rhythm up for the 90 minutes.' [LNB] Young Boys 3 Tottenham 2: Roman Pavlyuchenko's late strike hands sorry Spurs Champions League lifelineYoung Boys 3 Tottenham 2 - all the action as it happened Champions League Match Zone: Wilson Palacios shows why he fell out of favour with Harry Redknapp TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR FC
