Line-up:
Two changes to the starting 11 in defence as Lee and Dawson both return, so Gardner drops to the bench, and one change in midfield as Edgar Davids makes a return from injury. Two newcomers in Mido and Danny Murphy are among the substitutes.Michael Carrick controlled the game as he relished his midfield role. His tidy work in the centre kept Tottenham ticking, with widemen Jenas and Aaron Lennon often thriving behind strikers Keane and Jermain Defoe although Keane, twice, and Lennon wasted half-chances for Spurs who never quite turned their superiority into fluency or regular chances. It allowed the Black Cats to produce a higher tempo after the break, which underlined their commitment. They did little with their greater possession, though and rarely looked capable of winning the game. Jol replaced flagging Edgar Davids with Danny Murphy and Spurs seemed to regain the initiative they held pretty firmly in the first period. THE SUN
Simon Bird: Jol's men paid the price for a lacklustre performance lacking in focus, drive and a cutting edge. It was a drab first 35 minutes typical of a game that meandered around in midfield, in which neither side showed urgency before the goal that was helped by awful home defending - a rare high point in a poor attacking show. Indeed Spurs were lax in much of their play, and didn't deserve all three points. Too often Jol's men dawdled on the ball, playing square balls and looking pretty rather than launching purposeful attacks. The full backs never over lapped and Tottenham seemed averse to using the wing. They were made to pay for their lack of punch in the 89th minute but Sunderland should have scored earlier when presented with an open goal. DAILY MIRROR
George Caulkin: For much of the afternoon, Sunderland fans directed abuse at their chairman, which is an indication of how little there was to distract their attention. Tottenham Hotspur matched Sunderland in the poverty of their play, drifting into nonchalance once Robbie Keane had pilfered the lead. However, Sunderland clung on as all the old touchstones, such as commitment, workrate and grit were present, without a hint of quality, inspiration or guile. Kevin Kyle ran until his legs gave way but could not trouble Paul Robinson before the exciting climax. THE TIMES
Peter Gardner: Robbie Keane's 38th-minute goal appeared sufficient to settle a sterile encounter in which the visitors always seemed capable of stepping up a gear. If Sunderland lacked genuine class and quality, they retained a degree of resourcefulness and fighting spirit but their inadequacies were all too clear from the outset. While they seemingly played to a peak, Tottenham strolled through the opening 45 minutes and were still able to establish a lead that their hosts could not match until the final minute when their resolve was maintained and their reward came when Daryll Murphy struck in the final minute to salvage a ferociously-fought point for Sunderland. It would have perhaps proved an injustice to Sunderland had Jenas claimed victory for Tottenham right at the end. DAILY TELEGRAPH
Michael Walker: Having taken a barely deserved first-half lead through Robbie Keane, Spurs lapsed into complacent mediocrity. The simple pass and move opener should have been Tottenham's moment to kick on but there was no sense of urgency from Jol's team. Sunderland will have to play better than this to scrape points in future. On a poor surface they had to chase. Sunderland had the better of the second half but the football got even worse and, though Jenas tried to lift his colleagues out of it, it was Sunderland again creating. THE GUARDIAN
Arindem Rej: Tottenham started well enough, probing patiently, but did not do enough to invigorate a static opening 20 minutes. During a game that was woefully short on invention, Robbie Keane's goal looked sufficient. There was little ingenuity by Sunderland in the final third and Tottenham retained the ascendancy towards the end of the half. The momentum was building before the inevitable occurred. Sunderland drove forward purposefully in the second half and should have equalised after an hour when Jonathan Stead's perfectly weighted pass was missed by Liam Lawrence, who would surely have scored with even the faintest of touches. The balance of power had shifted away from Tottenham. Edgar Davids was given a difficult start to the half by Grant Leadbitter and the way he helped to wrestle the midfield struggle back to Sunderland's favour helped to change the game. THE INDEPENDENT
Spurs were not significantly better than their hosts but they looked to have made their class tell in the areas that mattered. The Black Cats' problems were illustrated graphically inside the first 45 minutes of this contest: they did not play particularly badly but they lacked the pace and guile to consistently hurt Tottenham. Spurs were neat and tidy with Michael Carrick barely having to break sweat to control the central midfield battle and with Jenas and Aaron Lennon buzzing behind the lively front two, were always a threat without ever really finding top gear. However, when they did so it was with devastating effect: Defoe racing away after 38 minutes with the help of a generous offside decision. Keane had earlier passed up two good opportunities and Lennon had forced a good save from Davis but there were half chances too at the other end as Tommy Miller, Julio Arca and Jon Stead all went close. The Black Cats started the second period in positive mood with Liam Lawrence going close with a weak left-foot shot hacked away and Kevin Kyle and Stead both making their presence felt as the home side rallied. Sunderland were enjoying plenty of possession but doing little with it and as time wore on so did their chances of clawing their way back into the game. Jol moved swiftly to replace the flagging Edgar Davids with new signing Danny Murphy - his intent, presumably, was to puncture Sunderland's growing momentum, and the disruption served to do just that as the visitors regained a foothold in the game. Daryl Murphy 75th-minute replacement for Lawrence intervened not before forcing a save from Robinson within seconds of his arrival. Kyle should also have done better when he sent a half-volley wide seven minutes from time. DAILY MAIL