Luke of love for Potters
Mmaee 7, Mcnally 47
ALEX NEIL admitted his relief after a win he believes will give his struggling Stoke side a major boost.
Luke Mcnally’s 47th-minute header secured the points after Sunderland’s in-form winger Jack Clarke quickly cancelled out Ryan Mmaee’s opener.
The Potters brought in 19 new faces this summer and came into the game fourth bottom after a run that had brought just one win in eight matches.
And boss Neil – who left Sunderland to take charge of Stoke last August – said: “We needed the win irrespective of who we were playing against.
“Obviously I know fans are fans. They were always going to fire a few shots at me and I get it.
“But for our lads we needed a bit of optimism and three points under our belt.
“We’re a team in transition and that’s frustrating for me because the nature of the Champonship is you have to win games and I understand that.
“But we need to recognise where we are and I think we have great potential.”
Mmaee put the home side ahead with his first league goal for the club but Clarke levelled after keeper Mark Travers could only parry Jobe Bellingham’s shot.
Sunderland missed a number of chances before Mcnally headed home.
Black Cats boss Tony Mowbray said: “It’s almost like you need a slap before you react to the fight and I think that’s what we were today.”
STOKE: Travers 7; Hoever 7, Mcnally 9, Rose 6, Stevens 8; Pearson 7, Burger 6 (Thompson (70) 6), Johnson 6 (Laurent (70) 6); Leris 7, Mmaee 7 (Lowe (80) 6), Vidigal 6 (Gooch (80) 6) SUNDERLAND: Patterson 6; Huggins 7, Ballard 6, O’nien 7, Hume 6; Ekwah 7 (Aouchiche (75) 6), Bellingham 8 (Semedo (84) 6); Ba 6 (Burstow (66) 6), Pritchard 7 (Dack (66) 6), Clarke 6; Roberts 6 (Rusyn (66) 6) STAR MAN: Luke Mcnally – Capped a solid defensive display with the header that secured a crucial win.
Graham Scott 6