Tottenham vs. Partizan: Score, Grades and Reaction from Europa League Game

Tottenham booked their place in the knockout stages of the Europa League with a 1-0 victory over Partizan Belgrade, although the game was overshadowed by a series of pitch invasions that eventually forced a temporary suspension of play at White Hart Lane.

Benjamin Stambouli got the game's only goal shortly after half-time to clinch the three points for Mauricio Pochettino's side, although it is the succession of first-half interruptions that are likely to have the greater long-term implications for Spurs, who will now almost certainly face a UEFA investigation.

On three separate occasions fans entered the field of play, halting the game as stewards struggled to catch up with and apprehend the culprits. All three individuals appeared to be wearing T-shirts carrying the same company logo—with the stunt believed to be a form of guerrilla marketing.

The move backfired for the brand involved, however, as Ukrainian referee Yevhen Aranovskiy decided to suspend play after the third incident, calling players off the pitch while officials discussed and debated the issue. Eventually, play resumed, with Spurs officials undoubtedly relieved there were no further stoppages over the remainder of the game.

Spurs could have progressed Thursday regardless of their result depending on the scoreline elsewhere, but their win—coupled with Besiktas' draw with Asteras Tripolis—means they will now top Group C as long as they avoid defeat to Besiktas in Turkey in two weeks’ time.

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Europa League: Stambouli goal... Tottenham 1-0 Partizan http://t.co/YArEVbwVvq

— Football News Alert (@Footy_Layne24) November 27, 2014"

Afterwards, Stambouli told ITV:

"

We needed to win this game and now we can think forward. It is only a positive thing.

We played a good team with lots of fight. Every game is a close call, but we need to improve. We defended very good, and we tried to score one goal more than the opposition.

It was not very easy, because the guys come on the pitch are Spurs fans, so we don't want to arrest them! But we have five minutes in the changing room and after we come back, it is never easy, but we are professional and we have to think about the game, and I think it was quite good [in the end].

"

Three successive instances of spectators entering the pitch marred the first half, the third of which resulted in the referee temporarily suspending play. As a consequence, the game struggled for fluency.

The home side were expected to ease to victory, but they struggled to create clear-cut chances in the first half. Roberto Soldado's first-minute attempt—which flew narrowly wide of the far post—proved to be their most threatening attempt, with Stambouli the only home player to actually get a shot on target.

Partizan were generally reduced to sitting deep and trying to create something on the counter-attack, and that approach nearly produced a goal, as Petar Skuletic narrowly failed to turn his close-range shot on target.

When the third pitch-invader entered the field of play, the referee evidently decided the game had become unsafe for the players, using his discretion to remove them from the pitch. That resulted in the game being delayed for 15 minutes, with play only resuming after discussions between the officials, UEFA delegates and representatives from Spurs.

Alastair Grant/Associated Press

In the second half, which was fortunately free of any unwelcome distractions, Pochettino's side finally began to find a rhythm, with their attacking play showing more threat and finally beginning to create some clear-cut chances.

The first of them was almost converted, albeit at the second time of asking. Soldado had squandered a couple of decent openings in the first 50 minutes, but he appeared to have done everything right when he broke the offside trap, collected Stambouli's clever pass and flicked his shot over the onrushing goalkeeper.

Unfortunately, his shot cannoned away off the far post, but fortunately for the home fans, Stambouli was following up in the right place to lash the rebound into the unguarded net.

Soldado seemed frustrated by his inability to score, which was to continue until his substitution, with Harry Kane given 25 minutes to continue his recent run of goalscoring chances. The best chances fell to Erik Lamela, however, although Kane did see one free-kick attempt well saved by Milan Lukac.

The England Under-21 international subsequently saw a goal chalked off for offside shortly before Hugo Lloris bailed his side out with the save of the match—the Frenchman doing brilliantly to claw away Vladimir Volkov's powerful header.

In the closing moments, there was one final gilt-edged chance for Spurs to kill the game off, but Lamela somehow contrived to miss the target after being played in unselfishly by Stambouli, following good build-up play from Kane. Then, trying to make amends, the Argentine was denied by the acrobatic Lukac from the edge of the area.

Those misses did not prove important, however, as the final whistle soon blew. Spurs are into the knockout stages of the competition, but it remains to be seen what sanctions they might face after a controversial evening at White Hart Lane.

Ian Walton/Getty Images

Player Ratings

Player	Rating
Hugo Lloris	7
Kyle Naughton	6
Vlad Chiriches	6
Jan Vertonghen	7
Ben Davies	7
Paulinho	6
Mousa Dembele	6
Benjamin Stambouli	7
Aaron Lennon	7
Erik Lamela	7
Roberto Soldado	7
Substitutions
Nabil Bentaleb	6
Harry Kane	7
Harry Winks	6

Player	Rating
Milan Lukac	7
Vladimir Volkov	7
Vojislav Stankovic	6
Lazar Cirkovic	6
Branko Ilic	7
Nikola Ninkovic	6
Petar Grbic	7
Sasa Markovic	6
Sasa Ilic	6
Danko Lazovic	7
Petar Skuletic	7
Substitutions
Andrija Zivkovic	6
Nenad Marinkovic	6
Nemanja Kojic	6

What's Next?

Matchday 6 sees the conclusion of these group stages, as Tottenham travel to face Besiktas and Partizan host Asteras Tripolis.

Spurs' next game is in the Premier League; they face Everton—also at White Hart Lane—on Sunday.

All quotes taken from ITV's live post-match broadcast.