Vitesse defeated Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 in the Europa Conference League group stage action on Thursday night, thanks to a second-half goal from Maximilian Wittek.
Playing without Harry Kane or Son Heung-Min, Spurs lost their first group stage match in the inaugural season of UEFA’s newest club competition.
Vitesse earned the deserved win over a rotated Spurs side, with the Dutch club finding the match-winner in the 78th minute.
Eliazer Dasa lifted a great ball for Wittek, who then hit a first-time effort into the back of the net to give Vitesse the lead.
Spurs’ best opportunity came moments after halftime when Bryan Gil rattled the woodwork, but Vitesse denied him the opportunity.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are third after three matches in Group G, with a draw against French side Rennes and a victory over Slovenian minnows Mura in their opening two games.
Only the group winner automatically goes through to the last 16 of the competition.
NAN/Reuters
Spurs’ second string fail to pass the audition – BBC
Leaving his star names back in London was not seen as a risk by Spurs manager Nuno, who has to consider the impact of seven matches in 21 days and use his squad accordingly.
The trip to Arnhem was the second game in this busy period and, on the evidence of his team selection, was given a lower priority in an important week.
Spurs go to London rivals West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday and then head to Burnley on Wednesday in the Carabao Cup fourth round.
None of the outfield players who started at Newcastle even made the trip to the Netherlands for Thursday’s match.
Opportunities were given to a number of fringe players to impress their managers.
But the move backfired as a team featuring nine internationals – including England pair Dele Alli and Harry Winks – produced a lifeless performance.
Spurs looked edgy from the start as Vitesse played on the front foot, with a sell-out 24,000 crowd spurring on the home side with noisy and atmospheric support.
The stadium erupted when Vittek thumped in the winner and the joyous celebrations after the final whistle – the home players piling on each other before lapping up the crowd’s acclaim – contrasted sharply to Spurs’ dejection.