Ange Postecoglou’s high wire act goes to Frankfurt.
His Tottenham team are alive in the tie and offering tantalising glimpses they might be rediscovering their best rhythm and hoping they do not live to regret chances created and not converted.
Pedro Porro’s goal rescued a draw on the night after an awful start before Spurs rattled the woodwork twice in the second half and found goalkeeper Kaua Santos in inspired form to deny them the second goal and a lead to take to Germany.
Postecoglou’s team dominated large parts of the game, performing as well as they have in the weeks since players returned from injury, and will know they must continue to improve to beat opponents who proved how dangerous they can be on the break, in an atmosphere which promises to be hostile.
The vital thing is they are still fighting for a place in the last four of the Europa League.
For all the pre-match fanfare about a season on the line, the biggest night of the year and rousing rendition of ‘When the Spurs Go Marching In’, they lost initiative when they conceded within just six minutes.
Ange Postecoglou’s high wire act will go to Frankfurt after a 1-1 draw in the first leg
James Maddison was easily dispossessed deep inside Eintracht territory by Ellyes Skhiri who switched play with one long pass, played swiftly into the space created by right back Pedro Porro’s eagerness to get forward.
It is the textbook way to punish Spurs on the turnover. Porro is always so fast to break out of defence and the Germans knew it was coming. Ekitike, their centre forward and biggest threat, drifted wide into that area to collect the pass from Skhiri.
Porro raced back into position, but Ekitike was on the move, jinking inside and taking aim from 20 yards. His low curling shot was precise, inside the post, out of the reach of Guglielmo Vicario.
It was his 20th goal of the season for Eintracht and just the start Postecoglou did not want, although his team did summon a response, forcing the orange tide to retreat, finding a rhythm and generating a decent spell of pressure.
Dominic Solanke became more influential, holding up the ball and spinning into the channels to spark fluent little patterns for Spurs in the final third, coaxing Maddison on to create in more dangerous areas.
One Solanke cross seemed destined for Brennan Johnson at the back post until Eintracht left back Arthur Theate chased back and headed over his own goal, although the game restarted with a goal kick.
The momentum had swung though, and Porro levelled in the 26th minute, a delightful finish on the end of a decisive move by the home side. Heung-min Son picked out another of those runs by Solanke who held off a challenge and found Maddison in support.
Maddison sidestepped his man inside the penalty area and cut the ball back low from the bye line to Porro, arriving six yards and scoring with an elaborate flick of his left boot to deflect the ball behind his right leg and into the net.
The same two Spurs players culpable in the opening goal had combined for the equaliser and Postecoglou let out a cry of relief as he swung a fist through the air and spun on a heel.
Spurs controlled the rest of the first half and survived a scare just before the interval, when a sequence of Eintracht passes ended with another chance for Ekitike.
This time, it came on his left foot and the France Under 21 international had to hit it first time, which he did but could not beat Vicario who saved diving to his right.
Lucas Bergvall was close to scoring a specatcular second for Tottenham, early in the second half.
A change of pace took him through a crowd in midfield and the teenage Swede went for goal from distance, a sweet strike on an angle which beat goalkeeper Kaua Santos and crashed against the angle of the goal frame.
It lifted the atmosphere inside the stadium and triggered a flurry of Spurs chances. Back-up ‘keeper Santos, deputising for injured number one Kevin Trapp, made two fines saves to deny Son and then Maddison before Rodrigo Bentancur struck the woodwork again.
Bentancur headed a corner against the bar and then wriggled free again to head straight at Santos from another corner.
Johnson fired over another chance, just the sort he loves, moving inside from the left to connect with a low cross from substitute Djed Spence. He scored in similar fashion against Southampton on Sunday, but this flew over.
Santos made another fine save from Micky van de Ven, his heroics key to the result for Eintracht Frankfurt.