By . Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail . Follow @@Matt_Barlow_DM . After the soaring temperatures of Cyprus some Tottenham fans are sure to return home with red faces but Erik Lamela was on hand to ensure that at least there was no embarrassment to accompany the sunburn. Spurs were within 16 minutes of being the first English team to lose to Cypriot opponents in competition and the locals inside the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium were giddy at the prospect of making history in the first leg of this Europa League play-off. The game changed, however, within minutes of Lamela’s introduction, as he opened spaces and supplied the passes for Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane to score the goals to send Mauricio Pochettino’s team home with a 2-1 lead. For Soldado, his ferocious strike must have been like a shot of pain relief. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mauricio Pochettino: Every competition is important to Tottenham . Hard fought: Harry Kane is felled by a robust challenge as Tottenham were made to work very hard by a committed AEL but managed to come away with the victory . Dream start: The Cypriots got off to the perfect start, Adrian Sardinero putting them in front early on, leaving Spurs shell-shocked . AEL Limassol (4-4-1-1): Fegrouch 7; Soares Carlitos 6, Cadu 7, Sielis 6, Edmar 6; Sardinero 6.5 (Calo 80min), Guidilleye 7, Nikolaou 6, Diego Barcelos 6 (Eleftheriou 67, 5); Bebe 6; Gikiewicz 6 (Tagbajumi 73, 5). Subs not used: Pulpo, Espana, Tagbajumi, Stavrou, Miguel Carlitos, Nadeau. Booked: Cadu. Scorer: Sardinero 14. Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris 6; Naughton 6, Dier 6, Vertonghen 6.5, Davies 5; Bentaleb 5, Paulinho 4.5 (Chadli 59, 6); Townsend 5 (Lamela 72, 7.5), Kane 7, Holtby 4.5 (Dembele 67, 6); Soldado 5. Subs not used: Friedel, Rose, Dawson, Sandro. Booked: Holtby, Soldado, Davies. Scorers: Soldado 74, Kane 80. Man of the match: Erik Lamela. Referee: Manuel de Sousa 6. Until then, it had been another miserable experience for him as he missed an early sitter and collected a booking for a desperate lunging foul committed after an inexcusably poor touch. For Kane, the winner was just reward for his bustling performance, when for long periods he seemed like the only player with the desire to haul Tottenham out of trouble after Adrian Sardinero had put AEL ahead in the first half. But much credit goes to Lamela, a 72nd-minute substitute, who is showing signs that under the guidance of fellow Argentine Pochettino, Spurs may begin see what all the fuss and money was about. ‘It is never easy in the first season for a player from another country,’ said Pochettino. ‘It’s true it was difficult for him. He was injured, too. He was very disappointed about last season but the past is the past. ‘We are confident that with time and hard work, like he has done in pre-season, he can go far. We need him to look forward, believe in his skill and work very hard.’ Until Lamela’s arrival, Spurs had been hugely underwhelming. They were sluggish and sloppy in the stifling heat and on a terrible pitch, which was slow, spongy and cut up quickly. AEL were having no such problems and were playing fluently by the time Sardinero put them ahead in the 14th minute. The goal was a simple affair, the result of an awful sequence from Spurs, when Jan Vertonghen and Paulinho were both careless in possession, deep in defence. Sardinero seized the ball, drove towards goal and beat Hugo Lloris as he careered out. Pochettino looked unimpressed and accused his team of being complacent and failing to heed his pre-match warnings. ‘We knew they had a good team but I think it’s true that we believed it would be an easy game,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘We struggled in the first half. We started well but then made some mistakes and they came into the game. ‘It was a very tough game in difficult conditions. We started to play in the second half. In general, I am happy and in the end it is an important result for us.’ Enduring the heat: Spurs fans watch on as their side struggles in the first half, but they will return to England happy after a second-half turnaround . Shut down: Soldado struggled in the first half as AEL denied him time on the ball, but the Spanish striker responded with a goal with 15 minutes to play . Advantage: Andros Townsend battles with Edmar Lacerda da Silva as Spurs battle to turn the tie around . Delight: Erik Lamela, who came on as a substitute moments before Spurs began their comeback, celebrates the first goal with scorer Soldado . Perhaps it would have all been a little easier had Soldado scored in the fifth minute, when Karim Fergrouch spilled a shot from Kane at his feet. Soldado could not adjust his feet in time and the ball squirted wide from his left boot. Most of Tottenham’s best moments in the first-half revolved around Kane who displayed energy and positive intent, even if his final delivery was inconsistent. Twice the young striker was denied from distance by AEL’s Moroccan goalkeeper. Pochettino’s three second-half substitutions lifted the team and his strikers combined well when Soldado nodded a cross from Nacer Chadli to Kane, who caught it crisply on the half-volley. Fegrouch beat the effort down into the ground only for it to spring up behind the keeper, hit the bar and fly out. Kane held his head, fearing it was one of those days, but AEL were wilting and Soldado soon levelled. Lamela slid a pass into his feet, although it was not an easy chance. But the £28million record signing gathered the ball from the £30m record signing and lashed it in from an angle. Six minutes later, Lamela came alive again, this time producing a smart reverse pass to release Kane, who took a touch, wriggled clear of a defender and drove the ball high into the top corner. Lamela almost added a wonderful third with an intricate dribble from the left and a low shot which flashed narrowly wide. It did not matter. Despite the scare, Spurs had seized control and will surely confirm their place in the group stages next week. Pointing the way: Spurs goalscorers Soldado and Kane celebrate the first of their two goals in Limassol as Spurs make Europa League qualification likely . Taking the lead: English striker Kane celebrates putting his side ahead ten minutes from time .
Tottenham fall behind to Adrian Sardinero goal on 14 minutes .
Soldado and Kane respond with goals in six second-half minutes to turn the tie around .
Spurs made to work hard but now in a strong position to qualify for Europa League .
By . Matt Barlow for the Daily Mail . Follow @@Matt_Barlow_DM . After the soaring temperatures of Cyprus some Tottenham fans are sure to return home with red faces but Erik Lamela was on hand to ensure that at least there was no embarrassment to accompany the sunburn. Spurs were within 16 minutes of being the first English team to lose to Cypriot opponents in competition and the locals inside the Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium were giddy at the prospect of making history in the first leg of this Europa League play-off. The game changed, however, within minutes of Lamela’s introduction, as he opened spaces and supplied the passes for Roberto Soldado and Harry Kane to score the goals to send Mauricio Pochettino’s team home with a 2-1 lead. For Soldado, his ferocious strike must have been like a shot of pain relief. VIDEO Scroll down to watch Mauricio Pochettino: Every competition is important to Tottenham . Hard fought: Harry Kane is felled by a robust challenge as Tottenham were made to work very hard by a committed AEL but managed to come away with the victory . Dream start: The Cypriots got off to the perfect start, Adrian Sardinero putting them in front early on, leaving Spurs shell-shocked . AEL Limassol (4-4-1-1): Fegrouch 7; Soares Carlitos 6, Cadu 7, Sielis 6, Edmar 6; Sardinero 6.5 (Calo 80min), Guidilleye 7, Nikolaou 6, Diego Barcelos 6 (Eleftheriou 67, 5); Bebe 6; Gikiewicz 6 (Tagbajumi 73, 5). Subs not used: Pulpo, Espana, Tagbajumi, Stavrou, Miguel Carlitos, Nadeau. Booked: Cadu. Scorer: Sardinero 14. Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Lloris 6; Naughton 6, Dier 6, Vertonghen 6.5, Davies 5; Bentaleb 5, Paulinho 4.5 (Chadli 59, 6); Townsend 5 (Lamela 72, 7.5), Kane 7, Holtby 4.5 (Dembele 67, 6); Soldado 5. Subs not used: Friedel, Rose, Dawson, Sandro. Booked: Holtby, Soldado, Davies. Scorers: Soldado 74, Kane 80. Man of the match: Erik Lamela. Referee: Manuel de Sousa 6. Until then, it had been another miserable experience for him as he missed an early sitter and collected a booking for a desperate lunging foul committed after an inexcusably poor touch. For Kane, the winner was just reward for his bustling performance, when for long periods he seemed like the only player with the desire to haul Tottenham out of trouble after Adrian Sardinero had put AEL ahead in the first half. But much credit goes to Lamela, a 72nd-minute substitute, who is showing signs that under the guidance of fellow Argentine Pochettino, Spurs may begin see what all the fuss and money was about. ‘It is never easy in the first season for a player from another country,’ said Pochettino. ‘It’s true it was difficult for him. He was injured, too. He was very disappointed about last season but the past is the past. ‘We are confident that with time and hard work, like he has done in pre-season, he can go far. We need him to look forward, believe in his skill and work very hard.’ Until Lamela’s arrival, Spurs had been hugely underwhelming. They were sluggish and sloppy in the stifling heat and on a terrible pitch, which was slow, spongy and cut up quickly. AEL were having no such problems and were playing fluently by the time Sardinero put them ahead in the 14th minute. The goal was a simple affair, the result of an awful sequence from Spurs, when Jan Vertonghen and Paulinho were both careless in possession, deep in defence. Sardinero seized the ball, drove towards goal and beat Hugo Lloris as he careered out. Pochettino looked unimpressed and accused his team of being complacent and failing to heed his pre-match warnings. ‘We knew they had a good team but I think it’s true that we believed it would be an easy game,’ said the Spurs boss. ‘We struggled in the first half. We started well but then made some mistakes and they came into the game. ‘It was a very tough game in difficult conditions. We started to play in the second half. In general, I am happy and in the end it is an important result for us.’ Enduring the heat: Spurs fans watch on as their side struggles in the first half, but they will return to England happy after a second-half turnaround . Shut down: Soldado struggled in the first half as AEL denied him time on the ball, but the Spanish striker responded with a goal with 15 minutes to play . Advantage: Andros Townsend battles with Edmar Lacerda da Silva as Spurs battle to turn the tie around . Delight: Erik Lamela, who came on as a substitute moments before Spurs began their comeback, celebrates the first goal with scorer Soldado . Perhaps it would have all been a little easier had Soldado scored in the fifth minute, when Karim Fergrouch spilled a shot from Kane at his feet. Soldado could not adjust his feet in time and the ball squirted wide from his left boot. Most of Tottenham’s best moments in the first-half revolved around Kane who displayed energy and positive intent, even if his final delivery was inconsistent. Twice the young striker was denied from distance by AEL’s Moroccan goalkeeper. Pochettino’s three second-half substitutions lifted the team and his strikers combined well when Soldado nodded a cross from Nacer Chadli to Kane, who caught it crisply on the half-volley. Fegrouch beat the effort down into the ground only for it to spring up behind the keeper, hit the bar and fly out. Kane held his head, fearing it was one of those days, but AEL were wilting and Soldado soon levelled. Lamela slid a pass into his feet, although it was not an easy chance. But the £28million record signing gathered the ball from the £30m record signing and lashed it in from an angle. Six minutes later, Lamela came alive again, this time producing a smart reverse pass to release Kane, who took a touch, wriggled clear of a defender and drove the ball high into the top corner. Lamela almost added a wonderful third with an intricate dribble from the left and a low shot which flashed narrowly wide. It did not matter. Despite the scare, Spurs had seized control and will surely confirm their place in the group stages next week. Pointing the way: Spurs goalscorers Soldado and Kane celebrate the first of their two goals in Limassol as Spurs make Europa League qualification likely . Taking the lead: English striker Kane celebrates putting his side ahead ten minutes from time .
made to work very hard by a committed AEL but after Adrian Sardinero had put AEL ahead in the responded with a goal with 15 minutes to play . Lacerda da Silva as Spurs battle to turn the tie Spurs goalscorers Soldado and Kane celebrate the make Europa League qualification likely . Taking