Source: Northern_Echo
Sunderland suffer stoppage-time heartbreak at Stoke
SUNDERLAND suffered some stoppage-time heartbreak at the Britannia Stadium as Robert Huth's 93rd-minute winner condemned them to a 3-2 defeat.[LNB] Huth slid home Jermaine Pennant's free-kick at the back post, but the result was mired in controversy as Stoke were awarded two goals that should have been ruled out.[LNB] The Black Cats led twice through goals from Kieran Richardson and Asamoah Gyan, but were twice pegged back by goals that should not have been allowed to stand.[LNB] John Carew was involved in them both, scoring the first from an offside position and then nodding down the ball for Huth's first goal of the game, with seven minutes left, via the use of his hand. To make matters worse, Huth was offside when he bundled the ball home.[LNB] Sunderland could not have wished for a better start against Chelsea on Tuesday night, and for the second game in a row, the Black Cats were ahead inside the opening four minutes.[LNB] This time it was Richardson doing the damage, with the midfielder notching his fourth goal in three games before the two-minute mark.[LNB] Gyan failed to control Phil Bardsley's through ball in the box, but the ball fell kindly for Richardson to rifle a ten-yard strike into the roof of the net.[LNB] The England international came close to adding a second when he rifled a long-range strike just over the right-hand angle of crossbar and post, but Sunderland soon came under sustained pressure from a series of Rory Delap long throws.[LNB] Huth almost scored from the first, smashing the ball into the face of goalkeeper Craig Gordon, and Jermaine Pennant also went close midway through the first half.[LNB] The pressure eventually told in the 32nd minute, but there was an element of controversy about Carew's first goal for the Potters.[LNB] First, Huth appeared to foul Gordon as he knocked the ball down following another missile-like delivery from Delap. Then, an offside Carew swivelled and knocked the loose ball home from inside the six-yard box.[LNB] The goal ensured parity at the interval, but Sunderland were ahead again within the opening three minutes of the second half.[LNB] Asamoah Gyan out-muscled Robert Huth as he competed for a Sulley Muntari through ball, and after turning inside the former Middlesbrough centre-half, the Ghana international slotted a deft finish past Asmir Begovic.[LNB] The second half followed much the same pattern as the first, with Sunderland playing all the football and Stoke only offering a threat whenever Delap had the ball in hand.[LNB] A 64th-minute melee ended with Bardsley deflecting a Delap shot over the crossbar, but Sunderland would have wrapped up things up with 15 minutes left had Asmir Begovic not turned a fierce effort from Richardson around the post.[LNB] As it was, Stoke claimed a second equaliser with a goal that was even more controversial than their first.[LNB] Pennant whipped in a free-kick from the left, and Carew used his arm to propel the ball past Gordon. The Norway international might have been offside, but Huth was certainly in an offside position as he bundled the ball home from close range.[LNB] That was bad enough for Sunderland, but there was to be a final sting in the tail in injury-time. Huth met another excellent Pennant set-piece at the back post, and slid the ball past a helpless Gordon.[LNB] STOKE (4-4-2): Begovic; Wilkinson (Walters 66), Shawcross, Huth, Higginbotham; Pennant, Whitehead, Delap, Etherington; Jones, Carew.[LNB] Subs (not used): Sorensen (gk), Collins, Whelan, Wilson, Pugh, Shotton.[LNB] SUNDERLAND (5-4-1): Gordon; Onuoha, Ferdinand, Bramble, Mensah, Bardsley; Henderson (Malbranque 83), Muntari (Zenden 89), Sessegnon, Richardson; Gyan.[LNB] Subs (not used): Mignolet (gk), Angeleri, Riveros, Colback, Elmohamady.[LNB]
