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Matchday 12
Final
	Tottenham Hotspur	2-0	Sunderland
Half: 1-0

Goals
12'	R. Keane	1-0
68'	T. Huddlestone	2-0

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Final Boxscore

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Tottenham Hotspur v Sunderland
Time	Commentary

95'	FT: SPURS 2 SUNDERLAND 0 Unhappy return for Darren Bent to White Hart Lane as his Sunderland side are beaten and his penalty miss proves costly. The home side were a goal to the good against the run of play at the interval thanks to Robbie Keane's close-range effort. Having been booed off at half-time, they raised their game after the interval and after Gomes made that penalty save added a second through Tom Huddlestone's piledriver midway through the second half. Spurs were much better in the last 20 minutes when Niko Kranjcar came on to add some much-needed width. Sunderland fans should take encouragement from what was an impressive performance. But that's only one win in 15 away from home for the Black Cats.
89'	FIVE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME Still time for Sunderland, then, but that second goal has drained their spirit.
86'	SPURS IN CRUISE CONTROL It looks as if Harry Redknapp's side are going to record only their second league clean sheet of the season as they stroke the ball around in midfield.
83'	GOMES SAVES AGAIN Turner meets a right-wing cross with a downward header which forces a wonderful diving save from Gomes.
81'	KRANJCAR WANTS A GOAL Niko Kranjcar tries an ambitious shot from outside the box which sails over the bar.
76'	SUBSTITUTION Former Spurs midfielder Steed Malbranque gets a generous ovation from the home fans as he makes way for David Healy.
73'	CLOSE TO A THIRD Kranjcar has been superb since coming on. Assou-Ekotto finds the Croatian inside the area but Turner makes a brave block.
69'	MAGNIFICENT STRIKE What a cracker! Kranjcar's pass found Defoe and he squared the ball along the edge of the 18-yard box for Huddlestone, who drilled a shot in off the underside of the bar.
68'	GOAL!!!!! Tom Huddlestone double's Tottenham's advantage.
67'	SUBSTITUTION In fact, Craig Gordon is not fit to continue. He's still bothered by that arm injury and on comes Hungary international Marton Fulop.
64'	SUBSTITUTION Second switch for Spurs. On comes Niko Kranjcar, off goes Robbie Keane who has been poor today, despite his goal.
61'	GO-GO GOMES This game is a cracker at the moment. Back come Sunderland and Gomes saves Malbranque's low shot. The Brazilian is there moments later to grab Bent's header.
60'	SUBSTITUTION Not Craig Gordon, though, he's recovered. It's Michael Dawson replacing Ledley King for Spurs.
58'	GORDON NEEDS TREATMENT Almost a second for Tottenham. Craig Gordon is out bravely at the feet of Jermain Defoe, but is left writhing around in agony as Tom Huddlestone puts the follow-up rebound wide.
54'	CONTROVERSIAL INCIDENT Before we go any further, let's point out that justice was done as Darren Bent blatantly dived to win that penalty. He was going down before contact was made.
52'	SAVED BY GOMES Bent fails from the spot, the Brazilian throwing himself to his left to paw the ball away. Harry Redknapp's missus would have scored that one!
51'	PENALTY FOR SUNDERLAND Gomes fells Bent and is shown the yellow card.
50'	BLACK CATS THREATENING Sunderland have started the second half in charge again and Malbranque's cross is just too high for Campbell.
49'	SUSPENSION LOOMS Michael Turner is shown the yellow card after hauling down Defoe. That's five bookings for the season and a one-game ban.
47'	BARDSLEY INJURED The former Manchester United defender is hurt in making a clearance from Ledley King but is okay to continue after treatment.
46'	HERE WE GO AGAIN No changes at the interval, with Spurs getting this second half underway.
45'	HT: SPURS 1 SUNDERLAND 0 Tottenham have the edge at half-time, thanks to that messy goal from Robbie Keane on 12 minutes. Other than that, Sunderland have probably carried the greater threat. Kieran Richardson hit the post seven minutes before the interval and the visitors had appeals for a penalty when Darren Bent was challenged by Heurelho Gomes.
44'	BLACK CATS BOSSING THIS Sunderland are playing the better football at present and a cross from McCartney is just too high for Bent. Four added minutes at the end of the half.
44'	RARE CHANCE FOR DEFOE Defoe shrugs off the attentions of Da Silva and gets in a shot on the turn that is a couple of yards wide.
