Keane strikes late for Spurs point

Referee Phil Dowd was the villain for the home supporters among a crowd of 37,894 when he failed to award a penalty for Ledley King's 89th-minute challenge on Kenwyne Jones as the home side tried to kill off the game.

Their anger was compounded when the visitors broke for Darren Bent to send in a cross which Keane converted with a superb volley to make it 1-1 after Kieran Richardson had opened the scoring in the third minute.

No-one will have been more relieved than Bent, who had earlier passed up a glorious opportunity to level in a scrappy contest.

Both clubs are now five points clear of the bottom three, but remain too close for comfort to the battle for top-flight survival.

Sunderland, the lower of the two before kick-off, got off to the perfect start when a Spurs defence perhaps feeling the effects of a sixth game inside 17 days was caught napping with just three minutes gone.

Steed Malbranque overran the ball to allow King to get in a challenge, but the resulting rebound handed Richardson the chance to surge towards goal. His first touch took him clear of the flat-footed Jonathan Woodgate, and his finish was accomplished to give keeper Heurelho Gomes no chance.

Bent was presented with two glorious opportunities to equalise. First Dean Whitehead sliced a 58th-minute clearance into the striker's path but Bent blasted his left-foot shot wastefully over the bar. The former Charlton frontman then dragged a right-foot effort wide of the far post a minute later.

But Keane saved the day with a minute remaining when, with the home crowd calling for a penalty for King's challenge on Jones, Spurs broke swiftly and Bent crossed for his captain to volley expertly home.