By Jon Smith BBC Sport

Tottenham survived a scare as they fought back from 1-0 down to run out comfortable winners against Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League.

Rovers took an unlikely lead after the break when Stephen Rice flicked in Gary Twigg's long-range strike.

But their lead lasted just 10 minutes before Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe both headed home in the space of two minutes to wrestle back control.

Giovani dos Santos smashed home a third five minutes later to wrap up the win.

EUROPA LEAGUE GROUP A

P W D L Pts

Rubin Kazan

2

1

1

0

4

Tottenham

2

1

1

0

4

PAOK Salonika

2

0

2

1

2

Shamrock Rovers

2

0

0

2

0

With the north London derby to come at the weekend, Spurs boss Harry Redknapp opted to rest many of his key players, although he brought back Aaron Lennon after a month out through injury.

But with the lively Dos Santos pulling the strings behind strikers Pavlyuchenko and Defoe, Spurs controlled the first half without finding the breakthrough their dominance deserved.

Rovers keeper Richard Brush diverted Defoe's 17th-minute effort on to the bar before Danny Rose smashed the woodwork with a looping strike.

Former Coventry trainee Brush also made wonderful saves to deny long-range efforts from Dos Santos and Pavlyuchenko, who had a header cleared off the line by Stephen O'Donnell.

SPURS FACTFILE

Roman Pavlyuchenko scored Spurs's first European goal at White Hart Lane in four games

And White Hart Lane was stunned when Rovers scored just five minutes after the restart in front of their away following.

A curling free-kick from Gary McCabe was palmed away by Carlo Cudicini to Twigg on the edge of the box and his effort was touched home by Rice.

Rovers' hopes of pulling off one of the great European shocks of all time lasted just 10 minutes before Spurs finally found their scoring touch.

Dos Santos, who has often been on the fringes at Spurs since moving from Barcelona, whipped in a fantastic cross that Pavlyuchenko emphatically headed home for his first goal of the season.

And the home fans breathed a huge sigh of relief barely two minutes later when Andros Townsend's cross was finished by Defoe.

Mexican ace Dos Santos smashed home the third five minutes later after good work from Defoe.

Former Tottenham star Rohan Ricketts came off the Rovers bench with 19 minutes to go to a warm reception from the home fans, six years after leaving the Lane.

Lineup, Bookings (2) & Substitutions (6)

Tottenham Hotspur

  • 23 Cudicini
  • 19 Bassong
  • 22 Corluka
  • 28 Walker
  • 07 Lennon (Townsend - 46' )
  • 25 Rose (Kane - 80' )
  • 29 Livermore
  • 46 Carroll
  • 09 Pavlyuchenko
  • 17 Giovani
  • 18 Defoe (Falque - 73' )

Substitutes

  • 01 Gomes
  • 03 Bale
  • 04 Kaboul
  • 14 Modric
  • 31 Townsend
  • 27 Falque
  • 37 Kane

Shamrock Rovers

  • 01 Brush
  • 02 Sullivan
  • 04 Sives
  • 05 Murray
  • 06 Rice
  • 07 McCabe Booked
  • 08 O'Donnell (McCormack - 46' )
  • 20 Dennehy
  • 21 Finn Booked (Ricketts - 72' )
  • 26 Paterson (Stevens - 46' )
  • 09 Twigg

Substitutes

  • 16 Thompson
  • 03 Stevens
  • 10 Sheppard
  • 18 Turner
  • 22 McCormack
  • 27 Ricketts
  • 11 Kilduff
Ref: Gediminas Mazeika
Att: 33,500

Match Stats

Shots

24 7

On target

17 3

Corners

9 0

Fouls

9 12

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +3:06 Full time

Full Time The final whistle goes and the game is over.

90:00 +1:34

Conor McCormack gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dos Santos Giovani. Free kick taken by Dos Santos Giovani.

90:00 +0:22

Andros Townsend takes a shot. Save made by Richard Brush.

89:45

The offside flag is raised against Gary Twigg. Kyle Walker takes the free kick.

