Tottenham Hotspur laboured to a 2-1 victory over a wasteful Asteras Tripolis side in their Europa League meeting in Greece tonight.
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Harry Kane kept up his fine goalscoring form in this competition by adding to Andros Townsend's earlier penalty as Spurs earned a somewhat flattering 2-0 half-time lead.
The visitors rode their luck after a sloppy start to the second half allowed Asteras plenty of chances, before Jeronimo Barrales reduced the arrears with a stoppage-time penalty after Federico Fazio was sent off.
The Greek side laid siege to Tottenham's goal late on, but the Premier League outfit held on for a slender win.
They beat their Greek counterparts 5-1 at White Hart Lane a fortnight ago, but Mauricio Pochettino's side found chances far harder to come by this evening.
It took the best part of 20 minutes for Spurs to fashion an attempt at goal, as Erik Lamela took aim from outside the box but saw his shot comfortably saved by Tomas Kosicky.
Both sides struggled to forge any real chances, but a mistimed tackle from Khalifa Sankare on 35 minutes allowed Tottenham the chance to move ahead from the penalty spot.
Townsend, who won the penalty, stepped up and confidently fired past Kosicky from 12 yards to edge his team in front, before the England winger turned provider to set up Kane.
The in-form striker, who bagged a hat-trick against Asteras last time out, notched his seventh Europa League goal of the season by nodding home Townsend's cross on the stroke of half time.
Asteras could, and certainly should, have reduced the arrears after missing two glorious chances in a barnstorming start to the second half. Facundo Parra was the culprit on both occasions as the Argentine spurned gilt-edged chances in quick succession.
The hosts knew that it was not going to be their night when Pablo Mazza fired an effort at goal and saw his shot cannon off the inside of the post.
However, they were handed a lifeline when Fazio brought down Barrales inside the area as Pochettino's troops went down to 10 men but, despite halving the deficit, Tottenham held out.
Shane Callaghan
