Sunderland manager Steve Bruce took the first steps on the road to redemption thanks to two goals from Asamoah Gyan but his Stoke City manager Tony Pulis will argue that his ten-man side were the victims of two miscarriages of justice in a highly controversial contest.
Bruce breathed a sigh of relief when referee Martin Atkinson failed to penalise Sunderland when skipper Lee Cattermole used his arm to just about keep out a Kenwyne Jones header that would have cancelled out the first of Gyan's goals, his second arriving after Stoke defender Ryan Shawcross was harshly sent off.
Bruce badly needed his side to silence his doubters following 5-1 thrashing by arch-rivals Newcastle last weekend and Ghanaian international Gyan emerged as his saviour with a first-half winner.
Despite being without leading scorer Darren Bent due to a hamstring injury, Bruce's side took the lead in the ninth minute thanks to Gyan's third goal in Sunderland colours to ease the tension at the Stadium of Light.
The £13 million club record signing stabbed the ball home from close range after Asmir Begovic failed to hold on to marauding right-back Nedum Onuoha's shot after he was played in by Ahmed Elmohamady.
Former Sunderland striker Kenwyne Jones wasted a chance to equalise two minutes later when he was played through by Matt Etherington but his shot was tame and Simon Mignolet came to his side's rescue.
The pressure on Bruce should have been eased even further in the 29th minute when Martin Atkinson awarded Sunderland a dubious penalty when Gyan fell following a tug of the shirt by Jon Walters.
But Steed Malbranque was, though, unable to take advantage of the decision, allowing Begovic to redeem himself by diving low to his left to push aside weak spot-kick.
Despite that setback, Sunderland continued to enjoy the upper hand and Malbranque seemed certain to make amends shortly his lapse when he set his sights on Begovic's goal from 20 yards out but Ryan Shawcross deflected his shot just wide.
Sunderland began the second half on the front foot yet slowly but surely it was Stoke who looked stronger, especially when Ricardo Fuller was sent on to join the subdued Jones in attack and Walters was withdrawn.
The Sunderland goal led a charmed life as Stoke City pressed for an equaliser but Lady Luck smiled on the home side.
Cattermole denied Jones illegally on the line when his former colleague rose to win Etherington's corner although Stoke players urged the linesman to award a goal claiming the ball had cross the line before the midfielders' intervention.
Atkinson was having none of it, though, and from the subsequent corner Cattermole again denied Jones, this time with his left foot.
Shawcross incurred the wrath of Bruce due to a crude lunge on Danny Welbeck that earned the culprit a caution and was harshly sent off soon after in the 82nd minute when the forward fell theatrically following a the merest of brushes with the centre-half.
Gyan took maximum advantage, brilliantly slamming home a shot from the edge of the box in the 86th minute after Robert Huth failed to clear Kieran Richardson's low cross.
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