Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk have taken the advantage in their Europa League last 32 tie with Tottenham Hotspur courtesy of a 1-0 win this evening.
Yevhen Konoplyanka got the only goal of the game from the penalty spot in the second half, while the hosts also hit the post late on in an action-packed match.
The second leg will take place at White Hart Lane next week, with Spurs needing at least a 1-0 victory to stay in the competition.
You can read how an absorbing match unfolded with Sports Mole's live coverage of it below.
Good evening! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for tonight's match between Dnipro and Tottenham in the Europa League. It should be an interesting encounter today, with Spurs looking to defend a fine record in a hostile environment in order to reach the last 16.
We'll start by looking at our hosts tonight, and the man in the dugout for them will be a familiar face to many. Juande Ramos spent less than a year in charge of Spurs, guiding them to the League Cup before being sacked the following season with the team bottom of the Premier League. Incidentally, that was the last piece of silverware Spurs won, and now the man who led them to it is looking to end their hopes of winning another trophy.
Dnipro are currently fourth in the Ukrainian Premier League, six points behind leader Shakhtar Donetsk. They finished fourth last season as well, so they aren't quite one of the big boys of Ukrainian football. However, they have shown plenty of signs of having the quality required to test Spurs tonight, and only two away teams have managed to win at the Dnipro Arena this season.
Dnipro have been beaten just twice in the league all season, while the also lost just twice in their group, both defeats coming against eventual group winner Fiorentina. The Ukrainian side have failed to win in their last three competitive matches, although that doesn't give an accurate representation of their recent form as they have not played a competitive games since December 12 due to the winter break.
Spurs will be fully aware of the threat one Yevhen Konoplyanka can pose after making him a transfer target during the January window. In the end, he was closer to joining Liverpool but stayed put, for now at least. There has been lots of speculation that the Reds - and possibly Tottenham - will renew their interest in the summer. Tonight could be something of a shop window for him.
Speaking of Tottenham, they come into this match in dazzling form as far as the Europa League is concerned. They cruised to the top of their group, finishing 10 points clear of second. No team in any of the groups scored more than Spurs, while no team conceded fewer than Tottenham's two either. Safe to say, they have been dominant. Including qualifiers, they have won eight out of eight in this competition this season.
All of that came under Andre Villas-Boas, however, and tonight will be something of a step into the unknown for Sherwood. He is not a complete novice at this level, having been part of Tottenham's coaching staff during their all-conquering run in the first half of this season, but he has never managed a team in Europe before and it will be interesting to see how he gets on.
He has been doing fairly well in the Premier League so far, guiding Spurs to fifth, just three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. Sherwood has only been beaten three times in his 12 matches in charge of the club, and two of those came against high flyers Arsenal and Manchester City.
Spurs can also boast a formidable away record this season, which should help them in a tough environment this evening. They have won 14 of their 19 away games in all competitions and have the best record on the road in the Premier League, with 29 points from their 13 games. In comparison, they have picked up just 21 points in front of their own fans this season.
Things have certainly improved under Sherwood in terms of entertainment value when Spurs are playing, but they have still scored fewer and conceded more goals than any other side in the top eight of the Premier League this season. It has been a different story in the Europa League, as I have already mentioned, and Sherwood will be desperate to take the form from this competition into domestic action.
TEAM NEWS: The team news is in for both sides, and as expected Soldado gets the nod up front ahead of the in-form Adebayor. Andros Townsend is named in the side for the visitors, while Rose and Dawson also return from injury. Dnipro, meanwhile, have left out top scorer Seleznyov, although Konoplyanka does play. Team news for both sides coming up...
