• Date: Sat 11 August 2007
  • Venue: Stadium of Light
  • Ref: Wiley, A
  • Attendance: 43,967

Sunderland vs Tottenham Hotspur

Team Lineups

Sunderland

Craig Gordon
Nyron Nosworthy
Paul McShane
Carlos Edwards
Kieran Richardson (Danny Collins, 72)
Ross Wallace
Dickson Etuhu
Dean Whitehead
Daryl Murphy
Dwight Yorke (Liam Miller, 57)
Anthony Stokes (Michael Chopra, 72)

Tottenham Hotspur

Paul Robinson
Younes Kaboul
Pascal Chimbonda
Anthony Gardner
Paul Stalteri
Didier Zokora (Tom Huddlestone, 87)
Jermaine Jenas
Steed Malbranque
Teemu Tainio (Darren Bent, 59)
Robbie Keane
Dimitar Berbatov (Jermain Defoe, 77)


Live Text Commentary
Full time
 

Michael Chopra gives Sunderland all three points with the last kick of the game after a disapointing match which seemed destined to be heading for a draw.

90
Goal
 

Michael Chopra bangs home what is surely the winner after Whitehead picked out the former Newcastle striker who controlled the ball brilliantly before side-footing home.

90

Miller wastes a good chance from a free kick, striking his shot straight at the wall as Tottenham come away with the ball.

89

Etuhu nearly steals the match for the Black Cats nearly poking an Edwards free kick home but Robinson makes a great save to deny the Sunderland midfielder.

88

Jenas whips in a corner which Sunderland manage to deal with but the clearance falls to Huddlestone who hits a vicious shot towards goal but Gordon is equal to the shot.

86
Substitution
 

Tottenham make their last change of the game with Tom Huddlestone coming on to replace Didier Zokora.

85

Whitehead flights in a decent looking cross but Tottenham have numbers back to deal with the ball as another chance goes begging.

83

Edwards takes a quick long throw and catches out the Spurs defence as Murphy chases the ball down but can't get there as the ball rolls out of play.

81

Both goalkeepers could still have been on their summer holiday's for the amount of work they have had to do this half, both teams very disappointing going forward.

76
Substitution
 

An unhappy Dimitar Berbatov trudges off the pitch to be replace by Jermain Defoe.

75

Zokora is lucky to have not been given his second yellow card after going down a little too easily inside the penalty area, the replays seem to show there was no contact from Whiteheads' attempted challenge.

72

Berbatov does well to shrug off McShane before playing a clever ball over the top for Bent to chase but Gordon is off his line well to collect the ball.

71
Substitution
 

Sunderland make a double substitution with Michael Chopra and Danny Collins coming on to replace the dissapointing Anthony Stokes and Kieran Richardson

65

Malbranque tries to play Bent in with a long play over the top for the striker but again McShane does well to muscle him off the ball and let Gordon gather the ball.

62

Edwards tries to swing in a better corner than his previous attempts and this time finds a red and white shirt, Nosworthy getting his head on the ball but sending it nowhere near goal.

58
Substitution
 

Martin Jol is quick to respond with £16million man Darren Bent making his Premiership debut for Spurs, replacing Teemu Tainio

57
Substitution
 

Roy Keane is the first manager to make a change with Dwight Yorke coming off to be replaced by Liam Miller.

56

Berbatov wastes a chance from a free kick just outside the area, floating it high and wide of the goal.

54

Edwards delivers a free kick into the Spurs penalty area which Robinson punches away behind his goal but the England goalkeeper is adjudged to have been fouled in trying to reach the ball by Stokes.

52

Chimbonda gets forward and floats in a nice ball which Keane attacks but can only head the ball across the face of goal and wide.

50
Yellow Card
 

Dean Whitehead goes into the referee's book after bringing down Malbranque with a badly timed tackle.

49

Edwards takes the first corner of the second half which is again poor as Gardner clears the ball away at the near post

46

Sunderland have started the half well, pressing Tottenham a lot more than they did in the first half and recieving the benefits so far, nearly creating a few chances early on.

Second half
 

Sunderland get the second half underway hoping to pose more of a threat to the Tottenham back-line.

Half time
 

Alan Wiley draws an uneventful first half to a close with Murphy having the best chance of the half despite Tottenham shading it in terms of possession.

44

Kaboul gets forward from the back to whip in a dangerous cross but McShane deals with it well, firstly winning the ball and then preventing a corner.

