TOTTENHAM 1 SUNDERLAND 0

WITH cranes towering over White Hart Lane, Tottenham expect the redevelopment of their ground to be complete by the summer of 2018. David Moyes will be hoping his rebuilding job at Sunderland is finished long before then, but it too is looking like a long-term project in need of some firm foundations.

The scoreline might suggest this was a close-run thing, but Sunderland were outplayed from start to finish and would have suffered a much heavier defeat had it not been for another inspired display from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who starred in a loss on this ground for the second season in succession.

The Black Cats did not collapse in the manner of their second-half capitulation against Everton last Monday, with the returning Lee Cattermole and debutant, Didier Ndong, providing some welcome ballast at the heart of midfield. Despite being completely outplayed in terms of territory and possession, they might even have scored had Steven Pienaar displayed more composure before the break.

Yet some alarming signs were present once again, particularly when it came to the calamitous second-half error from Papy Djilobodji that teed up Harry Kane’s close-range winner. Djilobodji had been all over at the place as Everton ran riot in the second half at the Stadium of Light six days earlier, and he erred once again yesterday, failing to deal with Dele Alli’s headed knock-down on the edge of his six-yard box.

Djilobodji’s shakiness is proving a major handicap, and with debutant Jason Denayer struggling badly as he came up against the lively Heung-Min Son on the left of the Spurs midfield, and Adnan Januzaj, who was sent off for two yellow cards in the final minute, repeatedly conceding possession in reasonably promising positions, it is taking time for Moyes to bed in his summer additions.

Sunderland have still not won a league game in August or September since 2012, and they once again find themselves having to play catch up after a tardy start. Even at this early stage of the season, the three-point gap separating them from 17th position is beginning to look alarming.

The solidity that characterised the final four months under Sam Allardyce is no longer apparent, and with Jermain Defoe repeatedly finding himself isolated in attack, the Black Cats do not look like scoring too many goals either. Needless to say, that is hardly a good combination.

They created just the two opportunities yesterday, yet bizarrely they were the best openings of the first 45 minutes despite Tottenham completely dominating both possession and territory.

Defoe, who was cheered to the rafters when his name was announced prior to kick-off, remains a cherished White Hart Lane legend, but he almost had the Spurs fans cursing him when he latched on to Pickford’s long clearance midway through the first half.

He held off Toby Alderweireld with ease, but while his pressurised shot was on target, it was relatively easy for Hugo Lloris to keep it out with his legs.

Defoe couldn’t have done a lot more on that occasion, but another former Spurs player, Pienaar, should have done much better when he was presented with a golden opportunity a minute before the break.

The South African had time to pick his spot when Januzaj pulled the ball back to him close to the edge of the six-yard box, but his weak effort was hacked off the line by a back-pedalling Kyle Walker.

Taken in isolation, those two chances suggest Sunderland were a potent force before the break. In fact, that was pretty much the only two occasions the Black Cats made it into the Tottenham box, such was the extent of their opponents’ dominance.

Spurs spent much of the afternoon camped in the Sunderland half, yet with Cattermole, Ndong and Jan Kirchhoff forming a formidable central unit, and both Pienaar and Januzaj providing welcome cover on the flanks, the hosts initially struggled to penetrate the Black Cats’ back four.

There were plenty of long-range efforts from outside the area, and the occasional scare as the ball ricocheted around the box, but on the whole, Mauricio Pochettino’s side failed to make their superiority count.

Pickford was a major factor in that, and the youngster, who made his top-flight debut at White Hart Lane last season, made an excellent early save to thwart Kane as the England striker met Son’s cross at the front post.

Pickford also saved from Mousa Dembele and Alderweireld in the early stages, and when he was eventually beaten six minutes before the break, Son’s low effort rebounded off the base of the left-hand post.

Son was the pick of Spurs’ attackers, regularly cutting inside to ask questions of Denayer, who was a controversial late addition to the starting line-up, but while Moussa Sissoko saw plenty of the ball as he made his first start in a Spurs shirt on the opposite flank, the former Newcastle midfielder lacked the guile required to unsettle Javier Manquillo, who stuck diligently to his task in the left-back berth.

Son flashed a shot into the side-netting at the start of the second half, but Sunderland looked like making it to the hour mark without their resistance having been breached. Or at least they did before Djilobodji made another hugely costly error.

The centre-half, who cost £8m when he moved from Chelsea this summer, had two bites at the cherry after Alli nodded down Walker’s cross, but he miscontrolled the ball first before completely missing his kick as he then attempted to clear. Kane pounced on the loose ball and swept home from close range.

Sissoko and Erik Lamela both went close to adding to Spurs’ lead, with Pickford making a superb sprawling save as he turned Alli’s goalbound effort around the post.

The 22-year-old shot-stopper also had the final say, producing a late fingertip save to prevent Lamela making Sunderland’s defeat worse.

The Black Cats had been reduced to ten men at that stage, with Januzaj seeing red for two bookable offences. The first was a show of dissent after a decision went against him, the second was a badly mistimed challenge that left Spurs substitute Ben Davies sprawled on the floor. Both were justified decisions.