Wes Brown was controversially sent off as Stoke City beat Sunderland 2-0 at the Britannia Stadium to record Mark Hughes's 100th win as a Premier League manager.
Charlie Adam scored the opening goal on the half-hour mark, four minutes before Brown was dismissed for a lunge on the Scottish midfielder, which referee Kevin Friend deemed to be a professional foul.
Black Cats manager Gus Poyet was infuriated by the decision, but sent his team out in search of an equaliser after the break, until Steven N'Zonzi secured the Potters victory with an 81st-minute second.
Below, Sports Mole analyses whether the result was reflective of the action in Staffordshire.
Match statistics:
Stoke:
Shots: 17
On target: 5
Possession: 50%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 11
Sunderland:
Shots: 11
On target: 3
Possession: 50%
Corners: 7
Fouls: 5
Was the result fair?
Sunderland may argue that Brown's sending-off blights this result, but Stoke probably did enough to warrant the three points this afternoon regardless. The Black Cats made it hard work for them in the second half, but rarely did they stretch Asmir Begovic. Stoke constantly got the ball into the box and two very composed strikes secured them their first win in eight Premier League games.
Stoke's performance:
The Potters had plenty of the ball, but few ideas in the early stages. That soon changed as Adam put the finishing touches to a lovely team move on 30 minutes. In the second half, Hughes went with two up front and the crossing into Jonathan Walters and Peter Crouch, whose hold-up play was often good, from Geoff Cameron and Adam was excellent. Hughes may be concerned by the fact that they were susceptible to the long ball over the top and were on the back foot for periods when they had a numerical advantage.
Sunderland's performance:
They worked admirably after going a man down and are certainly displaying more organisation and a greater fighting spirit under Poyet's management than they did under Paolo Di Canio's. Once Emanuele Giaccherini was sacrificed in the first period, they failed to get enough support forward to lone striker Steven Fletcher, though, with clear equalising chances limited. Ill discipline continues to cost them, with Brown's dismissal, deserved or not, their third red card in as many top-flight games.
Sports Mole's man of the match:
Geoff Cameron: The American full-back was a constant source of reliable service from the right wing which yielded chances throughout the afternoon. He showed great skill on the ball once or twice too, to make room for the accurate crosses that followed. At the other end, he did his defensive duties solidly and even filled in for Robert Huth at centre-back when the German was substituted with 15 minutes left.
Biggest gaffe:
It was clear that Poyet thought referee Friend's decision to dismiss Brown was unjust, and after the benefit of a couple of replays, it is easy to concur with him. At first, it appeared as though the tackle on Adam may have been a bit high, but at a second glance he took pretty much all of the ball and only clipped the Scotsman's ankle. Friend may look back on this and realise that sending Brown off just was not necessary.
Referee's performance:
Apart from the above incident, Friend gave Black Cats fans even more reason to loathe him when he failed to punish Begovic for a high-foot challenge on Fletcher, which, by the letter of the law, should have seen him follow Brown down the tunnel. One big call he did get right was refusing Stoke penalty claims when Marko Arnautovic's volley was inadvertently blocked by John O'Shea's arm.
What next?
Stoke: The Potters travel to Goodison Park a week today to face Everton, where they have won just once since gaining promotion to the Premier League.
Sunderland: An appeal against Brown's red card, probably, but whether the centre-back is available for their trip to Aston Villa next weekend will be for the Football Association to decide.
Joe Fish
