Harry Redknapp promised his Shakhtar Donetsk counterpart some wine when his team arrive in North London next week, but it was the Tottenham Hotspur players who were bearing gifts last night. The worst excesses of Heurelho Gomes returned to haunt Redknapp’s team when the goalkeeper was far too casual in going to collect a free kick, spoiling a dogged performance in which Tottenham defended well and looked to be heading for a goalless draw in this Uefa Cup round of 32, first-leg tie.

A 2-0 victory would not appear beyond Tottenham in the second leg in six days’ time, but Redknapp said that he plans to play an even more inexperienced team than he fielded last night, because the match comes three days before the Carling Cup final against Manchester United. With Carlo Cudicini ineligible for the final, Redknapp has little choice but to play Gomes, who had shown improvement before he lost his place to the Italian recruited from Chelsea last month.

Gomes had been undermined by dreadful mistakes earlier in the season and he suffered again last night when he misjudged Jadson’s free kick and Yevgen Seleznov, the substitute, headed in with his first touch midway through the second half. Gomes stayed prone on the turf for several minutes, but replays suggested that he had not been touched. “I don’t want to blame anyone,” Redknapp said. “I don’t want to say anything bad. We looked very comfortable and could have nicked something on the break. But I was pleased and delighted with the players. We have not given up on this competition, but we have other priorities. It’s a crazy schedule to play a final three days after [the second leg].”

Jadson added a second when he played a one-two, dummied and fired past Gomes in the final minutes.

Redknapp rested seven senior players with a hectic schedule of three games in six days approaching and was without a further four who were cup-tied. But he was pleased with Dean Parrett, the 17-year-old making his debut, who looked comfortable in midfield. Fraizer Campbell, in attack, fed on scraps and struggled to hold the ball up on a pitch strewn with divots and strange lines, thought to be caused by the undersoil heating.

Tottenham were set up to contain and posed little attacking threat. Giovani dos Santos shot into the side-netting from a tight angle, David Bentley wasted two free kicks from the edge of the penalty area and Jermaine Jenas was unable to flick the ball past Andriy Pyatov, the onrushing goalkeeper, after the break.

For a team who had not played competitively in two months and return to league action in two weeks’ time, Shakhtar began confidently. Mircea Lucescu, their coach, has never departed from close-passing, attacking football that utilises the full width of the pitch. It has taken them to three of the past four domestic titles in Ukraine and it was evident from the early moments that Shakhtar like to entertain as Jadson, one of the four Brazilian players in their starting line-up, found space and forced Giovani to throw himself in front of the ball in blocking a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Willian, another Brazilian, was the chief tormentor with a silky touch. He twisted and turned and used the space between Bentley and Chris Gunter to fashion some good opportunities. Willian had a long-range shot saved and dragged another across Gomes after Jadson and Ilsinho had combined cleverly to release him.

At the back, Shakhtar built attacks and Tottenham were guilty of allowing Dmitriy Chygrynskiy to step out and spray diagonal passes over the full backs. One centre was missed by Chimbonda and Oleksandr Gladkiy brought the ball down on his chest, but sliced wide with Gomes to beat.

Chimbonda, playing in an unaccustomed role on the left, was caught out on several occasions as Darijo Srna overlapped and delivered a ball low across the six-yard line, evading a clutch of players and Gomes.

Tottenham seemed to have weathered the storm until Gomes’s mistake. In stoppage time, Bentley found an unmarked Michael Dawson in the penalty area, but he inexplicably chose to try to head the ball to Darren Bent when arguably better placed to go for goal himself.

“It was a very good game, a very good win,” Lucescu said. “We have to prepare for a hard second leg.”

Shakhtar Donetsk (4-2-3-1): A Pyatov — D Srna, M Ischenko, D Chygrynskiy, R Rat — Fernandinho, M Lewandowski — Insinho (sub: L Adriano, 68min), Jadson, Willian — O Gladkiy (sub: Y Seleznov). Substitutes not used: R Khudzamoz, O Chyzhov, A Fedetskvy, V Shevchuk, I Duljaj. Booked: Rat.

Tottenham Hotspur (4-5-1): H Gomes — C Gunter, M Dawson, T Huddlestone, P Chimbonda — D Bentley, D Parrett (sub: J Bostock, 89), D Zokora, J Jenas, Giovani dos Santos (sub: D Bent, 69) — F Campbell. Substitutes not used: O Jansson, Gilberto, A Smith, R Mason, J Obika.

Referee: T Einwaller (Austria).