42'	WALKING THE TIGHTROPE Henderson, who has only just been booked, catches Corluka a little late. The youngster escapes a second caution, but you have to think that he's now drinking in the last-chance saloon.
40'	GOMES SAVES SPURS Woodgate fails to make a clearing header and Corluka is then way short with his attempted header back to Gomes. Richardson latches on to the ball but the goalkeeper makes a magnificent sprawling save to deny him.
39'	BOOKING Henderson is shown the first yellow card of the game for a nasty-looking tackle on Palacios.
38'	SUNDERLAND HIT THE POST Andy Reid hits a dipping 30-yard volley that beats Gomes but crashes back off the post. That's an escape for Tottenham.
36'	GOMES IS INJURED Tottenham's Brazilian goalkeeper was hurt in that Bent incident and needs treatment on his right elbow. Bent, it must be pointed out, did not appeal for a penalty which reinforced the opinion that the referee got it right.
34'	WAS THAT A PENALTY? Fraizer Campbell does magnificently to chase a lost cause down the right wing. The former Spurs loanee crosses low and Bent tumbles under a challenge from Gomes. We have certainly seen them given, but it wasn't a clear-cut penalty and you have to say that referee Friend probably got it right.
33'	FULL-BACKS A THREAT With Spurs setting up so narrow across midfield, it is allowing George McCartney and Phil Bardlsey to attack down the flanks for Sunderland.
31'	THAT'S GOING TO STING A full-blooded shot from Henderson catches Huddlestone in a rather painful spot. The England midfielder isn't wearing a cricket box, so that's going to need a visit from the physio.
29'	FANS ARE NOT HAPPY Their team may be a goal to the good, but Spurs followers are not impressed by what they are seeing here and boos ring out around the ground. Without Aaron Lennon they have little width and are giving away the ball too cheaply.
26'	O'HARA AMONG THE GOALS Spurs fans might like to know that their player Jamie O'Hara, currently on loan at Portsmouth, has scored at Blackburn.
24'	BARDSLEY WIDE OF THE MARK Phil Bardsley, back today after a shoulder injury, tries his luck with a 30-yard angled drive which is only a couple of yards wide.
22'	MORE DANGER FOR SUNDERLAND Assou-Ekotto fires in an inviting cross from the left, but Turner gets in an important clearing header under pressure from Crouch. All Spurs at the moment.
19'	RICHARDSON SHOOTS WIDE At the other end, McCartney puts in a cross from the left and Richardson steers a left-foot shot wide of the far post. He should have done better there.
18'	HENDERSON TO THE RESCUE Both sides give the ball away in midfield before Jenas finds a little space and charges forward. He is just about to pull the trigger when Henderson makes a timely tackle.
17'	DID YOU KNOW? Since Luka Modric broke his leg against Birmingham, Tottenham have picked up only seven points in the Premier League out of a possible 21.
15'	WAS IT OFFSIDE? Replays suggest that the Republic of Ireland striker was in front of the action when he collected that Crouch header. Steve Bruce is not going to be happy.
13'	MORE ON THAT GOAL Richardson gave the ball away, Assou-Ekotto tore down the left and crossed for Crouch, who won the knockdown. Keane saw his first close-range effort saved and bundled in the rebound.
12'	GOAL!!!!! Robbie Keane gives Tottenham the lead.
11'	BARDSLEY WARNED The Sunderland right-back goes in a little high on Robbie Keane and is warned by referee Friend.
10'	DEPRESSING SPURS STATS Tottenham have kept only one clean sheet in the Premier League this season and their only league victories in the past two months have been against Burnley and Portsmouth.
9'	GLORIOUS CHANCE WASTED Sunderland should be in front. Spurs give the ball away to Richardson, who plays a delightful ball down the inside-right channel to Bent. His low cross is inviting, but Henderson, six yards out, scuffs a shot wide under pressure.
7'	SUNDERLAND FORMATION The visitors have started with just the one up front. But that doesn't mean they are not going for it - Jordan Henderson and Kieran Richardson have been very keen to join the attack.
6'	TWITTERING AND ALL THAT Find out what Darren Bent thought of his return to Spurs on his Twitter page after the match. This is the URL: http://twitter.com/DBtheTruth We can already reveal he has had Weetabix for breakfast.
4'	SAFE HANDS FROM GOMES McCartney gets a cross in, looking for Darren Bent, but Gomes climbs high to claim.
2'	TWO UP FRONT FOR SPURS It looks like Crouch and Defoe are going to lead the Tottenham attack, with Robbie Keane sitting just a little deeper behind them.
1'	MINUTE'S SILENCE There is a minute's silence before kick-off ahead of Remembrance Sunday. Apart from one idiot shouting out at the start, absolutely impeccably observed: you could hear a pin drop.
