Tottenham vs. Shamrock: 5 Things We Learned from Spurs First Europa League Win

It took nearly 60 minutes for Tottenham to score against Shamrock Rovers.

It only took six minutes for them to do it two more times.

In Spurs second match of their Europa League campaign, the club won 3-1 against the League of Ireland champions, moving into a tie for first place of Group A with Russian club FC Rubin Kazan.

There were only two starters in the lineup against Shamrock—defender Kyle Walker and forward Jermain Defoe —but White Hart Lane was nearly as loud as it will be when Arsenal comes to town on Saturday.

So what can Tottenham fans take away from their club's demolition of Shamrock Rovers in the Europa League? Is there anything Spurs can improve on?

Harry Redknapp Taking Europa League Seriously

In a match that was being played just three days before they hosted Arsenal, manager Harry Redknapp showed that he was taking the Europa League seriously.

Irish Times writer Emmet Malone opined that Redknapp is "expected to put out a seriously weakened side against Shamrock Rovers." While the Spurs manager was far from putting his best eleven on the pitch, he did start forward Jermain Defoe and defender Kyle Walker.

Defoe, the team's second-leading goal scorer, didn't have to play against Shamrock for Tottenham to win. Nor did Walker. Redknapp could have easily started youngster Harry Kane in place of Defoe and put little-used Jack Bartham in for Walker.

Instead, Redknapp played Defoe and Walker for 90 minutes and Kane came in for another reserve player, Danny Rose.

Giovanni Dos Santos was also out on the pitch all 90 minutes. While Dos Santos is not in the starting lineup, he has played in three matches this season for Spurs.

While Redknapp didn't put Emmanuel Adebayor, Gareth Bale and Luka Modric out against Shamrock, he gave fans at White Hart Lane a very competent roster to enjoy.

Tottenham Will Not Play Down to Competition

No one would have blamed Spurs fans for looking at this game and thinking there was potential for a lot of embarrassment.

Look at Manchester United who hosted FC Basel 1893 yesterday. The Swiss club built a 3-2 lead before a late equalizer salvaged any sort of dignity. Fans at Old Trafford were left asking, "What happened?"

Not so with fans at White Hart Lane.

At the 50' mark, Stephen Rice made it 1-0 in favor of Shamrock Rovers. But that was all the spark Tottenham needed as they went on a tear, scoring three goals in the span of six minutes and winning by a convincing 3-1.

Spurs could have easily scored another two goals, but missed opportunities in Shamrock's penalty area late in the match held Tottenham in relative check. 

Jermain Defoe is Back

To say that Jermain Defoe has had a rough last year would be an understatement.

The England international was viewed as a teen prodigy when he came to West Ham United as a 16-year-old. He went on loan to second- and third-tier English soccer clubs, breaking scoring records wherever he went. But last season, Defoe appeared in 22 Premiership matches and scored only four goals.

This season, Defoe is healthy and hungry. He's scored two goals in four Premiership matches and tonight's score against Shamrock was his second in Tottenham's Europa League campaign.

Defoe looks like the player he was in 2008/2009 when he scored 24 goals in 43 total matches for Spurs. Let's hope he stays that way.

Roman Pavlyuchenko Begins to Quiet Doubters

I'll admit, I was critical of Russian international Roman Pavlyuchenko. I said he wasn't doing anything to increase his transfer value when hit the market in January.

Well, with his beautiful header at the 60' mark and a number of shots on goal answered all those who have been critical of Pavlyuchenko as of late.

True, it was against Shamrock Rovers, a League of Ireland team that had a roster of part-time soccer players. But six shots on goal with one finding the back of the net is an impressive stat line no matter what the competition.

Pavlyuchenko was also only flagged for offsides once. He showed the perfect balance between aggressiveness and intelligence.

Spurs Fans Are a Rowdy Bunch

Props to Spurs fans at White Hart Lane. Several times during the broadcast, the announcer noted just how loud and crazy Spurs fans were getting.

You could even hear fans belting out a beautiful rendition of "When The Spurs Go Marching In" after the third goal.

Way to go, White Hart Lane.

Honorable mention goes to Shamrock Rovers fans who, according to a report from Guardian.co.uk, were numbering in the thousands. Just after the 74' mark, Shamrock fans were heard singing "We're Gonna Win 4-3".