Ryan Mason’s late winner handed Tottenham their first Premier League win of the season at the expense of strugglingSunderland.
The England midfielder finished off a flowing Spurs move with eight minutes remaining to send the Dick Advocaat’s side to the foot of the table.
Pressure will continue to mount on the Dutch coach after this defeat - his side have now taken just two points from their opening five games.
The Stadium of Light has been a happy hunting ground for Spurs in recent years and Mauricio Pochettino’s side were bright in the opening stages. The visitors could have been awarded a penalty inside two minutes when Kyle Walker was bundled over by Patrick van Aanholt.
Sunderland improved as the first half went on and former Tottenham man Jermain Defoesquandered a golden chance to put them ahead. Having broken the offside trap, the forward raced through on goal and his shot cannoned off the post and away to safety.
Defoe caused the Spurs defence problems throughout the first half and had a good shout for a penalty after he was tugged back by Toby Alderweireld before shooting straight at Hugo Lloris.
After his goalscoring exploits for England, Harry Kane was looking to get off the mark in a club shirt and he missed Tottenham’s best chance of the game in the 67th minute. Andros Townsend found the forward unmarked at the back post with a clipped cross but he mis-kicked his attempted volley.
Eric Dier headed straight at Costel Pantilimon as Spurs pushed for a winner and they finally made their pressure count inside the last 10 minutes when Mason danced through midfield, combining with Erik Lamela, before lifting a deft chip over Pantilimon.
Jack Rodwell lashed a shot off the bar as Sunderland poured forward in search of a late equaliser while Pantilimon denied Kane with a point-blank save and Spurs held on for a welcome first win.
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