88:36

Dos Santos Giovani takes a shot. Save by Richard Brush.

87:53

Harry Kane takes a shot. Richard Brush makes a save.

87:32

Iago Falque takes a shot. Save made by Richard Brush.

87:14

Andros Townsend takes a shot. Blocked by Stephen Rice.

86:51

Short corner worked by Dos Santos Giovani.

85:42

Roman Pavlyuchenko is ruled offside. Richard Brush restarts play with the free kick.

84:06

Foul by Thomas Carroll on Billy Dennehy, free kick awarded. Pat Sullivan restarts play with the free kick.

83:08

Shot from just outside the box by Roman Pavlyuchenko misses to the right of the target.

79:52

Shot from just outside the box by Roman Pavlyuchenko misses to the left of the goal.

79:06 Substitution

Substitution Harry Kane is brought on as a substitute for Danny Rose.

78:57

Andros Townsend has shot on goal from just outside the penalty box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.

78:15

Shot from just outside the box by Billy Dennehy misses to the left of the goal.

77:51

Foul by Iago Falque on Billy Dennehy, free kick awarded. Rohan Ricketts takes the direct free kick.

76:48

Outswinging corner taken by Dos Santos Giovani from the left by-line.

75:12

Conor McCormack produces a left-footed shot from just outside the penalty area that goes harmlessly over the target.

71:46 Substitution

Substitution Jermain Defoe goes off and Iago Falque comes on.

71:46 Substitution

Substitution Rohan Ricketts comes on in place of Ronan Finn.

71:29

The ball is swung over by Andros Townsend, clearance by Dan Murray.

70:04

Conor McCormack takes a shot. Save by Carlo Cudicini.

69:06

Jermain Defoe fouled by Ronan Finn, the ref awards a free kick. Free kick taken by Thomas Carroll.

68:27

Free kick awarded for a foul by Dos Santos Giovani on Conor McCormack. Ronan Finn restarts play with the free kick.

68:05

Jermain Defoe takes a shot. Craig Sives gets a block in.

64:51

Jermain Defoe provided the assist for the goal.

64:51 Goal scored

Goal - Dos Santos Giovani - Tottenham 3 - 1 Shamrock Dos Santos Giovani gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the penalty area high into the middle of the goal. Tottenham 3-1 Shamrock Rovers.

63:40

The official flags Gary Twigg offside. Carlo Cudicini takes the free kick.

63:12

Gary McCabe fouled by Jake Livermore, the ref awards a free kick. Gary McCabe takes the direct free kick.

62:17

Andros Townsend sends in a cross, clearance made by Ronan Finn.

61:58

Ronan Finn is ruled offside. Vedran Corluka restarts play with the free kick.

60:49

Andros Townsend provided the assist for the goal.

60:49 Goal scored

Goal - Jermain Defoe - Tottenham 2 - 1 Shamrock Jermain Defoe finds the back of the net with a headed goal from inside the penalty area. Tottenham 2-1 Shamrock Rovers.

59:52

Ronan Finn gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Danny Rose. Danny Rose restarts play with the free kick.

59:52 Booking

Booking Ronan Finn booked.

59:07

Assist by Dos Santos Giovani.

59:07 Goal scored

Goal - Roman Pavlyuchenko - Tottenham 1 - 1 Shamrock Roman Pavlyuchenko finds the back of the net with a headed goal from deep inside the penalty box. Tottenham 1-1 Shamrock Rovers.

58:09

Corner taken left-footed by Dos Santos Giovani, clearance made by Pat Sullivan.

53:58

Andros Townsend takes a shot. Blocked by Craig Sives.

52:25

Dos Santos Giovani takes the outswinging corner, Gary Twigg makes a clearance.

52:07

Gary Twigg challenges Vedran Corluka unfairly and gives away a free kick. Vedran Corluka takes the free kick.

51:18

Andros Townsend fouled by Gary McCabe, the ref awards a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Danny Rose.

