Source: Daily_Mail
Sunderland 3 Tottenham 1: Darren Bent bites back against former club in Stadium of Light thriller
Crash, bang, wallop,what a fixture. Whereto begin ? [LNB]WithDarren Bent's twogoals against his oldclub? Or with Bent's twomissed penalties?What about Craig Gordon's vitalsaves at 2-0?[LNB] Or Peter Crouch'sheader that made a Spurs equaliserfeel probable? [LNB] Battle: Kieran Richardson holds off Roman Pavlyuchenko[LNB]Or Anton Ferdinand'slegal-looking disallowed strike?[LNB]Or what about Boudewijn Zenden'sVan Basten-like volley that finallysettled it in the 86th minute? [LNB]There was a charged atmosphereinside the Stadium of Light and ithad an effect. [LNB]There were no fewerthan 20 efforts on goal, 16 ontarget. There was a corner everyseven-and-a-half minutes.Even when the final whistle hadblown, the day kept coming. [LNB]Spot on: Bent converts his first penalty, but he missed two[LNB]HarryRedknapp was asked about Sunderland buying Alan Hutton,currently on loan. 'I think you willfind Newcastle are in for him as well,'was his mischievous reply.[LNB]Redknapp did his best to disguisehis frustration at seeing Tottenham'sfive-game winning sequence endedby a player he sold last summer. Buthe knew how significant Bent's twogoals in the opening 29 minutes couldbecome in Tottenham's run-in. [LNB]Once the FA Cup semi-final againstPortsmouth is over on Sundayevening, Spurs' Champions Leaguechallenge resumes with home gamesagainst Arsenal and Chelsea followedby a trip to Old Trafford. [LNB]'We still have a good chance offinishing fourth,' Redknapp said. [LNB]'Itis going to be tight. I wouldn't evenwrite Villa off. It is open but we havethe toughest fixtures for sure. Andwe have the biggest injury list.' [LNB]Redknapp needs defenders back.The centre half partnership ofSebastien Bassong and Younes Kaboulwas shaken early on. The clock abovethe net where Bent opened the scoringshowed 35 seconds. [LNB]His celebrationin front of Spurs fans was notrestrained. He explained later: 'AfterI scored that first goal it was like achapter of my life is behind me.' [LNB] Gutted: Bent missed two penalties[LNB]MATCH FACTS [LNB]SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Gordon 8;Ferdinand 6, Turner 7, Da Silva 7,Richardson 8; Henderson 7, Meyler7, Cattermole 6, Malbranque 8(Zenden 79min); Bent 7 (Jones79) Campbell 8 (Bardsley 89). [LNB]Booked: Cattermole,Malbranque. [LNB]TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR(4-4-2): Gomes 8;Walker 6, Kaboul 6,Bassong 5, Assou-Ekotto 5 (Kranjcar45, 6); Bentley 5(Defoe 45, 6)Modric 6,Palacios 6, Bale 8;Pavlyuchenko 6(Crouch 71, 7),Gudjohnsen 6. [LNB]Man of the match: Kieran Richardson. [LNB]Referee: Lee Mason.[LNB] [LNB]Kyle Walker's handball allowed Bentto drill in his second, again joyously,from the spot. Twelve minutes laterand Campbell tumbled into LukaModric and Bent was again facingHeurelho Gomes. [LNB]As at White HartLane in November, Gomes saved.Jermain Defoe came on at half-timeand Gordon made an excellent stopquickly. [LNB]But Sunderland have energy.David Meyler, 20, was upended byWilson Palacios just past the hour.Up stepped Bent again. [LNB]But againGomes saved. Steve Bruce was set toimplode. Four minutes later healmost did, referee Lee Mason rulingout Ferdinand's goal. [LNB]On came Crouch and in twominutes it was 2-1. Kaboul thencleared a Zenden effort off the line. [LNB]But relief for Sunderland arrived inZenden's controlled bullet. [LNB] Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp: Ignore the idiots, Portsmouth made a profit out of my transfer dealings!Sunderland 3 Tottenham 1: Bent gets revenge over former employers Spurs boss Harry Redknapp faces hot reception on return to Portsmouth
