Robbie Keane, Andre Santos fight for possession.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

HARRISON, N.J. -- Sporting Lisbon came to Red Bull Arena with the sole purpose of winning Barclay's New York Challenge.

Thanks to a goal by Jaime Valdes in the 48th minute of Sporting's 2-2 tie with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, it was mission accomplished.

The tie gave the squads eight points each over their two games, but Sporting led because they allowed just two goals, one fewer than Tottenham. Sporting won the challenge when the Red Bulls beat Manchester City 2-1 later on Sunday.

"It was very good to be in a position to win this trophy," said Sporting's Nuno Coelho, a centre defender who has been getting a look in the midfield throughout the pre-season. "That was the main objective of our coming to America."

For Sporting, the game marked the end of their pre-season. They open play Denmark's Nordsjaellandin on Thursday in the first leg of the third round of Europa League qualifying.

Tottenham is also nearing the end of its pre-season, with four European exhibitions to play before they open the English Premier League against City on Aug. 14.

"We're in good shape," said Spurs coach Harry Redknapp, whose squad finished fourth in the Premier League last season to earn a spot in the Champions League playoffs. "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."

The teams hardly treated the game as a pre-season contest. Despite searing heat, the teams pressured each other in both halves.

Valdes' goal came when he found corralled the ball in the penalty area, spun, and knocked it just inside the right post. Tottenham's second-half substitute Jonathan Obika evened the score when he took a pass outside the box, beat a defender, and blasted it into the left side off goalkeeper Rui Patricio's outstretched hands.

The teams played an energetic first half, too, each getting numerous chances off runs from beyond the box. Tottenham scored the game's first goal off one of those runs in the 24th minute as captain Robbie Keane took a pass from midfielder Niko Kranjcar about 40 yards out, dribbled into the box, and knocked it past Patricio.

Sporting came back seconds later, though, when Diogo Salomao chipped it to midfielder Matias, who hit a low header past Carlo Cudicini to tie in the 25th minute.

For Valdes, scoring the decisive goal proved a nice way to introduce himself to the Sporting fans hoping to improve on last year's fourth-place finish. He played last season for Atalanta of Italy's Serie A.

"I was happy to score my first goal with Sporting," Valdes said. "Now we're prepared to play our serious games."

Kranjcar, with an assist and a shot for the game, said just facing tournament foes Sporting and the Red Bulls was beneficial for Spurs.

"When you run in this heat, it's good for you," Kranjcar said. "You get your fitness level as high as possible. But it was a great experience, too. We had a great time, and we'll be well-prepared for our schedule."