Share

Pain for Kane as Spurs draw

Sunderland - After a turbulent week, a late Harry Kane own goal meant Tottenham Hotspur had to settle for a point in a 2-2 Premier League draw at Sunderland on Saturday.

Goals early in each half from Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen looked to have put Spurs en route to a fifth successive victory over Sunderland, who remain without a win this season despite twice fighting back to draw.

But Mauricio Pochettino's side paid for failing to take their chances, as substitute Kane found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time to divert a Jordi Gomez free-kick into his own net with eight minutes left.

Amid speculation over the club's future ownership, and news they will need a temporary home for the 2017-18 season due to delays in the construction of their new stadium, Spurs' preparations had been far from ideal.

But they put their off-field issues aside and would have won with something to spare, but for a resilient display from the hosts at the Stadium of Light.

Spurs dominated an open first half that saw both goals arrive in the opening four minutes.

Former Sunderland loanee Danny Rose had already forced a fine save from home goalkeeper Vito Mannone when the visitors took a second-minute lead.

Emmanuel Adebayor was afforded time and space to accept Erik Lamela's pass and shoot from 18 yards.

Mannone saved well, but the rebound fell perfectly for Chadli to tuck home his third goal in four games from six yards.

But Sunderland were level just 72 seconds later in a breathless beginning to the contest.

Sebastian Larsson fed Adam Johnson on the left and the winger cut between Eric Dier and Etienne Capoue before beating Hugo Lloris with an angled right-foot drive that took a deflection off defender Younes Kaboul.

It proved to be a brief respite and Sunderland were soon on the back foot as they struggled to cope with 22-year-old Danish midfielder Eriksen.

Mannone dived to his left to push a low effort from Chadli round the post, before the Italian goalkeeper blocked with his chest after Adebayor volleyed towards goal from point-blank range.

Mousa Dembele then saw a speculative 30-yard effort take a deflection and hit the post with Mannone rooted to the spot.

The half-time interval failed to halt Tottenham's momentum and they deservedly went ahead again three minutes after the restart.

Adebayor released Chadli on the left and the winger's low cross sparked confusion in the Sunderland six-yard box.

Patrick van Aanholt's attempted clearance ran loose, and Eriksen reacted first to beat Wes Brown to the ball and stab home from a matter of feet for his first goal since April.

Despite being out-played for most of the match, Sunderland retained hope of snatching a point while just a goal in arrears.

Johnson sent a low 25-yard effort inches wide, but Gus Poyet's side were vulnerable to the counter-attack as they pushed numbers forward.

It took a good block from Mannone to thwart Adebayor and moments later, a curling effort from Lamela struck the bar.

But Tottenham's failure to score a third goal came back to haunt them when a Gomez free-kick was allowed to travel across the face of goal, where it struck substitute Kane and rolled into the visitors' net.

Sunderland almost won it at the death, but Will Buckley fired over from Van Aanholt's cross.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should the Proteas pick Faf du Plessis for the T20 World Cup in West Indies and the United States in June?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Faf still has a lot to give ...
66% - 641 votes
No! It's time to move on ...
34% - 332 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE