2013 Premier League Asia Trophy – Tottenham 1-3 Sunderland – Report and Reaction

Sunderland surprised many today after picking up a 3-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur in the first semi-final of the 2013 Premier League Asia Trophy.
Gylfi Sigurdsson initially put Tottenham in front in the first-half, but they only held the lead for a short period time before new Sunderland signing Cabral levelled things up. The Black Cats then took the lead midway through the second-half with a rare goal from returning Wes Brown, and another new signing David Moberg Karlsson completed the scoring right at the end and secured his new side a place in Saturday’s final.
The game’s kick-off was initially delayed by half an hour due to heavy rain falling and settling on the pitch, and with the delay also came a decision to play two 40 minute halves instead of the usual 45. The decision probably wasn’t a bad one as during the first-half in particular, areas of the pitch, especially around the centre looked in bad shape. It did allow for more play to take place on the wings as some players were at times struggling to pass the ball in the middle of the pitch as the mud and water played havoc on the fast moving ball.
There were no real clear cut chances for the first part of the first-half, with the only talking points being the state of the pitch and how it could lead to potential mistakes. The deadlock was broken about 28 minutes into the game when Spurs Kyle Walker made a short run down the right-hand side of the pitch to the edge of the box where he then played a low ball across goal to Sigurdsson who hit it first time, and despite a slight deflection off Sunderland defender John O’Shea, it still sped past a helpless Vito Mannone in goal and put Tottenham in front.
Just 6 minutes later Sunderland were level after Michael Dawson played a pass to Tom Huddlestone who failed to control it and allowed another new Sunderland player Jozy Altidore the chance to flick the ball into the path of Cabral who ran a short distance with it before tucking it past Heurelho Gomes in the Tottenham goal. Despite the problems with the pitch, Huddlestone couldn’t really blame it for his error as he just simply wasn’t able to control the short pass the way he may have initially intended to.
Almost immediately after the second-half started, Sunderland had a great chance to take the lead. Stephane Sessegnon played a deep cross in from the left side and it was met by the head of Adam Johnson who directed it towards Altidore who was onside and right in front of the goal, the American striker attempted to make contact with the ball but missed it completely and let Tottenham off the hook early on. The response to this was a dominant spell for Spurs, where for about 20 minutes, the forward line of Emmanuel Adebayor, Clint Dempsey and substitute Jermain Defoe looked quite dangerous, but any chances they created were either off target, blocked or saved by Mannone.
Then on 64 minutes, Sessegnon popped up on the right hand side this time and delivered a deadly cross which was headed behind by the Spurs defence. Moberg Karlsson who had just recently come on as a substitute delivered the resulting corner into the box, and Wes Brown beat his marker to the ball and planted it into the far corner of the goal to put Sunderland 2-1 in front. Tottenham could have prevented the goal if they had somebody marking the far post, but it was a pleasing moment for Brown to mark his comeback with a goal after missing all of last season through injury.
The goal seemed to then bring extra life to Sunderland who continued to create great chances thanks mainly to the play of Sessegnon, but some quality goalkeeping from sub Tottenham keeper Brad Friedel kept the score at 2-1. The standout save came from Sunderland substitute Connor Wickham’s headed effort on goal, with his first touch since coming on, he connected with an Emanuele Giaccherini cross and aimed his shot for the top corner, but Friedel rose high to keep it out with just his left hand.
Eventually the 42-year-old American shot stopper couldn’t keep Sunderland out any more, and in the last move before the final whistle blew, Sessegnon in the middle of the opposition half with his back to goal, received the ball and flicked it over his head for Moberg Karlsson to run in and calmly slot the ball past Friedel into the opposite bottom corner of the goal and confirm a thoroughly deserved Sunderland victory.
For their first proper match of the pre-season period, Paolo Di Canio will no doubt be delighted by the way his team performed despite the bad conditions. All of his new signings managed to get a run out and some such as Cabral and Giaccherini will have certainly given their supporters good first impressions. They will also be pleased to see Brown back after such a lengthy spell out of action and the performance of Sessegnon also cannot be ignored after he caused so many problems for today’s Tottenham side. The team looked very confident at times today despite playing on a dodgy surface, and will no doubt relish the upcoming trophy final this Saturday.
Andre Villas-Boas will not be as happy with his team’s performance today. While the poor pitch certainly played a factor, his side controlled most of the possession for the match and had chances early in the second-half to take the lead but just couldn’t apply the killer touch when it was needed. The team were missing Gareth Bale today who according to club reports was injured, but speculation on him will continue as stories in the Spanish press have emerged that the 24-year-old Welshman has agreed a deal with Real Madrid. Also joining Bale on the sidelines is Jan Vertonghen. The Belgian defender came on as a substitute at half-time but only lasted 5 minutes before being stretchered off after landing awkwardly on his ankle during an aerial challenge. Supporters and management will hope that it is not as serious as first feared, but Spurs may well have to do without him for Saturday’s third-place playoff game.
Tottenham First-Half XI: Gomes, Walker, Dawson, Caulker, Rose, Lennon, Parker, Huddlestone, Sigurdsson, Dempsey, Adebayor
Tottenham Second-Half XI: Friedel, Walker, Dawson, Vertonghen (Fryers), Rose, Sigurdsson, Parker, Huddlestone (Carroll), Dempsey (Townsend), Adebayor, Defoe
Sunderland First-Half XI: Mannone, Gardner, Brown, O’Shea, Colback, Johnson, Larsson, Cabral, Giaccherini, Altidore, Sessegnon
Sunderland Second-Half XI: Mannone, Gardner, Brown (Roberge), O’Shea, Colback, Johnson (Moberg Karlsson), Larsson (Ba), Cabral, Giaccherini (McClean), Altidore (Wickham), Sessegnon
Possession: TOT 57% SUN 42%
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