0'	TEAM NEWS Spurs make two changes from the side beaten at Arsenal last weekend. The fit-again Jonathan Woodgate replaces the injured Sebastien Bassong in central defence and Jermain Defoe comes in for David Bentley, meaning the home side may play with three up top, or that Robbie Keane drops back into midfield. Sunderland make three changes: in come George McCartney, Phil Bardsley and Fraizer Campbell for Nyron Nosworthy, Lorik Kana and Kenwyne Jones. The former is on the bench; the latter two suspended. Kieran Richardson is pushed forward from full-back into midfield. Kick-off is at 1500GMT.
0'	THE TEAMS Tottenham: Gomes, Corluka, King, Woodgate, Assou-Ekotto, Jenas, Huddlestone, Palacios, Keane, Crouch, Defoe. Subs: Alnwick, Hutton, Bale, Bentley, Pavlyuchenko, Dawson, Kranjcar. Sunderland: Gordon, Bardsley, Turner, Da Silva, McCartney, Malbranque, Henderson, Richardson, Andy Reid, Bent, Campbell. Subs: Fulop, Ferdinand, Nosworthy, Murphy, Meyler, Healy, Adam Reid. Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
0'	MAN IN THE MIDDLE A referee and a Friend: not many whistle-blowers can put that on their resume, but today's match official finds himself among that select band. Kevin Friend is one of the lesser-known top-flight referees who has spent most of his career taking charge of matches in the Football League. That was also the case at the start of this season, but he landed the Wolves v Fulham match on September 20 and has taken charge of three more fixtures since without courting much controversy, which is always an encouraging sign. Interestingly, he has shown 23 yellow cards and one red in five Carling Cup or Championship games this season, but has only cautioned a total of ten players in those four Premier League outings.
0'	FORM GUIDE Sunderland will leap-frog Spurs with a win and can conceivably climb to as high as fourth if other results go their way. But realistically, missing suspended striker Kenwyne Jones and boasting just one win in 14 away games, Steve Bruce would probably be happy to travel back to Wearside with a point. The pressure is more on Spurs to produce the goods. They cannot afford to lose a third successive match in the Premier League and need to do something to restore morale after last week's comprehensive defeat in the North London derby. Sunderland won here last season, 2-1, but prior to that Spurs had won the last seven at home against the Black Cats.
0'	PLAYERS TO WATCH Today's match promises to be a battle of two strikers with something of a point to prove. Of course, Darren Bent wants to show Mr and Mrs Redknapp that he can hit a cow's posterior from close range with a guitar-like stringed instrument. But a goal or two could also land him a call-up from England manager Fabio Capello on Sunday night for England's forthcoming friendly with Brazil in Qatar. Whatever the rights and wrongs of trekking halfway across the world in the name of making money, sorry, we meant to say spreading the football gospel across the globe, it's always a prestigious occasion facing the reigning world champions and with West Ham's Carlton Cole struggling with a hamstring problem, opportunity beckons. Jermain Defoe is all but on the World Cup plane already, but he could do with endearing himself to the Tottenham faithful by finding the net having been suspended for their two recent Premier League defeats.
0'	PREVIEW Tottenham welcome former striker Darren Bent back to White Hart Lane for the first time since his acrimonious £10million departure to Wearside last August. Bent, you may remember, was deeply distressed by manager Harry Redknapp insisting that even his wife Sandra could have scored the sitter that the former Charlton man missed in a league match against Portsmouth. The throwaway remark marked the beginning of the end for Bent and his departure was hastened by an ill-advised Tweet on social networking site Twitter telling chairman Daniel Levy to stop messing (or a more forceful work beginning with "f" to be more accurate) about and sanction his move away. The transfer has worked out well for all sides, with Bent currently boasting eight goals from 11 games, tops among England-qualified players in the Premier League. Redknapp may not be keen on Bent hitting the target, but he will be more concerned about his side returning to winning ways after successive defeats to Stoke and, more significantly, at Arsenal in a match that was supposed to be a test of Tottenham's top-four credentials. That's another "f" there then, as in "f" for fail.

