Tottenham Hotspur narrowly avoided a major upset in the Champions League as they came from two goals down to secure a 2-2 draw against Norwegian side Bodo/Glimt.
Spurs, who comfortably beat the same opposition home and away during last season’s successful Europa League campaign, were second best for long stretches and found themselves trailing early in the second half.
Jens Petter Hauge opened the scoring for the hosts with a fine curling strike into the far corner, before doubling his tally with a superb solo effort that saw him turn away from Pedro Porro and finish powerfully into the bottom corner.
The home fans were in dreamland, but Micky van de Ven sparked a Spurs comeback by heading in Porro’s cross. Destiny Udogie then struck the crossbar as Tottenham piled on late pressure.
Their persistence was rewarded in the 89th minute when Bodo defender Jostein Gundersen turned Archie Gray’s cross into his own net to level the score.
It was a fortunate escape for Thomas Frank’s side, particularly as Kasper Hogh had earlier blazed a penalty over the bar after Rodrigo Bentancur committed a foul inside the box.
There was relief at the final whistle among the Tottenham players, but little in the way of celebration given the performance.
With Bodo located 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle and matches played on an artificial surface, the conditions can be testing. However, Spurs had played here as recently as May, when they claimed a comfortable 2-0 win, so it was difficult to use that as an excuse for what was a largely flat display.
Tottenham struggled to create chances and were overly reliant on their defence to contain a confident and energetic Bodo side in the first half.
Manager Thomas Frank may take some positives from the fightback, but the overall performance left plenty to be desired.
Despite the scare, Spurs now have four points from their opening two Champions League matches, but they will need to improve significantly as the competition progresses.
