Perhaps the worrying thing for Sunderland fans here was the fact that, when Tottenham went ahead thanks to Harry Kane, David Moyes looked around him and had no strikers staring back at him desperate to get on and score. It was an afternoon when Sunderland adopted an unapologetically conservative approach, inviting Spurs on at every opportunity.
However, when Moyes was forced to emphasise more on the hunt for goals, he still had to rely on Jermain Defoe – and that’s disconcerting for the season ahead.
For Spurs, it was a welcome three points after their Champions League slip and an extension of their unbeaten start to the season – the solitary downside being the injuries to Eric Dier, Moussa Dembele and Kane, the latter of whom was forced to leave White Hart Lane on a stretcher.
As expected, Tottenham responded to their midweek defeat to Monaco by flying out of the traps.
Moussa Sissoko, making his first league start in a Spurs shirt, drilled a low shot just wide and, with that, Sunderland endured constant bombardment from their hosts.
It was relentless, but yet there was no breakthrough. Black Cats keeper Jordan Pickford was busy, and one wouldn’t be surprised to hear David Moyes went into the dressing room early for half-time in order to greet him with a cup of tea and a hug.
During the first-half, Pickford had 28 touches and Spurs had managed 19 shots.
The 22-year-old made a string of crucial saves in an inspired performance, clawing away not one, but two Harry Kane efforts before showing convincing handling with a Toby Alderweireld header.
He was beaten once however, when Son’s right-footed drive from the edge of the area struck the outside of the post. Moyes cut a deeply anxious figure in his technical area, a man wearing an expression of expectancy, rather than excitement.
Sunderland’s Jordan Pickford had more touches in the first-half than any of his team-mates (28). pic.twitter.com/6Aq5qNhTJz
As it were – and is so often in this riotously exciting league – the best chances actually fell to the visitors. Defoe, Sunderland’s only genuine hope of finding the back of the net, forced a save from Hugo Lloris after a long ball forward from Pickford led to the striker’s snapshot from a tight angle. There was a puff of the cheeks from Defoe, knowing that he was feeding on scraps all afternoon. Chances that presentable were a rarity.
Spurs’ French keeper was equal to Defoe, but not to Adnan Januzaj, when the Belgian attacker showed his delightful fleet-footed skills to cut-back to Steven Pienaar. With Lloris stranded, the South African failed to convert as Kyle Walker raced back to poke the ball clear off the line.
Following the interval, it was normal service resumed and, after 59 minutes, the Sunderland defence was finally breached, helped in no small part by Papiy Djilobodji’s inability to clear his lines. Flapping at a loose ball just six yards out, the centre-half gifted Kane his goal and left Moyes contemplating an alteration in approach. His response was to throw on Duncan Watmore for the ineffective Pienaar and although his introduction injected some pace into their attack, Sunderland continued to labour.
To compound Moyes’s misery, Januzaj was sent off for a nasty challenge and will further blunt Sunderland’s attacking options for their next game. Speaking of which, their next three league matches are home ties against Crystal Palace and West Brom, before travelling to Stoke City. Moyes will be expecting points from those games – Sunderland need them.
FINALLY Spurs score. Kane with the goal.
Updates on https://t.co/EW0rERSPHy right now.pic.twitter.com/jXKDcWHfdo
Man of the Match: Jordan Pickford
Teams: Tottenham Hotspur (4-2-3-1) Lloris; Walker, Alderweireld, Dier, Vertonghen; Dembele, Wanyama; Sissoko, Alli, Son; Kane.
Substitutes: Vorm, Davies, Trippier, Eriksen, Lamela, Winks, Janssen.
Sunderland (4-1-4-1) Pickford,Denayer, Djilobodji, Kone, Manquillo; Kirchhoff; Januzaj, Ndong, Cattermole, Pienaar; Defoe.
Substitutes: Love, Khazri, Watmore, O’Shea, McNair, Gooch, Mika.
Referee: Mike Deane.
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