But Keane, who came on as a late substitute, broke the hearts of the City faithful.
Pearce almost saw his side get off to a dream start in the 11th minute following a mix-up between Paul Robinson and Thimothee Atouba in the Spurs defence.
Robinson was forced to clear the ball with his head straight into the path of Reyna whose shot was deflected just wide of the goal.
The home side forced their way back into the game and came close to breaking the deadlock three minutes later.
Andy Reid's cross into the box fell perfectly for Defoe who drilled in a low right-foot shot which was superbly saved by David James diving low down to his right.
And just moments later Tottenham got their noses in front after Sylvain Distin was robbed of the ball by Reid down the left-hand side.
Reid crossed for Defoe who failed to connect with the ball, despite finding himself completely unmarked inside the box.
The ball came out to Simon Davies who quickly drilled the ball back into the penalty area. This time Defoe headed the ball past the stranded James into the corner of the net.
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Spurs could have doubled their lead in the 17th minute after James failed to deal with a Reid corner.
He could only punch the ball into the path of Mido, but with the goal at his mercy the Egyptian fired the ball wide.
City had to wait until the 33rd minute before getting their first shot on target but Antoine Sibierski's weak drive was easily saved by Robinson.
They came closer to snatching an equaliser just two minutes later when Joey Barton weaved his way into the box, but saw his low drive kept out by the legs of Robinson.
But on the stroke of half-time Barton played the ball in to Robbie Fowler who cleverly lobbed the ball to Reyna who fired a sweet shot past Robinson into the corner of the net.
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City went for the jugular in the second half and in the 63rd minute Kiki Musampa outpaced Stephen Kelly, but struck a left-foot shot the wrong side of the post.
But they had James to thank for keeping them in the game four minutes later when Reid unleashed a 25-yard blistering drive which the City keeper did well to tip over the bar.
However, a controversial decision by referee Barry Knight played a crucial role in Tottenham getting an undeserved winner.
Barton appeared to be elbowed in the face in the lead-up to the goal. But Knight totally missed the incident and Davies was allowed to cross the ball in for Keane who slid the ball into an empty net.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Andy Reid (Tottenham) – The former Nottingham Forest man produced probably his best display in a Spurs shirt, tormenting the City defence with a string of tantalising crosses. He was also not afraid to shoot and on several occasions forced David James to make outstanding saves.