Sebastien Bassong was delighted to score against Young Boys after accepting blame for one of their goals.
Defender confident Spurs can come through
Sebastien Bassong has admitted he was delighted to score against Young Boys after feeling responsible for one of the goals Tottenham conceded in their nightmare opening half-hour.
The Swiss side took full control of the UEFA Champions League play-off tie by scoring three times in the first 28 minutes, with Bassong accepting the blame for the third.
Spurs had already been tottering at 2-0 down when Xavier Hochstrasser slotted home after being played in by a simple slide-rule pass from Moreno Costanzo.
However, Bassong started the recovery by heading home just before half-time and Roman Pavlyuchenko's fantastic late effort left Tottenham just 3-2 behind going into next week's second leg at White Hart Lane.
The Cameroon defender is confident Spurs can now complete their comeback and prevail on aggregate to make it through to the prestigious group phase.
"I was really sad to make that mistake, obviously, and I still apologise for that," he said.
"It was a childish mistake; it was a lack of concentration from me, and after my goal it was like a revenge and I really wanted that."
Bassong branded Spurs' opening half-hour their 'worst for a long time', but added on
Spurs TV Online: "After the two goals we scored away, we feel better - after the nightmare of the start of the game.
"Hopefully, if we carry on like that, we've got a chance to go through.
"But we will have to work hard again because this team is not going to be easy to beat, even at home."
Dawson out for revenge
Bassong's fellow centre-back Michael Dawson is also looking forward to the return leg, convinced that Spurs can give Young Boys a taste of their own medicine and get off to a good start.
"What a fantastic place White Hart Lane will be," said Dawson.
"It'll be rocking and everyone will be behind us. Hopefully, we'll get a few early goals like they did."
Despite being heavy favourites to progress, Tottenham played like the Champions League novices they are as they struggled to come to terms with their opponents' pressing game, as well as the Stade de Suisse's artificial pitch.
"The first half an hour was disappointing; it hurt the lads," Dawson said.
"But we showed a lot of spirit and we'll certainly be doing that next week."
He added: "We know what these two games mean to the football club and the players - everyone wants to play in the Champions League.
"It just shows in the Champions League, you've got to be ready from minute one.
"We conceded after five minutes and it was always an uphill battle.
"But, credit to the lads, we stuck in there after being three down, when it could have been a lot worse."
