Obika lifts Spurs into draw with Sporting in New Jersey friendly

Substitute Jonathan Obika’s goal in the 70th minute lifted Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw with Sporting Lisbon in an international football friendly here on Sunday.

Robbie Keane opened the scoring for Spurs in the 24th minute only to have Matias answer for the Portuguese side in the next minute on a header.

Jaime Valdes put Sporting ahead 2-1 in the third minute of the second half, his first goal for the club, only to have Obika pull Tottenham level before the finish.

The match was part of a four-match friendly series dubbed the New York Challenge in which Sporting Lisbon opened with a 2-0 victory over Manchester City on Friday and Spurs defeated New York Red Bulls 2-1 on Thursday.

Sporting Lisbon won the title based on goal difference over Spurs after each finished on a win and a draw.

“It was very good to be in a position to win this trophy,” Sporting defender turned midfielder Nuno Coelho said. “That was the main objective of our coming to America.”

Spurs coach Harry Redknapp was happy with his results as well.

“We’re in good shape,” he said. “There’s still some work to be done. We need to improve if we’re going to improve on last year and this is the time to do it.”