Immediate US Spurs Fan: Tottenham Defeat Sunderland 1-0

It was the most excruciating Tottenham Hotspur victory of the season, a game that had Spurs fans around the world checking their pulses. It could also turn out to be a costly win, as one very important player may now miss Thursday's showdown with Chelsea.

Spurs defeated Sunderland 1-0 at White Hart Lane on Sunday. A play-by-play commentary can be found on the Match Tracker page located on the official Spurs website.AdChoices

The big story: Had nothing to do with the ball finding the back of the net. Halfway through the first, Aaron Lennon made a run for a loose ball down the right wing. While he beat his defender, Lennon also appeared to injure his hamstring. He attempted to walk it off, but eventually called for a sub. Roman Pavlyuchenko (more on him later) came on for the injured winger.

Spurs, already without Gareth Bale and Jermain Defoe (both injured), cannot afford to lose Lennon for any real length of time. Truth be told, not having him on the pitch this Thursday night when Tottenham host Chelsea would be a major blow. Keep fingers on both hands crossed throughout the week, Spurs fans.

Frustrating: Spurs may have been without a few mainstays, but that doesn't excuse the absurdly sloppy play we saw from the men in white on this day. Emmanuel Adebayor was caught offside no fewer than a dozen times (sadly, that's only a slight exaggeration), both Scott Parker and Benoit Assou-Ekotto seemed determined to send numerous crosses to absolutely nobody, Luka Modric turned the ball over on both sides of the pitch, and he also sailed what should have been the easiest tap-in tally of the season miles over the bar.

Blame nerves caused by last weekend's controversial loss to Stoke, or the fact that nearly half the first choice lineup were dealing with injury issues, all you want. This type of play isn't going to cut it against the Chelseas of the league. Three points are three points, but Tottenham easily should have buried an additional two goals, at least.

Unlikely man of the match: Pavlyuchenko was absolutely dreadful after coming on for the injured Lennon. He appeared physically unable to hold possession or locate teammates with passes, and missed out on two "you absolutely have to test the 'keeper" opportunities. He slowly but surely eased into the game, however, and became the most dangerous offensive weapon on the field roughly ten minutes into the second half. His clever finish an hour into play produced the only goal of the contest, and, for about 30 minutes or so, Pav looked like a true top flight striker.

Pavlyuchenko has not been quiet about his desire to play leading up to next summer's Euro, and he has been linked with several teams, including QPR. The Pavlyuchenko that was on the field during the second half of this contest could start in any league. He may have another chance to impress potential new clubs later this week.

Overall: Sunday was merely the start of what will be a rather stressful four days of waiting for Spurs supporters. Tottenham hosting Chelsea without a full lineup is not a thought I want to dwell on during the next half-week, and I'm also not looking forward to watching a replay of this particular contest. Spurs got the job done against Sunderland, but also managed to eliminate at least two years from my life in the process.