Sunderland picked up their first win of the season and lifted the pressure on Steve Bruce with an emphatic 4-0 thrashing of Stoke City at the Stadium of Light.
Bruce had been under increasing scrutiny from Black Cats fans after their sides slow start to the season and the acrimonious departure of Asamoah Gyan last week left them questioning whether he was the man to lead Sunderland forward.
He made a massive call leaving captain Lee Cattermole out and giving David Vaughan his first start for the club, a decision that was duly justified come the final whistle.
All that pressure will have washed away for a week at least after Titus Bramble, Craig Gardner and an own goal from Jonathan Woodgate gave the hosts a 3-0 lead before the half hour.
Sebastien Larsson’s goal just after half time put the game firmly beyond doubt and finally gave the Wearside faithful something to smile.
As for Stoke they were never really in the game and boss Tony Pulis will be counting the cost of an energy sapping trip to Kiev after their Europa League game on Thursday.
To be truthful they were never in the game as Sunderland took out their frustrations on the Potters and were ahead with only five minutes on the clock thanks for Bramble.
His shot following a corner was fumbled by visitors keeper Asmir Begovic handing the defender his first goal in red and white before Woodgate put the ball into his own net as he tried to stop Larsson’s dipping delivery reaching Nicklas Bendtner.
It was a goal that went down well on Wearside considering his connections with rivals Newcastle and it certainly increased the noise at the Stadium of Light with the hosts 2-0 ahead after 11 minutes.
That noise soared even further after Gardner, a summer signing from Birmingham, opened his account for the club. There was a slice of misfortune about it though as Ryan Shawcross’ attempted block only serving to divert the midfielder’s shot away from Begovic.
Stoke were toothless up front with Peter Crouch anonymous and doing nothing to justify his £10 million price tag although strike partner Cameron Jerome did have a shot blocked by Bramble after the restart.
But that was as much as they could muster as Larsson made it 4-0 with a delightfully flighted free kick making it an afternoon to forget for the Potters and allowing Bruce to breathe a huge sigh of relief.
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The goals are flying in around the Football League today and it took no fewer than 10 minutes for the six Goaldash numbers to come flying in.
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