DNIPRO STARTING XI: Boyko; Mazuch, Strinic, Fedetskiy, Kankava; Guiliano, Ceberyachko, Rotan; Matheus, Konoplyanka, Zozulyja
DNIPRO SUBS: Kravchenko, Kulakov, Kalinic, Lastuvka, Bruno Gama, Douglas, Politylo
TOTTENHAM STARTING XI: Friedel; Naughton, Dawson, Vertonghen, Rose; Bentaleb, Capoue, Paulinho; Chadli, Soldado, Townsend
TOTTENHAM SUBS: Archer, Fryers, Veljkovic, Eriksen, McEvoy, Onomah, Kane
PREDICTION: We're five minutes from kickoff in Ukraine, which means that it is time for my match prediction! Eastern European countries are never easy places to go to, but Spurs have coped well with travelling to some tough venues already in this competition. I can't see Spurs losing this game and, while Dnipro do have the quality to threaten and maybe pull off a draw, I'm going for a Spurs win. 3-1 to the visitors.
There were concerns over whether this match would even go ahead or not due to the current political unrest in Ukraine, but the main trouble is taking place in Kiev, which is around 220 miles away from Dnipropetrovsk, so the game has been given the green light.
There are plenty of other Europa League ties going on this evening, and you can find live coverage of many of them with us here. I will also be keeping you up to date with major events from around Europe as and when they happen.
Both sides are now observing a moment of silence in respect of those who have lost their lives in the troubles in Kiev. It is a sad time for the whole of Ukraine, and in such instances football most certainly takes a back seat.
KICKOFF: Spurs get us underway on what is a pretty poor pitch to be honest. The stands are not exactly filled with spectators either, making it a fairly subdued atmosphere.
It is worth remembering that Dnipro have not played a competitive fixture since December 12, so Tottenham would do well to open this match at a fast tempo and test just how fit the hosts are. They have had a number of friendlies since then, but there is nothing quite like a full competitive fixture, especially in Europe.
Bright start from the hosts and they almost bundle their way through the Spurs defence, but Tottenham eventually get an untidy tackle in and scramble the ball away.
Tottenham's first prolonged piece of pressure is greeted with boos from the crowd. There may not be many of them - and perhaps for very good reason considering what is going on in Ukraine at the moment - but they are trying to make the atmosphere as daunting as possible.
Townsend has his first chance to run at the defence and he duly does so, throwing a step-over before beating him on his right and sending a low cross into the middle that is gathered by the keeper without a white shirt in close attendance.
Good break from the hosts as Konoplyanka shows the first glimpse of his quality, skipping past Naughton with ease before his low cross was put wide at the front post. That was a lightning quick break from Dnipro.
UPDATE: There have been a couple of early goals in Denmark as Esbjerg have responded to Fiorentina's opener. It is now 1-1 in that match, but the Italian's have a valuable away goal.
CHANCE! Big chance for Spurs as Chadli takes on his man down the left and fizzes a dangerous cross into the area. Soldado gets in front of his man and nods it goalwards, but the keeper is rather fortunate to make the save as he knew nothing about it. The hosts have got away with one there.
Spurs may take a while to get used to this pitch as it certainly isn't as flat as the ones they'd be used to playing on in the Premier League. The ball is bobbling about everywhere, holding up in parts and speeding up in others. It is a poor playing surface.
SAVE! Friedel has been watching Lloris! He races off his line with pace that belies his age, beating the striker to the ball to half clear the danger. His kick only goes as far as Rotan, but he gets back in time to stop the midfielder's speculative lob from 40 yards.
Worrying signs for Spurs as Danny Rose does down under a late challenge from Rotan. His foot just looked to get caught in the turf there, causing him to twist his ankle. He should be fine to continue, but he isn't happy that he didn't receive a free kick for the challenge.
Konoplyanka really does look like a tricky customer. He pounces on to a misplaced pass and holds off a couple of challenges to launch a decent attack that comes to an end when a Dnipro cross is put over the crossbar. It is clear that the winger will be key for the hosts if they are to get anything out of this game.
UPDATE: Juventus have broken the deadlock in their match at home to Trabzonspor, while Fiorentina have regained the lead in what is proving to be an entertaining encounter against Esbjerg. The Italian clubs are enjoying themselves right now.
Spurs come forward in numbers, but there isn't enough pace about their attack, perhaps partly due to the pitch. In the end the ball gets to Townsend, who cuts inside before getting a powerful low shot away that is easily saved.
