Tottenham v Panathinaikos

Adebayor 29′ Karnezis 76′ (og) Defoe 83′

Panathinaikos 1

Zeca 54′

FT 90 +4
HT 1-0

By Aimee Lewis BBC Sport

Two late strikes against Panathinaikos eased the tension at White Hart Lane and ensured Spurs progressed to the knockout stages of the Europa League.

Tottenham merely needed a draw to reach the last 32 and were set on their way with Emmanuel Adebayor's opener.

But Zeca headed the Greeks level and a nervy second half ensued until keeper Orestis Karnezis directed Clint Dempsey's header into his own goal.

Vicory was secured when Jermain Defoe dinked in a third late on.

Juan Ramon Rocha, a Spurs fan, took over the helm at Panathinaikos for a second time last month and although his reign as coach has seen an upturn in the club's fortunes, the Greek club's former midfielder played down his team's chances of winning at White Hart Lane.

Europa League last 32 qualifiers

Group A: Liverpool and Anzhi
Group B: Plzen and Atletico Madrid
Group C: Fenerbahce and Monchengladbach
Group D: Bordeaux and Newcastle
Group E: Steaua Bucharest and Stuttgart
Group F: Dnipro and Napoli
Group G: Genk and Basel
Group H: Inter Milan and Rubin Kazan
Group I: Lyon and Sparta Prague
Group J: Lazio and Tottenham
Group K: Bayer Leverkusen and Metalist Kharkiv
Group L: Hannover and Levante
Champions League: Dynamo Kiev, Olympiakos, Zenit, Ajax, Chelsea, BATE Borisov, Benfica, CFR Cluj.

Panathinaikos would have qualified had they managed to beat Andre Villas-Boas's men but Rocha's pre-match caution rubbed off on his conservative players.

In the absence of the injured Gareth Bale, Dempsey deputised as the home team's tormentor-in-chief, linking cleverly with his strikers and proving a key figure as the Londoners finished second behind Lazio in Group J.

Yet for all of Tottenham's possession they failed to threaten the Panathinaikos goal until a defence-splitting pass from the American set the recalled Adebayor free to score his second goal of the season.

Adebayor's strike was all the more painful for the visitors as seven minutes earlier Toche had wasted their best opportunity of the half.

The Spanish striker had been put clear by a canny Giourkas Seitaridis free-kick, but he could only guide the ball into Brad Friedel's hands, a straight-forward save for a goalkeeper making his first Tottenham appearance in a month.

Tottenham, and Defoe in particular, wasted chances either side of the break. The England striker lashed wildly from six yards in the closing stages of the first half and then hit the post with a low, whizzing effort in the 48th minute.

Despite Defoe's profligacy the hosts were comfortable, unsurprisingly so considering they had won their previous three Premier League games - but there was to be a twist.

And the vocal visiting fans were soon celebrating wildly when Zeca headed a menacing cross from Nikos Spyropoulos beyond Friedel's outstretched frame.

Another Panathinaikos goal could have eliminated the hosts and an off-balance Toche added to the home side's jitters by going inches wide from giving his buoyed team the lead,

It was as close as the Greek outfit got, though, with Dempsey instrumental for Spurs once again.

Kyle Walker's free-kick found the summer signing, whose header ricocheted off the crossbar and into the net via Karnezis.

Six minutes later, Lennon set off on a wonderful sinuous run and released Defoe, who coolly chipped over the diving Karnezis for his 13th goal of the season to rubber-stamp Tottenham's presence in the last-32 draw on 20 December.

Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas: "The problem was 1-0 wasn't enough. They had the determination and motivation to get a result. But we played really well and had opportunities.

"We felt a little bit of anxiety but managed to get the result which was fair.

"We've been scoring a lot of goals and I think the team is the second-best attacking team in the Premier League. We create chances and we took our chances."

Lineup, Bookings (2) & Substitutions (6)

Tottenham Hotspur

24 Friedel
05 Vertonghen
16 Naughton Booked
28 Walker
33 Caulker
02 Dempsey (Sigurdsson - 80' )
07 Lennon (Livermore - 87' )
30 Sandro
46 Carroll (Dembele - 75' )
10 Adebayor
18 Defoe

Substitutes

23 Cudicini
59 Stewart
06 Huddlestone
22 Sigurdsson
29 Livermore
31 Townsend
19 Dembele

Panathinaikos

27 Karnezis
16 Seitaridis
24 Vyntra
31 Spyropoulos Booked
45 Triantafyllopoulos
06 Vitolo
07 Mavrias (Fornaroli - 83' )
17 Zeca
20 Sow (Christodoulopoulos - 60' )
03 Sissoko
09 Toche (Petropoulos - 78' )

Substitutes

40 Kapino
22 Marinos
41 Chouchoumis
44 Velasquez
10 Christodoulopoulos
14 Fornaroli
28 Petropoulos

Ref: Pawel Gil

Att: 32,554

Match Stats

Possession 56 44

Shots

11 7

On target

5 3

Corners

5 1

Fouls

15 8

Live Text Commentary

90:00 +3:12 Full time

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

90:00 +1:54

The ball is delivered by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Header from close in by Bruno Fornaroli misses to the left of the target.

90:00 +1:42

Short corner taken by Lazaros Christodoulopoulos.

86:52

Corner taken by Kyle Walker from the left by-line to the near post, Gylfi Sigurdsson has a headed effort at goal from close range which goes wide left of the target.

86:52 Substitution

Substitution Aaron Lennon goes off and Jake Livermore comes on.

82:43 Substitution

Substitution Charis Mavrias goes off and Bruno Fornaroli comes on.

82:09

The assist for the goal came from Aaron Lennon.

82:09 Goal scored

Goal - Jermain Defoe - Tottenham 3 - 1 Panath'kos Jermain Defoe finds the net with a goal from inside the penalty area to the bottom left corner of the goal. Tottenham 3-1 Panathinaikos.

75:19 Goal scored

Goal - Orestis Karnezis - Tottenham 2 - 1 Panath'kos Orestis Karnezis scores an own goal from 6 yards. Tottenham 2-1 Panathinaikos.

73:56

Kyle Walker sends in a cross, Clint Dempsey takes a shot.

73:56 Substitution

Substitution Mousa Dembele joins the action as a substitute, replacing Tom Carroll.

73:56

Jose Carlos Zeca gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Raniere Sandro.

79:20 Substitution

Substitution Clint Dempsey leaves the field to be replaced by Gylfi Sigurdsson.

77:47

Jermain Defoe concedes a free kick for a foul on Loukas Vyntra. Victor Vitolo restarts play with the free kick.

77:05

Mousa Dembele restarts play with the free kick.

77:05 Substitution

Substitution Jose Toche leaves the field to be replaced by Antonis Petropoulos.

77:05

Unfair challenge on Emmanuel Adebayor by Ibrahim Sissoko results in a free kick.

76:39

Ibrahim Sissoko sends in a cross, clearance by Kyle Walker.

75:19

The assist for the goal came from Kyle Walker.

75:19 Goal scored

Goal - Clint Dempsey - Tottenham 2 - 1 Panath'kos Clint Dempsey grabs a headed goal from close in. Tottenham 2-1 Panathinaikos.

73:56

The ball is crossed by Kyle Walker,

73:56 Substitution

Substitution Mousa Dembele on for Tom Carroll.