Christian Eriksen bagged an 89th-minute winner as Tottenham Hotspur beat Sunderland 2-1 at White Hart Lane this afternoon.
Jan Vertonghen's deflected effort helped Spurs into the lead after just four minutes, but Sebastian Larsson struck a fine free kick as the Black Cats went in level at the break.
Gus Poyet's side defended for their lives in a second half that saw Tottenham throw the kitchen sink at their North-East counterparts, before Eriksen struck in timely fashion to snatch the points.
Here, Sports Mole analyses how the points were won in North London.
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Was the result fair?
In truth, yes. The above statistics tell their own story and it is very hard to begrudge Tottenham their three points, despite a herculean defensive effort from Sunderland, who repelled wave after wave of Spurs attack throughout the second half.
Tottenham Hotspur's performance
Mauricio Pochettino's side had to come from two goals down to beat Burnley 4-2 and move into the fourth round of the FA Cup on Wednesday, and the hosts looked like they still had that momentum in the early stages this afternoon as they moved ahead within four minutes through Vertonghen's deflected effort. They gradually allowed Sunderland more of an impact on proceedings as the first half aged, however, and the 1-1 half-time draw was undoubtedly a fair reflection of the opening 45 minutes.
They dominated the second half from the get-go, though, but found themselves growing increasingly frustrated by virtue of the red and white wall that was proving almost impossible to scale for large periods.
It was a good performance that ultimately yielded a good result, and despite last week's blip at Selhurst Park, the North Londoners look to still have that never-say-die attitude that will stand them in good stead as the race for a top-four finish hots up.
Sunderland's performance
The Black Cats got off to a dreadful start after conceding within just four minutes to decimate Poyet's pre-match strategy, but the relegation-threatened Black Cats responded excellently and probably should have had a penalty after the lively Jermain Defoe - on his return to White Hart Lane - was fouled by Vertonghen.
The decision went against Sunderland but the visitors continued on in the same vein and got back on level terms when Larsson swung a beautiful free kick beyond Hugo Lloris to achieve parity in a half where they created and missed several superb chances, with Steven Fletcher, in particular, guilty.
However, they lost that momentum somewhere between the half-time whistle and appearing for the second half and it was one-way traffic from that point onwards. Still, they looked solid at the back, with the centre-half trio of John O'Shea, Santiago Vergini and Wes Brown forcing the Lilywhites to resort to hopeful efforts from outside the box, none of which really troubled Costel Pantilimon; not until the dying stages of normal time when Eriksen watched his shot from outside the box leave the big Romanian with no chance.
In truth, Sunderland did not look like a team scrapping for their Premier League survival, and Defoe, who perhaps lacked that bit of sharpness today, looks like he still has the pace and nous to aid them in their ascent up the table. It was a negative result on a day with plenty of positives overall.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Christian Eriksen: It has to be the diminutive Dane once more. He has firmly established himself as Tottenham's go-to-guy this season, and this afternoon was no different.
He was pulling strings from the first minute onwards, and having come to Spurs' aid on so many occasions this season, you have to wonder why Poyet's side allowed him so much space in the build-up to his 89th-minute winner. Even without his match-winner, Eriksen was still the stand-out candidate for man of the match.
Biggest gaffe
With Vergini's hashed clearance leading to the opener, and Danny Graham spurning two golden opportunities late on, there were several strong candidates for 'biggest gaffe', but it has to be Fletcher.
The Scot made himself a contender for miss of the season on 29 minutes when he failed to convert a delightful cross from Billy Jones from just three yards out. It could have proven a costly miss, but fortunately for him Larsson stroked home the equaliser just minutes later. Still, that incident is one that Poyet will replay in his head over and over again on the long trip back to the North-East.
Referee performance
Chris Foy incurred the wrath of the travelling fans and Sunderland players early on after rejecting appeals for what looked like a stonewall penalty, with Vertonghen fouling Defoe in an incident that would have also forced Foy into deciding whether to dismiss the Belgian or not. In truth he made the wrong call and it undoubtedly affected the result.
What next?
Tottenham Hotspur: Next up for Pochettino and co is the visit of Sheffield United in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Sunderland: The Black Cats, meanwhile, will now prepare for an FA Cup fourth-round encounter with Fulham at the Stadium of Light next Saturday.
Shane Callaghan
