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| Duncan Watmore celebrates after scoring Sunderland's second goal |
JACK BUTLAND’S near-seven-and-a-half-hour shutout away from home was shattered by Sunderland’s late show.
The England keeper boasted four successive clean sheets on Stoke’s travels in the league before arriving on Wearside.
And he looked set to make it five, despite the Potters being down to 10 men, until left-back Patrick van Aanholt broke the deadlock eight minutes from time.
Substitute Adam Johnson was fouled by Erik Pieters and Van Aanholt drove home, beating Butland low to his left.
Three minutes later, sub Duncan Watmore secured Sunderland’s first back-to-back wins this season – after winning at Crystal Palace last Monday – to lift them out of the bottom three.
Pieters was at fault again as he made a hash of trying to deal with DeAndre Yedlin’s throw-in and Watmore raced in from the right to finish with an angled shot.
Watmore has just signed a new contract and Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce said: “We just have to keep his feet on the ground now. I had no hesitation to bring him on.”
Stoke skipper Ryan Shawcross was red-carded only two minutes after the interval for a second bookable offence after Watmore went down under his challenge.
It was a repeat of Shawcross’s dismissal here five years ago this month – in another 2-0 defeat for the Potters.
Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: “On the sending-off, the referee should use common sense. Ryan feels he got a touch on the ball.”
There was a minute’s applause before kick-off in memory of former Sunderland keeper Marton Fulop – also a Stoke loanee – who died this month at only 32 after losing his battle against cancer.
Sunderland: Pantilimon, Coates, O’Shea (Johnson 74), Kaboul, Yedlin, Larsson (Lens 54), M’Vila, Cattermole, Van Aanholt, Fletcher, Defoe (Watmore 31).
Stoke: Butland, Johnson, Shawcross, Wollscheid, Pieters, Whelan, Adam (Afellay 85), Shaqiri (Diouf 64), Krkic (Cameron 50), Arnautovic, Walters.
Ref: M Dean.
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