49:46

Assist by Pat Sullivan.

49:46 Goal scored

Goal - Stephen Rice - Tottenham 0 - 1 Shamrock Stephen Rice grabs a goal from just outside the box low into the middle of the goal. Tottenham 0-1 Shamrock Rovers.

48:34

Free kick awarded for a foul by Jake Livermore on Gary McCabe. Gary McCabe has a direct shot on goal from the free kick, save made by Carlo Cudicini.

47:15

Danny Rose crosses the ball, clearance by Pat Sullivan.

45:29 Substitution

Substitution James Paterson goes off and Enda Stevens comes on.

45:01

The referee gets the second half started.

45:01 Substitution

Substitution Conor McCormack joins the action as a substitute, replacing Stephen O'Donnell.

45:01 Substitution

Substitution Andros Townsend is brought on as a substitute for Aaron Lennon.

45:00 +0:58 Half time

Half Time The referee calls an end to the first half.

41:26

Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot. Dan Murray gets a block in.

39:25

Roman Pavlyuchenko has shot on goal from just outside the box which goes wide of the right-hand upright.

38:04

Outswinging corner taken left-footed by Dos Santos Giovani from the left by-line, Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot. Blocked by Stephen Rice.

37:52

Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot. Blocked by Dan Murray.

37:26

Shot from outside the box by Stephen Rice misses to the left of the target.

35:33

James Paterson fouled by Dos Santos Giovani, the ref awards a free kick. Richard Brush takes the direct free kick.

34:59

Free kick awarded for a foul by Pat Sullivan on Danny Rose. Danny Rose restarts play with the free kick.

32:56

Danny Rose takes a shot.

32:22

Dos Santos Giovani decides to take the corner short.

29:31

Shot from deep inside the area by Dos Santos Giovani goes over the bar.

26:38

Gary McCabe produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the net.

25:07

Corner taken left-footed by Dos Santos Giovani from the left by-line to the near post, Craig Sives manages to make a clearance.

24:24

Outswinging corner taken by Dos Santos Giovani, Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot. Blocked by Ronan Finn.

24:20

Danny Rose sends in a cross, Stephen Rice makes a clearance.

19:05

Roman Pavlyuchenko takes a shot. Save by Richard Brush.

17:34

Foul by Gary McCabe on Danny Rose, free kick awarded. Thomas Carroll crosses the ball in from the free kick, Ronan Finn makes a clearance.

17:34 Booking

Booking The referee shows Gary McCabe a yellow card.

16:15

Jermain Defoe produces a right-footed shot from inside the penalty area and hits the post.

15:14

James Paterson gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Aaron Lennon. Thomas Carroll takes the free kick.

13:33

Free kick awarded for a foul by Jake Livermore on Craig Sives. Richard Brush restarts play with the free kick.

12:34

The offside flag is raised against Gary Twigg. Free kick taken by Sebastien Bassong.

10:10

Dos Santos Giovani takes a shot. Save made by Richard Brush.

8:25

Stephen Rice concedes a free kick for a foul on Kyle Walker. Thomas Carroll takes the direct free kick.

7:27

Free kick awarded for a foul by Gary McCabe on Danny Rose. Danny Rose takes the free kick.

6:03

Jake Livermore challenges Gary McCabe unfairly and gives away a free kick. The free kick is delivered left-footed by Stephen O'Donnell from right channel.

5:25

Corner from the right by-line taken by Thomas Carroll, Richard Brush makes a save.

4:46

Stephen Rice gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Dos Santos Giovani. Dos Santos Giovani takes the direct free kick.

3:57

Unfair challenge on Jermain Defoe by Dan Murray results in a free kick. Vedran Corluka takes the direct free kick.

3:32

Sebastien Bassong gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Stephen Rice. Direct free kick taken by Stephen Rice.

2:22

Centre by Billy Dennehy, Vedran Corluka manages to make a clearance.

1:26

Dos Santos Giovani takes a shot. Save by Richard Brush.

0:00

The referee gets the match started.

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