Europa League: Natkho Free-Kick Lifts FC Rubin Kazan Over Tottenham

Europa League: Natkho Free-Kick Lifts FC Rubin Kazan Over Tottenham
John Nestor

Qurghonteppa, Tajikistan

Bibras Natkho tallied the lone goal 10 minutes into the second half and the FC Rubin Kazan stunned the Tottenham Hotspurs, 1-0 Thursday in their Group A Europa League showdown at Tsentralnyi Stadium.

Hotspurs defender Sebastien Bassong made a huge defensive blunder in the first early minutes of the second half. Natkho capitalized and curl home the eventual game-winner in the 55th minute of the match as Rubin Kazan defeated Tottenham, who played without manager Harry Redknapp.

Hotspurs goaltender Carlo Cudicini came through with 11 saves, but Tottenham's anemic offense could not deliver the goods on the other end of the field.

With Thursday's result, Tottenham and Rubin Kazan are tied for second place in Group A with an identical 2-1-1 slate. Greekball cub PAOK FC topped the group with a 2-3-0 slate while Ireland's Shamrock Rovers have been winless in four tries.

In other Europa Lague matches, Legia Warsaw pummeled Rapid Bucuresti (3-1), Stoke City edged Maccabi Tel-Aviv (2-1), Athletic Bilbao dropped SV Salzburg (1-0), and Besiktas nailed down Dynamo Kiev (1-0).