CHANCE! Oh my word, what a chance this is for the hosts! Matheus is left completely alone down the right channel and one long ball beats the entire Spurs defence to release him. He has all the time in the world to pick what he wants to do with it, but in the end gets too close to Friedel, who stands up to make the save. That is an absolute sitter and he really should have scored. Terrible finish.
SAVE! Rotan flies in with a heavy challenge on Capoue to win the ball back on the edge of the box before giving it to Matheus. The Brazilian hits a good shot on the turn that Friedel gets down well to save, and the rebound is scuffed back into the American's arms. Shaky moments for Spurs.
CHANCE! That's more like it from Tottenham. Rose bursts forward down the left flank and cuts back inside to Chadli, who is leaning back and steers his effort high and wide. It wasn't the easiest finish, with the ball bouncing at an awkward height, but he should have hit the target.
Matheus is clearly looking to make up for that earlier miss as he produces a fine run past a couple of Spurs challenges and into the box. Once he gets into a good position, though, he throws himself to the floor and appeals for the penalty, which the referee correctly waves away. That was a blatant dive, and he should have been booked.
Paulinho's cross is well cleared as far as Rose, who goes for goal from a similar position to where he scored that goal against Arsenal on his debut. He hasn't been able to emulate that strike since he first produced it, however, and this time is no different as it bobbles through a few bodies and into the keeper's arms.
It certainly hasn't been a classic European fixture so far between these two sides, but there have been some good moments and it doesn't deserve to be goalless. Matheus, for one, has missed a golden opportunity to give the hosts the lead.
YELLOW CARD! Strinic becomes the first man in the book, and it is a controversial one as the ref awards a free kick when it looked like it may have been just inside the box. Paulinho was striding through on goal and there is a question over whether it is a goalscoring opportunity too. Tottenham are furious.
CLOSE! Townsend is the man who takes the free kick, and it is not far away at all. He goes the goalkeeper's side and gets dangerous dip on the effort, but it flies just wide of the post.
Having seen a replay of that penalty incident, I have to give huge credit to referee Antonio Mateu. I thought it was a penalty at first but the foul did indeed take place just outside the area. Superb decision as that could have been a game-changer if he had got it wrong.
UPDATE: Fiorentina have extended their lead against Esbjerg in Denmark and now lead 3-1. That could well be tie over as three away goals would be tough to recover against any team, yet alone Fiorentina.
CHANCE! What on earth is Boyko doing there?! He tries to dribble with the ball a little but loses control and turns straight into Soldado, who goes into the challenge. The keeper gets a lucky bounce and is able to scramble back and collect it, but that was a moment of madness from him.
Giuliano breaks forward for the hosts after the ref lets another questionable challenge go, and the Brazilian plays it square to Rotan. He only has one thought on his mind and duly hammers an effort towards goal, but it flies a long way over the bar.
Really good defending from Rose as he gets back to challenge Zozulya just as he threatened to race through on goal. Rose uses his strength and the striker throws himself to the floor, asking for a free kick, but the referee rightly tells him to get up.
There will be just the one minute of added time at the end of this first half.
HALF TIME: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 0-0 Tottenham Hotspur
The referee brings an end to the first half, with both sides still looking for the opening goal despite each having chances to get it. It was not the greatest half of European football you will ever see, but it has been pretty much as we expected it to be so far. There have been enough chances for the game to deserve a goal, but both teams will be fairly happy with 0-0 at the break.
The best chance of the half fell to the hosts, and what a glorious opportunity it was. Matheus was released clean through on goal after some absent defending from Rose and he had as much time as he wanted to pick a spot past Friedel. However, he proceeded to produce a tame finish that the keeper was able to save fairly comfortably by simply standing his ground.
Tottenham's best chance fell to Chadli when Rose came forward down the left and pulled the ball back into the middle. The Spurs midfielder had time on the edge of the area, but was leaning back and steered his strike wide of the mark when he should have hit the target.
