Etherington's brace sinks Spurs

Stoke – on-Trent, England (Sports Network) - A first-half double from Matthew 1 win over Tottenham at the Britannia Stadium on Sunday.

Etherington netted his first goal after 12 minutes when a tight-angled shot from Peter Crouch struck the post, leaving a simple tap in from a few yards.

And he doubled his tally a few minutes before the break from a long throw in as Jonathan Walters flicked the ball on with his head for Etherington to volley inside the right post.

Spurs came out stronger in the second half and Luka Modric won a penalty kick for his side just after the hour mark as he was tripped inside the area by Stoke's Glenn Whelan.

Emmanuel Adebayor dispatched the spot kick to make it 2-1, while a moment of controversy arose later in the half as Stoke's Ryan Shawcross cleared a shot from Younes Kaboul off the goal line with his arm.

Kaboul picked up a second yellow card in the 82nd minute after a late tackle on Walters, while Shawcross nearly put the result away when he headed the ball against the crossbar from a corner kick a few minutes later.

The result snaps a six-game winning streak for Spurs with Stoke having won its last three games on the bounce following a four-game losing skid.

Sunderland 2, Blackburn 1

Sunderland, England - A stoppage-time winner from Sebastian Larsson allowed Martin O'Neill to open his reign as Sunderland boss in style as the Black Cats rallied for a 2-1 win over Blackburn at the Stadium of Light on Sunday.

A first-half goal from Simon Vukcevic put Rovers in position to claim all three points as the match entered the final 10 minutes with the visitors still up a goal.

However, David Vaughan's rocket from 30 yards proved too much for Blackburn goalkeeper Paul Robinson, who was equally helpless to keep out a superb free kick from Larsson as he curled the ball over the wall and into the net off the post.

The victory snaps a five-game winless streak for Sunderland and lifts the club out of the bottom three, while Rovers remains in 19th, four points from safety.