41
Yellow Card
 

Referee Alan Wiley goes back and shows Didier Zokora a yellow card for a tackle he made in the build-up to Etuhu's shot.

41

Sunderland quickly respond to the scare at their own end by creating a chance of their own, Edwards showing some quick feet before seting up Etuhu who strikes the ball well from outside the area but sends it just wide of the goal.

40

Tottenham finally get in behind Sunderland's backline as Berbatov takes the ball over Gordon but before the striker can shoot Whitehead slides in to take the ball off Spurs danger man.

39

Another Sunderland set piece goes wrong as the Black Cats waste a corner which brings Roy Keane out of the dugout for the first time to vent his frustration.

38

Richardson delivers another bad ball from a free kick wide on the right which strikes the wall as Spurs clear their lines.

37

Wallace whips in another decent cross which Tottenham fail to deal with as the ball falls to Murphy who gets in one-on-one with Robinson but the England goalkeeper saves well as Sunderland wastes the best chance of the match.

35

Wallace picks out Etuhu with a decent cross but the debutant can't get enough power or direction on his header as it bounces wide of goal.

33

Chimbonda and Malbranque combine well with the French midfielder trying to chip the ball across goal for Berbatov to attack but it's just too far ahead of the striker.

31

Keane does well to skip past Whitehead in the Sunderland box but the Irish international doesn't get the chance to pull the trigger as Nosworthy slides in with a good tackle to win the ball.

29

Berbatov tries to dink in a cross but Gordon is off his line to claim the ball well.

27

Keane has the first shot on target after Berbatov demonstrates some lovely control to bring the ball down and lay it off for Keane, but the striker scuffs his attempt and Gordon gathers easily.

25

Edwards whips in the corner, Kaboul wins the aerial challenge with McShane to clear the ball but only as far as Yorke who shoots but it's blocked by Gardner as Tottenham clear.

25

Sunderland work the ball well which results in Wallace having a shot from a long way out and earning Sunderland a corner.

23

Keane plays a nice ball over the top for Berbatov but the striker fouls Mcshane in his attempts to get the ball.

22

Both teams are beginning to cancel each other out, Tottenham just shading the game so far with their possession.

20

Richardson does well to win the ball from Chimbonda and finds Stokes but again the young striker wastes the chance blazing the ball high over the bar with his shot.

17

Berbatov tries a chip from outside the area but the Bulgarian wastes the chance as Gordon plucks the ball out of the air with ease.

14

Some lovely build-up play from Spurs results in a decent cross from Malbranque which Keane just can't reach as the ball drifts out of play.

13

Wallace swings in a deep cross for Stokes to attack but the striker had just moved too early and is caught offside.

11

Richardson injects some pace into the Sunderland attack and picks out Stokes with the cross but the Irish striker is muscled off the ball by Kaboul.

10

Jenas has the first half chance of the game after Berbatov knocks down Malbranque's cross for the England midfielder to strike but Jenas drags his shot wide of goal.

7

Being a former Newcastle player Jenas is booed as he takes Tottenham's first corner of the game which Berbatov wins but is adjudged to have fouled McShane in the process.

7

Steed Malbranque whips in a decent looking cross but Whitehead just does enough to flick the ball out of play for Spurs' first corner.

6

Zokora has the first shot of the game but much like the match itself the attempt is low on quality and strikes McShane before Nosworthy clears.

4

Richardson delievers the first corner of the game for Sunderland but its a dreadful ball and goes straight out of play for a goal kick.

3

Kaboul tries a long ball over the top for Berbatov to chase but Nosworthy does well to cut out the pass with a header.

2

Both teams seem to be still on the beach as there are mistakes a plenty here at the Stadium of Light. The passion so far seems to be only in the stands.

Kickoff
 

Both clubs have alot expected of them before a ball has even been kicked, Spurs hoping to crack the top four while seventeenth will do for Sunderland. Its Spurs who get the new season underway.

Awaiting Kickoff
 

Tottenham hope to get off to a flying start at the Stadium of Light but are without Ledley King and Michael Dawson as well as Bale, Lennon, Lee and Assou-Ekotto. New boy Younes Kaboul starts but Spurs record signing Darren Bent starts on the bench.

Awaiting Kickoff
 

Sunderland and Roy Keane return to the Premiership hoping to avoid a repeat of their last stay in the top flight. £9million Craig Gordon makes his debut along with McShane, Richardson and Etuhu but Michael Chopra starts on the bench.