Soldado has also come close for Spurs, flicking a Chadli cross on that the keeper was fortunate to save. Boyko threw himself out without knowing where the ball would end up, and he was lucky that Soldado's header hit him. He had another nervy moment later in the half too as he tried to dribble the ball out, only to be tackle by Soldado. Luckily for the keeper, however, the ball squirned away from goal and he was able to recover in time to dive on it.
The hosts tested Friedel again shortly after Mateu's great chance, and it was the Brazilian again he produced a snapshot from 20 yards to draw a save from the keeper. The rebound fell to to Zozulya, but he failed to connect properly with his shot and Friedel was able to gather again.
KICKOFF: The hosts get us back underway for the second half as they look to break the deadlock in what has been an even match so far. Can either side take a first-leg advantage?
Good early pressure from the hosts as they win an early corner, which they play short before putting another ball in that Dawson does really well to clear behind for a second corner.
From the second corner the ball is only cleared as far as Konoplyanka, but his improvised acrobatic volley on the edge of the box ends up a long way off target.
SAVE! A bouncing ball falls to Townsend around 25 yards from goal and he swings a leg at it, volleying it towards goal. He doesn't quite catch it as venomously as he would have liked, but he still forces a save from the keeper.
There is no doubt that a 0-0 draw will be a better result from Spurs, so I'd expect to see Dnipro exert a little more pressure as long as it remains goalless. Juande Ramos is not naturally the most expansive manager around, but he has to do something sooner rather than later as it is hard to see Dnipro coming away with much from White Hart Lane.
Fedetskiy goes down in dramatic fashion before ripping his boot off and clutching his ankle. It looks like a serious injury judging by his reaction, but lo and behold he is soon back up and running round again within moments. That magic sponge really does work.
YELLOW CARD! Zozulya goes into the book for a dive, going down under the challenge of Friedel inside the box. It is a very good decision from the referee, who has had a good game so far.
Just before that, Mazuch seemed to block a header that looked destined for the bottom corner. He didn't know much about it, but that will go down as a decent chance that he has blocked for his own side.
WHAT A MISS! Oh my goodness, I didn't think we'd see a worse miss than Mateu, but Soldado has just produced arguably the miss of the season. Paulinho showed great strength to hold off his man and play a powerful low balla cross goal that was right between the defence and the keeper. Soldado had peeled off to the back post but, with the goal gaping, he balloons his effort well over the bar. That is a sitter, and he knows it. Will anything go right for him at the moment?
If I'm making excuses for Soldado, the pitch may have played a part as the ball did bobble up a little, but even so that is a glorious chance and a player of Soldado's ability should be finishing them with his eyes closed. That one will go on the bloopers DVDs.
UPDATE: There has been a goal in another match that will have an impact of one of either Dnipro or Tottenham as Benfica have taken the lead away to PAOK. The winner of that match will face the winner of this one in the next round, so that is a noteworthy away goal for the Portuguese side.
Townsend has shown plenty of promise with his direct style this season, but he repeatedly makes the wrong decision. This time, he goes for goal from at least 35 yards out, scuffing a tame shot into the arms of the keeper, who then launches an attack that almost sees Mateu get on the end of a long ball forward.
TOTTENHAM SUB: That ridiculous shot from Townsend is his final action, and I think it is a good call from Sherwood. He makes way to be replaced by Christian Eriksen.
DISALLOWED GOAL! What an entrance that would have been. Just seconds after coming on, Eriksen has the ball in the back of the net, but his celebration are cut short by the linesman's flag. It was good work from Rose to set up the chance, and it was nicely finished from the Dane, but he was a fraction off.
Superb from Konoplyanka as he dribbles past a number of Tottenham defenders, weaving his way into the box before opening his body up to look for the bottom corner with a curling effort. However, he is finally tackled just as he is about to pull the trigger and Spurs get it clear.
SAVE! The hosts come forward again and Friedel is called upon to make a smart save. The American parries the ball into a dangerous area, but there are no blue shirts on hand to take advantage of the loose ball and Spurs get it clear.
