Tottenham Hotspur’s long unbeaten run in the Premier League ended in a pulsating 2-1 loss at Stoke City and Martin O’Neill’s reign as Sunderland manager began with a last-gasp win on Sunday.
Seb Larsson’s stoppage-time free-kick gave Sunderland a 2-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers and Stoke winger Matthew Etherington scored twice to sink 10-man Spurs at the Britannia Stadium in a match full of controversy.
Third-placed Spurs, who had won six successive league games and not lost one since August, fell behind in the 13th minute when Potters striker Peter Crouch set up fellow former Tottenham player Etherington for a powerful finish.
Photo: Reuters
Crouch appeared to handle the ball in the buildup, but Spurs had nothing to complain about when Jon Walters flicked on Ryan Shotton’s long throw and Etherington scooped in at the far post two minutes before the break.
The visitors struck back in the 62nd minute when Stoke midfielder Glenn Whelan tripped Luka Modric in the area and Emmanuel Adebayor converted the penalty, sending goalkeeper Thomas Sorensen the wrong way.
The lively Modric could have leveled with a long-range shot that Sorensen tipped behind and Adebayor put the ball in the net in the 75th minute, but it was ruled offside when television replays showed he had not been.
Photo: AFP
Just before that, Younes Kaboul’s goal-bound shot was blocked on the line by Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross’ arm. Kaboul was booked for his protests and eight minutes from time he was sent off for a second yellow following a foul on Walters.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp was not happy with referee Chris Foy.
“A couple of the decisions today were amazing,” Redknapp told Sky Sports. “I just watched the video replays — Adebayor was a yard and a half, maybe two yards, onside. They’ve handled the ball on the line, it’s blatant hand ball. Younes Kaboul got a yellow card for saying to the referee: ‘Referee, he hand-balled it’. I wouldn’t want to comment about what I thought about the referee’s performance today. I never come on TV and complain about referees ... but it was disappointing today.”
The result kept Tottenham in third place, seven points behind leaders Manchester City. Stoke moved up to eighth.
The rousing reception given to new manager O’Neill at the Stadium of Light was temporarily forgotten when Blackburn went in front in the 17th minute with a Simon Vukcevic header.
The hosts, who dominated possession against their defensive visitors, were denied by superb saves from Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson, before David Vaughan’s 84th-minute equalizer from 25m out started the late turnaround.
Two minutes into stoppage-time, Sunderland were awarded a free-kick 20m out and Larsson stepped up to curl in a stunning effort that sent the home fans into noisy celebrations as O’Neill jumped up and down on the touchline.
“We have got some points on the board, which is vital for our confidence and vital for the crowd,” O’Neill told Sky Sports. “For periods I suppose, it was a microcosm of our season. I think the players have played well enough in games, but not been able to score a goal, conceded maybe a poorish goal and then succumbed. I thought they were terrific today, I thought they played brilliantly, they kept at it as well which is important.”
The win lifted Sunderland out of the relegation zone and up to 16th place. Blackburn remain in trouble, second from bottom, two points behind Wigan Athletic and one point above Bolton Wanderers.
“We are in the wars, but I think we were good for a point today,” said Blackburn’s under-fire manager Steve Kean, whose miserable day ended on an even worse note when Jason Lowe was taken off on a stretcher in stoppage-time with a head injury.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Forget Real Madrid, Manchester City or Paris Saint-Germain, the world’s best soccer team — statistically speaking — might be a little-known outfit from the closed central Asian nation of Turkmenistan. Founded last year, Arkadag, named in honor of former Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, have been unstoppable, notching up 36 consecutive domestic victories in a run still ongoing. The side have not lost a single competitive match and swept to a league and cup double in their inaugural season — success unthinkable almost anywhere else. However, in Turkmenistan, it could hardly have gone any other way. The energy-rich country is one of the most closed
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and