Tottenham dropped another two points as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland, with Asamoah Gyan on target again.
Gyan grabs equaliser as dominant Tottenham throw away victory
Tottenham dropped another two points as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Sunderland.
Spurs failed to follow up last week's famous UEFA Champions League victory over holders Inter Milan as they suffered a 4-2 defeat at Bolton on Saturday, and they were unable to bounce back on their return to White Hart Lane despite dominating in all areas.
Fit-again Dutch star Rafael van der Vaart gave them a thoroughly-deserved lead in the 64th minute, maintaining his record of scoring in each of his games at home.
But Tottenham threw away victory as the Black Cats levelled within three minutes after Asamoah Gyan capitalised on a shocking error in the home defence.
Spurs were unable to launch another onslaught and had to settle for a draw, meaning Harry Redknapp's men have taken just two points from the last 12 in the Premier League.
Spurs superior
The hosts were straight on the front foot and a Luka Modric shot drew a low save from Craig Gordon, recalled for his first game of the season as one of six Sunderland changes from the side that beat Stoke 2-0 on Saturday.
Roman Pavlyuchenko was among four changes for Tottenham, coming in for Peter Crouch to partner Van der Vaart up front, and the Russia striker fired narrowly wide from the edge of the box.
Sunderland replied with Lee Cattermole and Kieran Richardson going close but Anton Ferdinand then hobbled off to be replaced at left-back by Phil Bardsley.
Spurs soon got back on top and recalled captain Tom Huddlestone almost opened the scoring in the 19th minute as he struck an upright with a crisp half-volley after Gareth Bale's corner was cleared.
Van der Vaart then exchanged passes with Huddlestone to test Gordon at his near post while David Bentley, making his first league start this season, forced the Scotland keeper to palm behind again with an inswinging free-kick.
The best Sunderland could muster as half-time approached was a tame Gyan header straight at Heurelho Gomes, while Bentley cut inside Bolo Zenden on the right to force Gordon to tip over a fine left-footed strike.
More pressure
Pavlyuchenko was replaced by Crouch at half-time after picking up a back injury and Tottenham piled the pressure on, whipping a series of crosses into the Black Cats' box.
Van der Vaart sent a free header inches wide from Alan Hutton's right-wing cross and Gordon then had to stretch to keep out the Dutchman's downward header from a Bentley corner.
But the hosts finally broke the deadlock as Bale's left-wing cross was headed back across goal by Crouch for Van der Vaart to chest down and turn the ball in from close range, although the Dutchman appeared to use an arm.
A terrible mistake saw Spurs squander the lead almost immediately, though, as neither William Gallas nor defensive partner Younes Kaboul took charge, allowing substitute Danny Welbeck's hopeful ball to roll through for Gyan to follow up his brace against Stoke by slotting home his fifth goal already since his club-record capture.
Tottenham struggled to regain the momentum that led to their goal, with Michael Turner and Nedum Onuoha solid in the visitors' defence, and it was Sunderland, in fact, that looked the more likely winner only for the two sides to remain level on 16 points from 12 games.
| Tottenham Hotspur |
Team Statistics |
Sunderland |
| 1 |
Goals |
1 |
| 0 |
1st Half Goals |
0 |
| 7 |
Shots on Target |
2 |
| 11 |
Shots off Target |
5 |
| 6 |
Blocked Shots |
1 |
| 17 |
Corners |
4 |
| 7 |
Fouls |
16 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
5 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
1 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 76.5 |
Passing Success |
69.7 |
| 16 |
Tackles |
23 |
| 62.5 |
Tackles Success |
73.9 |
| 58.1 |
Possession |
41.9 |
| 55.1 |
Territorial Advantage |
44.9 |
|
