Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 Sunderland: Robbie Keane And Tom Huddlestone Seal Victory At Home

EPL: Robbie Keane, Tottenham - Sunderland (Getty Images)

Tottenham Hotspur got back to winning ways with a victory over Sunderland at White Hart Lane, owing to goals from Robbie Keane and Tom Huddlestone.

The Black Cats had a chance to brush shoulders with the big teams in the league by registering a victory in north London, and thereby leapfrogging the home side as well as Liverpool to move ahead in a quest in grace the right end of the table.

The game began with the visitors having a lion's share of the possession, as some good passing and playmaking resulted in some early dominance. But every potential chance saw the hosts' defence reacting well to block, and make the clearance. A through ball from Andy Reid was dealt with adequately, while a good ball in from Darren Bent saw the defenders come up on top.

Spurs broke the deadlock a little after 10 minutes of the game had been played, when a ball from the left saw Peter Crouch head the ball into the path of Keane, who did not have any significant trouble sending the ball into the bottom corner. Steve Bruce was furious with his defence, as there was no one marking the scorer. The Republic of Ireland international could have done much better with the finish, but it is unlikely to be a talking point of the encounter, as the ball crossed the line and gave Harry Redknapp's men the all-important lead.

Half an hour into the game, the Heurelho Gomes had to receive some treatment after a tryst with Bent, who would have scored if not for some aggressive goalkeeping.

Minutes later, Reid let fly a left footed shot that caught the 'keeper a couple of yards off his line, but the ball clattered into the post before rolling away harmlessly.

Sunderland went on the continue playing some positive football, and may have considered themselves unlucky not to have scored a goal before half-time.

The second period began with the travellers showing their attacking prowess, as they attacked the Tottenham goal and put the back four under severe pressure. On one such occasion, clever play by Bent saw him win a penalty for his side. The striker was through on goal when the onrushing Gomes came between the hitman and his target. The Black Cat touched the ball to put it out of the 'keeper's reach, and proceed to be taken down so as to win a spot kick.

Bent stepped up to score against his former club, but was unable to convert the penalty, as Gomes produced a fantastic save to keep the ball out of the bottom corner.

Craig Gordon tried to carry on following a collision with Jermain Defoe, but had to be eventually substituted, as Marton Fulop came on in place of the injured goalkeeper.

With a little over 20 minutes to go, Tottenham scored against the run of play, when Defoe laid one off to Huddlestone, who sent in a scorching shot from range that took a little help from the crossbar before crossing the all-important line to double the advantage for the Londoners.

Following the two-goal cushion, the Lilywhites could have added another when Niko Kranjcar sent in a shot, but it produced an awkward, but effective deflection from Michael Turner. Moments later at the other end, the defender almost went on to score through a header, but was denied as Gomes produced another one of his fine saves to keep him side in a comfortable position.

As the referee brought the game to a halt, Tottenham moved higher up the table after Manchester City fell to a fifth straight draw in the Premier League, this time against Burnley in a six-goal thriller at the City of Manchester Stadium.

Adithya Ananth, Goal.com UK