Tottenham Hotspur picked up their first win of the season this afternoon courtesy of a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The hosts, who also went into the match without a win from their opening four games, hit the woodwork twice over the course of the 90 minutes as both Jermain Defoe and Jack Rodwell were denied by the frame of the goal.

Tottenham's winner came just eight minutes from time when Harry Kane and Erik Lamela combined to set up Ryan Mason, who put the finishing touch to a slick passing move.

Here, Sports Mole looks at whether Spurs deserved to come away with maximum points from the North-East.

Match statistics

SUNDERLAND
Shots: 12
On target: 2
Possession: 44%
Corners: 6
Fouls: 11

TOTTENHAM
Shots: 15
On target: 4
Possession: 56%
Corners: 8
Fouls: 12

Was the result fair?

The statistics may all be in Tottenham's favour this afternoon, but Sunderland will be kicking themselves at coming away from this match empty handed. They were the better side in the first half and had the chances to have taken a cushion into the interval. Defoe in particular was a nuisance for the Spurs defence, with his movement causing them all sorts of problems. The striker should have scored against his former club in the 26th minute, but his scuffed effort only came off the post.

More chances arrived for the hosts in the second half, and it wasn't until the final 20 minutes or so that Spurs truly began to look capable of finding the back of the net themselves. In that sense, you could argue that it was a textbook away performance from the visitors, but there is no doubt that they rode their luck at times and, for the majority of the match, they were outplayed by Sunderland. They did pose more of an attacking threat towards the end of the match, however, and when Mason's goal came it was not against the run of play.

Even so, Sunderland could and perhaps should have been out of sight by that point in the game. They came agonisingly close to producing an immediate response when Rodwell hit the bar with a measured effort, but luck did not appear to be on their side today. Spurs will be delighted to have finally got that first win under their belt, but on another day they could have easily ended up on the losing side. Sunderland certainly deserved something from this match.

Sunderland's performance

Dick Advocaat may have somewhat mixed emotions after this match. His side are still searching for a first win of the season, with this defeat dropping them back to the bottom of the pile, but this was quite comfortably their best performance of the campaign. In their opening four games it was their defence that was the issue, while they had no trouble finding the net at the other end of the field, but it was the opposite this afternoon.

Defensively they were vastly improved here, and that is perhaps the biggest positive for Advocaat to take from the game. Younes Kaboul has been criticised for the start he has made to his Sunderland career, but he put in a fine showing against his former club today. There were still the odd shaky moments from the backline, as there always seem to be, but in general they looked much more encouraging than in any other game this season.

Up front there were positives too, with Defoe being the best player on the park in the first half. The likes of Jeremain Lens were also positive, but that touch of quality when it came to the end product was just lacking. They can point to bad luck having hit the woodwork twice, but they need to kill teams off better than they managed today. The result was, of course, disappointing, but Advocaat will probably take more from this performance than any other so far this season. If they play like this every game then they should win more than they lose.

Tottenham's performance

Having made their worst start to a season in seven years, the need for Spurs to pick up a win was substantial today. They would have fancied their chances against an out-of-form Sunderland side too, but in truth they were comfortably second best in the first half. Defensively they really struggled to get to grips with Defoe, while the likes of Kane, Nacer Chadli and debutant Son Heung-min failed to make much of an impact at the other end of the field.

Spurs only really had one decent sight of goal in the first 45 minutes, with that coming right on the stroke of half time, and it was more of the same at the start of the second half. However, Spurs did eventually warm to the task as the second period wore on, and in the final 20-25 minutes of the match it was they who began to look most like scoring. Kane and Eric Dier both had chances before Mason broke the deadlock, while after the goal Lamela and Kane again squandered decent openings.

Mauricio Pochettino will be fully aware that his side could have easily lost this match, though. They rode their luck at times and spent the majority of the game on the back foot, with Sunderland taking the game to them for the first hour or so. Even so, the fact that they were still able to come away with the win when not playing well will please the manager, and getting that first victory should allow them to kick on and fulfil their expected European challenge now.

Sports Mole's man of the match

Jan Vertonghen: There were no standout candidates for this award today. Defoe was the best player on the park in the first half, but he faded a little in the second and many of his good moments came up against Toby Alderweireld. Jan Vertonghen, meanwhile, put in a confident and assured display at the heart of the defence, particularly in the second half.

Biggest gaffe

Defoe was a real threat in the opening 45 minutes, but he should have finished a glorious chance. Yann M'Vila's fine through-ball sent him bearing down on goal, only for the striker to scuff his finish and see it bounce off the post. It was a chance that he has made a career out of taking, but he fluffed his lines today.

Referee performance

The Sunderland fans got on referee Craig Pawson's back today, but he had a solid game in the middle. He had one or two penalty claims to address and he made the right decision on each occasion.

What next?

Sunderland: Next up for the Black Cats is an away trip to face newly-promoted Bournemouth on Saturday.

Tottenham: Spurs, meanwhile, welcome Qarabag FK to White Hart Lane in the Europa League on Thursday before taking on Crystal Palace at home next Sunday.