Tottenham Hotspur maintained their hopes of claiming Champions League football next season with a hard-earned 2-1 victory away to Stoke on Sunday. Stoke, who played the second half at the Britannia Stadium with 10 men after the dismissal of their Scotland midfielder Charlie Adam, took an early lead through Steven Nzonzi. But Tottenham levelled with a goal from Clint Dempsey and scrambled the crucial three points with a late decider from Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor.

By Brian Homewood BASEL (Reuters) - FC Basel reached their first European semi-finals by beating Tottenham Hotspur 4-1 on penalties in the Europa League on Thursday after a dreadful miss by Emmanuel Adebayor in the shootout. Clint Dempsey scored an 82nd minute equaliser for Tottenham to send the quarter-final second leg into extra time, which Tottenham survived with 10 men as the match ended 2-2 and 4-4 on aggregate.

Ten-man Tottenham crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday, losing a quarter-final penalty shoot-out to Basel, leaving Chelsea as England's sole survivors after Newcastle also exited. Basel won the shoot-out 4-1 after the second leg in Switzerland had ended 2-2 following extra-time for a 4-4 scoreline on aggregate. Clint Dempsey gave Spurs a 23rd minute lead before Egyptian winger Mohamed Salah levelled four minutes later.

Tottenham midfielder Clint Dempsey fears his side's push for a place in the Champions League is in danger of being ruined by the nervous atmosphere at White Hart Lane. Andre Villas-Boas's side suffered a setback in their bid to finish in the Premier League's top four after being held to a 2-2 draw against Everton on Sunday. Spurs, who needed Gylfi Sigurdsson's 87th-minute goal to rescue a point, were seven points ahead of Arsenal last month but a slump in form has gifted the initiative back to third-placed Chelsea and fifth-placed Arsenal.