Spurs squeeze past nine-man City

Darren Bent scored two to help Tottenham secure a 2-1 win away at Man City.

Bent on fire as Harry lifts Spurs off the bottom

Darren Bent continued his recent run of goals with two more against Manchester City on Sunday to help Tottenham secure a 2-1 win at The City of Manchester Stadium. But that was only half the story as City ended the game with nine men and the visitors finished the game with 10 as referee Mike Dean went card crazy. Both sides started the game brightly with play switching from end to end and it was City who took the lead on 16 minutes. The lively Robinho found Shaun Wright-Phillips on the edge of the area and the England winger turned and fed the ball through Benoit Assou-Ekotto's legs to find the on rushing Darius Vassell. Vassell's shot across goal was parried by Gomes and Robinho who had continued his run into the area was on hand to slot home his sixth goal in six games. The game was then changed when the first of the three sending offs occurred after 26 minutes when Gelson Fernandes tripped David Bentley and subsequently received a second yellow minutes after receiving his first for a trip on Luca Modric. Spurs responded and Darren Bent capitalised on Richard Dunne's error and fired under Joe Hart to level the scores. City held out until the 64th minute when Jermaine Jenas laid the ball off to Bent and the striker fired hard and low to Hart's left and saw his strike go in off the far post for his second of the game. Dunne's misery was compounded in the 83rd minute when he was sent off for bringing down Bent when the striker was through on goal. Referee Mike Dean even had time to send Spurs full-back Assou-Ekotto off for a second bookable offence two minutes from time for a trip on Pablo Zabaleta.

Breakthrough

Spurs moved off the bottom of the Premier League in after picking up the three points but things could have turned out differently had it stayed 11 versus 11. City made the breakthrough in the 16th minute, thanks to Robinho's eighth goal of the campaign. The Brazilian scored with a spectacular effort against FC Twente in the Uefa Cup, but this one was fairly routine. He found the target from close range, after Darius Vassell's effort had been parried - with Shaun Wright-Phillips also playing a part in a swift counter-attack. Robinho then picked out Stephen Ireland, but his effort was beaten away by Heurelho Gomes in the 24th minute. The match took a significant twist in the 26th minute when Fernandes was sent off for two bookable offences and Spurs nearly took advantage immediately when Luka Modric fired a shot in only to be denied by a splendid block from Joe Hart. They did not have long to wait for the equaliser, however, Bent providing an assured finish in the 30th minute. He gave Hart no chance, after defender Dunne had failed to cut out a long ball from Modric. The home side still looked vulnerable, and David Bentley was having a lot of possession but was wasteful a minute before half-time when he found space on the right only to loft his effort over the bar. City were exposed in the 52nd minute when Modric was allowed to find space in the six-yard box but drilled a shot straight at Hart. Modric was at the heart of every Spurs move and tried his luck on goal five minutes later but saw his shot blocked by Javier Garrido. City responded, and Wright-Phillips used his pace to get beyond Ledley King. But his effort carried little weight, and Gomes was able to make a comfortable save.

Reacted

Dunne almost put the hosts ahead again in the 61st minute when he got on the end of an inswinging free-kick from Garrido but Gomes reacted superbly to block the captain's header. Spurs went ahead in the 65th minute when Tom Huddlestone picked out Jenas in the area. He laid the ball off into the path of Bent, who rattled a shot in off the post. City suddenly picked up the pace, despite being down on numbers, and Benjani headed wide in the 72nd minute following a cross from Garrido. Three minutes later Robinho saw his effort turned around the post by Gomes, and the goalkeeper continued his good work in the 77th minute when he blocked Stephen Ireland's effort from an acute angle. City were reduced to nine in the 83rd minute when Dunne was given a straight red card, after referee Dean adjudged he had hauled back Bent as he homed in on goal. Tottenham then found themselves down to 10 on the stroke off full-time when Assou-Ekotto was red-carded for a challenge on Pablo Zabaleta.

Manchester City	Team Statistics	Tottenham Hotspur
1	Goals	2
1	1st Half Goals	1
7	Shots on Target	6
2	Shots off Target	6
0	Blocked Shots	4
4	Corners	5
13	Fouls	13
1	Offsides	3
0	Yellow Cards	1
2	Red Cards	1
71.6	Passing Success	80.7
22	Tackles	12
40.9	Tackles Success	66.7
39.7	Possession	60.3
53.9	Territorial Advantage	46.1