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Teams

Tottenham Hotspur	Starter
Gomes - 1	Y
Tom Huddlestone - 6	Y
Jermaine Jenas - 8	Y
Robbie Keane - 10	Y
Wilson Palacios - 12	Y
Peter Crouch - 15	Y
Jermain Defoe - 18	Y
Vedran Corluka - 22	Y
Ledley King - 26	Y
Benoit Assou-Ekotto - 32	Y
Jonathan Woodgate - 39	Y
Michael Dawson - 20	N
Niko Kranjcar - 21	N

Sunderland	Starter
Craig Gordon - 1	Y
Phillip Bardsley - 2	Y
George McCartney - 3	Y
Michael Turner - 4	Y
Steed Malbranque - 8	Y
Fraizer Campbell - 9	Y
Kieran Richardson - 10	Y
Darren Bent - 11	Y
Jordan Henderson - 16	Y
Andrew Reid - 20	Y
Paulo da Silva - 22	Y
Anton Ferdinand - 5	N
David Healy - 23	N
Marton Fulop - 32	N

Substitution

60'	- Dawson
60'	- King
63'	- Kranjcar
63'	- Keane

Fulop -	67'
Gordon -
Healy -	77'
Malbranque -
Ferdinand -	78'
Bardsley -

Yellow Cards

Gomes (51')

Henderson (38')

Turner (48')

Tottenham Hotspur	Team Stats	Sunderland
2	Goals	0
2	Assists	0
11	Shots	16
3	Shots on Goal	5
5	Saves	1
0	Penalties Scored	0
0	Penalty Kicks	1
16	Crosses	29
4	Corner Kicks	4
6	Offsides	5
10	Fouls Committed	19
1	Cautions/Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0

Commentary | Team Stats | Player Stats | Shotchart

Tottenham Hotspur
			GA	SHT	SHT-OG	Svs	SPct	PKF	PKS	YC	RC
Gomes - 1			0	16	5	5	100.0	1	1	1	0
	SUB	G	Ast	SHTS	SOG	SOG%	CK	CR	FC	FS	Off	YC	RC
T. Huddlestone - 6		1	0	4	1	25.0	4	3	1	0	0	0	0
J. Jenas - 8		0	0	0	0	-	0	1	1	4	0	0	0
R. Keane - 10	-64	1	0	2	2	100.0	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
W. Palacios - 12		0	0	0	0	-	0	0	1	1	0	0	0
P. Crouch - 15		0	1	0	0	-	0	1	1	5	3	0	0
J. Defoe - 18		0	1	2	0	0.0	0	4	4	4	3	0	0
M. Dawson - 20	+61	0	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
N. Kranjcar - 21	+64	0	0	2	0	0.0	0	2	0	1	0	0	0
V. Corluka - 22		0	0	0	0	-	0	1	0	1	0	0	0
L. King - 26	-61	0	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	1	0	0	0
B. Assou-Ekotto - 32		0	0	1	0	0.0	0	3	0	0	0	0	0
J. Woodgate - 39		0	0	0	0	-	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

Sunderland
			GA	SHT	SHT-OG	Svs	SPct	PKF	PKS	YC	RC
C. Gordon - 1			1	10	2	1	50.0	0	0	0	0
M. Fulop - 32			1	1	1	0	0.0	0	0	0	0
	SUB	G	Ast	SHTS	SOG	SOG%	CK	CR	FC	FS	Off	YC	RC
P. Bardsley - 2	-79	0	0	2	0	0.0	0	4	3	2	0	0	0
G. McCartney - 3		0	0	0	0	-	0	5	0	1	1	0	0
M. Turner - 4		0	0	1	1	100.0	0	0	5	1	0	1	0
A. Ferdinand - 5	+79	0	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
S. Malbranque - 8	-78	0	0	2	2	100.0	0	3	4	0	1	0	0
F. Campbell - 9		0	0	0	0	-	0	4	0	0	0	0	0
K. Richardson - 10		0	0	4	1	25.0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D. Bent - 11		0	0	1	1	100.0	0	1	2	1	3	0	0
J. Henderson - 16		0	0	2	0	0.0	0	2	3	0	0	1	0
A. Reid - 20		0	0	4	0	0.0	4	8	2	0	0	0	0
P. da Silva - 22		0	0	0	0	-	0	0	0	2	0	0	0
D. Healy - 23	+78	0	0	0	0	-	0	2	0	1	0	0	0

Commentary | Team Stats | Player Stats | Shotchart

Goal: Robbie Keane, Assist: Peter Crouch (12')

Shot off Target: Kieran Richardson (18')

Shot off Target: Kieran Richardson (29')

Shot off Target: Kieran Richardson (50')

Shot off Target: Benoit Assou-Ekotto (68')

Goal: Tom Huddlestone, Assist: Jermain Defoe (68')

Goalkeepers
GA	Goals Allowed
SHT	Shots Faced
SHT-OG	Shots on Goal Faced
Svs	Saves
SPct	Save Pct.(Percentage)
PKF	Penalty Kicks Faced
PKS	Penalty Kicks Saved
YC	Cautions/Yellow Cards
RC	Red Cards

Players
G	Goals
SHTS	Shots
SOG	Shots on Goal
SOG%	Shots on Goal %
CK	Corner Kicks
CR	Crosses
FC	Fouls Committed
FS	Fouls Suffered
YC	Cautions/Yellow Cards
RC	Red Cards
Ast	Assists
Off	Offsides
SUB	Substitution

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