Black Cats undone by Kitson

Dave Kitson's second goal this week for Stoke City was enough to secure a 1-0 victory over Sunderland.

Ex-Reading man scores again as Stoke win at home

Dave Kitson's second goal this week for Stoke City was enough to secure a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at the Britannia Stadium. The former Reading man has struggled following his £5million switch last summer, but he is now starting to pay dividends after grabbing the winner against the Black Cats. Sunderland had the better of the play at Stoke, but failed to convert any of their half chances, in fact Thomas Sorensen was never tested as the visitors' shots were off-target. The home side made Steve Bruce's side pay with Kitson scuffing the ball home from just outside the six-yard box after Kenwyne Jones failed to clear a corner. Sunderland huffed and puffed after half-time, but in truth Stoke looked comfortable at the back and while they failed to double their advantage Tony Pulis' side ran out worthy winners. There was a scare for the visitors after only four minutes when goalkeeper Craig Gordon, who had only recently recovered from a knee injury, was left on the floor after a challenge from Kitson. Kitson took advantage of some indecision from Nyron Nosworthy to get goal-side of a pass from Liam Lawrence. The Stoke striker raced on only to be blocked by Gordon, who was winded but recovered quickly. The visitors responded and Darren Bent found space inside the area, only to see his shot blocked by Abdoulaye Faye.

Thunderbolt

Danny Higginbotham then did well to block Bent's effort after the Sunderland striker played a neat one-two with Jones. Play switched down the other end and Jones got in the way of a thunderbolt from Glenn Whelan to divert it to safety in the 25th minute. Gordon then had to look alert in the 36th minute to take the ball off Lawrence after a soft back pass from Anton Ferdinand. Sunderland launched a swift break in the 41st minute when Lorik Cana slipped the ball through to Bent. The former Tottenham striker turned quickly, only to curl his effort wide of the post. Stoke made the breakthrough in the 43rd minute following a goalmouth scramble. Sunderland failed to clear Lawrence's corner and Kitson was on hand to score. Stoke increased the pressure and Gordon did well to punch away a long throw from Delap as Ryan Shawcross waited for any slip-up from the goalkeeper. Lawrence almost added a second for the home side in the 48th minute but Phil Bardsley cleared his effort off the line. Stoke kept up the pressure and Lawrence headed wide four minutes later following a cross from Etherington. Delap tried to pick out Fuller when a shot looked on and the chance was wasted because of a poor pass.

Hard to cope

The visitors were finding it hard to cope, especially when it came to set-pieces and dead-ball situations. Shawcross got on the end of a free-kick from Lawrence but his touch was poor and Gordon was able to make the save. Kitson then released Fuller inside the area after 69 minutes but he cleared the bar with his effort. The former Reading man almost added a second in the 71st minute when he got on the end of a corner from Lawrence, only to head wide. Tuncay was then introduced for Fuller 13 minutes later and was quickly into the action. He picked out Kitson but his cross was poor and the chance was lost. Fellow new signing Robert Huth was also given a brief run-out when he came on for Kitson with two minutes to go as Stoke secured the three points.

Stoke City	Team Statistics	Sunderland
1	Goals	0
1	1st Half Goals	0
5	Shots on Target	3
6	Shots off Target	3
3	Blocked Shots	3
10	Corners	10
11	Fouls	8
2	Offsides	2
0	Yellow Cards	2
0	Red Cards	0
60.9	Passing Success	62.7
14	Tackles	16
71.4	Tackles Success	81.2
45	Possession	55
46	Territorial Advantage	54