CHANCE! Soldado flicks the ball to Eriksen before busting a gut to get in the middle for the return ball. He is duly picked out by his teammate and gets a good connection on a volley from the edge of the box, but his effort is well blocked and goes behind for a corner. That would have been some goal.
CHANCE! Big chance for the hosts as Zozulya pounces on a defensive error to give the ball to Giuliano. The Brazilian pokes the ball through the legs of Dawson before collecting it the other side and shooting, but Friedel is out again to make another important stop.
Well, that was a frantic few moments! This match has really livened up in the second half and both teams have squandered some really good chances. I would be surprised if this one ended goalless and, to be honest, I'm not sure how it is still 0-0! It has been a cracking second half.
CHANCE! Another chance for the hosts as Tottenham clear an initial corner but Dnipro recycle the ball and put it back into the middle. From the second delivery, Mazuch flicks his header on at the near post, but he can't keep it down under heavy pressure and the ball flies over the bar.
DNIPRO SUB: The hosts make their first change and it is Giuliano who makes way for Sergei Polityo.
Superb skill from Konoplyanka yet again as he flicks the ball over Naughton before advancing upfield, but his final product is poor on this occasions as he sends a diagonal cross behind for a goal kick.
PENALTY TO DNIPRO!
GOAL! Dnipro 1-0 Tottenham (Yevhen Konoplyanka)
Well, well, well - how big could that goal prove to be? It is great interplay to win the penalty as Matheu and and Zozulya link up and the former bursts past Rose and Vertonghen into the box. Vertonghen has one swipe at him outside the box and then another right on the edge, and that is the foul that the referee awards a penalty for. Vertonghen gets a yellow card for his foul, but the bigger proce comes a moment later as Konoplyanka converts his penalty off the inside of the post.
The referee has got every big decision right so far today, and I think he's done so again with that penalty. It was right on the edge of the area and there was just about enough contact to bring the man down, but you can see why Spurs may feel it was a bit soft.
Interesting corner routine as the ball is played low to Mazuch, who sees his shot blocked. The ball drops to Konoplyanka, who produces a speculative volley that dips just over the crossbar. That is the effort of a confident man.
TOTTENHAM SUB: Very interesting for Sherwood. His team could really do with a goal now, but he brings Soldado off to be placed by Harry Kane. The Spaniard can not be happy about that, but he did miss a glorious chance so only really has himself to blame.
OFF THE POST! It's unorthodox from Spurs, but they'll take anything right now. Eriksen over-hits his corner but Dawson manages to hook it back in towards the front post. Paulinho is the quickest to react, but his bundled effort towards the bottom corner comes off the outside of the post for another corner.
CLOSE! So close for Spurs to get an equaliser as Kane darts towards the front post and flicks a corner right across the face of goal. A couple of white shirts are close to getting an all-important touch, but it eludes them all and goes behind for a goal kick.
DNIPRO SUB: Defensive sub from the hosts as Matheu makes way for Kulakov.
CHANCES! Terrible defending from Spurs as a free kick goes all the way through and draws an unexpected save from Friedel, with two blue shirts on their own in the box. Spurs eventually get it half clear, but Konoplyanka gets it back into the box where a good chance is blasted over via a deflection from close range.
OFF THE POST! My word, from the resulting corner Zozulya shows great strength to send a header against the post, before missing the rebound wide right. Spurs are living a charmed life late on here.
There will be three minutes of added time, and we're into the final one of those now. What a second half this has been.
FULL TIME: Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk 1-0 Tottenham Hotspur
Wow, what an incredible end to the game. The first half was a decent enough spectacle, but that second period was end-to-end stuff. I'm not sure how there was only one goal in it, but the hosts will be delighted with having come away with the victory. Tottenham, meanwhile, now have plenty of work to do in the second at White Hart Lane next week.
Right that's all we have time for this evening. Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for what was a thoroughly entertaining match between Dnipro and Spurs. It was the Ukrainian side who will take the lead into the second leg thanks to a Konoplyanka penalty, but that only tells half the story of what was a fascinating encounter. Stay tuned for the match report, while the next round of Europa League fixtures is coming right up, including Swansea vs. Napoli.
