Stoke 1 Sunderland 1
Jermain Defoe scored an injury-time penalty to earn Sunderland a potentially priceless point at Stoke.
The Potters looked on course for victory after Marko Arnautovic gave them the lead five minutes into the second half but Defoe made it 1-1 having won the spot-kick himself.
Newcastle’s victory over Crystal Palace meant the draw was not enough to prevent Sunderland dropping back into the bottom three but it was more than they looked like getting for 90 minutes.
Mark Hughes would have been pleased with Stoke’s response to conceding four goals in each of their last three games but their winless run extended to five matches.
The Black Cats had kept three clean sheets in their previous four games but they might have been behind inside two minutes as Xherdan Shaqiri picked out Arnautovic, who slipped at the vital moment. Charlie Adam started a Premier League game for the first time since November and his eye for a pass was central to Stoke’s attacking threat.
In the 18th minute, Adam’s cross picked out Peter Crouch and his header, which might have been going wide, was scrambled around the post by Vito Mannone.
The best chance of the half came in the 34th minute. Crouch again played a part as his header from wide on the right caught the Sunderland defence out.
Sunderland were not without chances but they were unable to really test goalkeeper Jakob Haugaard, who got another chance to impress with Shay Given joining Jack Butland on the sidelines.
It took Stoke just five minutes of the second half to break the deadlock, and it was no surprise that it was Adam, Crouch and Arnautovic who were involved.
Adam’s cross was headed down by Crouch for Arnautovic, who cleverly delayed his shot, fooling Kone, before firing past Mannone. Allardyce was clearly unhappy that the goal was allowed to stand, with Crouch climbing on Younes Kaboul as he rose to head the ball.
That was Arnautovic’s last contribution before he was replaced by Ireland’s Jonathan Walters. The forward had been a doubt with a groin injury, which he appeared to aggravate prior to the goal.
Sunderland’s game plan had been to keep it tight and they struggled to mount any real response to the goal.
Defoe, the likeliest source of a goal, sent a fierce shot over the bar, but the greater threat continued to come at the other end.
Gradually Sunderland began to create some pressure and Defoe’s deflected shot had Haugaard scrambling but the ball dropped wide. Imbula might have made the points safe but delayed in getting his shot away when clean through, and it was to prove costly.
With the 90 minutes having elapsed, Defoe looked to collect the ball on the edge of the area and went down under pressure from Cameron. Contact appeared minimal but referee Craig Pawson pointed to the spot and Defoe made no mistake, leaving the Sunderland fans to celebrate what must have felt like a victory.
Newcastle 1 Crystal Palace 0
Andros Townsend’s stunning free-kick dragged Newcastle out of the Barclays Premier League relegation zone as Rafael Benitez’s rescue mission gathered pace with a 1-0 win over Crystal Palace.
Andros struck with 58 minutes gone — his third goal in five games — to give the home side a precious lead, but it took a 70th-minute penalty saved by Karl Darlow to deny Magpies old boy Yohan Cabaye an equaliser.
Victory, coupled with Sunderland’s draw at Stoke, eased Newcastle out of the bottom three ahead of Norwich’s trip to Arsenal and left the bulk of a crowd of 52,107 dreaming of a great escape with just two games remaining.
Benitez’s men ran out knowing nothing short of a win would be good enough and a sell-out crowd at St James’ Park settled down in the hope that Sunderland boss Sam Allardyce was correct in suggesting that Place’s players would have been “on the pop” all week after reaching the FA Cup final.
If Allardyce’s intention was to fire up- the Eagles, it certainly worked as they enjoyed the better of the first half.
The visitors targeted makeshift right-back Vurnon Anita from the first whistle with Yannick Bolasie employed as tormentor in chief, and Chancel Mbemba’s efforts to help out his team-mate resulted in an early booking. Jason Puncheon volleyed across goal after meeting Pape Souare’s eight-minute cross and it took a fine challenge by Jamaal Lascelles to deny Connor Wickham a clear run at goal three minutes later.
Georginio Wijnaldum went close five minutes after the restart when he turned past Cabaye from Mbemba’s pass, but saw his shot blocked by Damien Delaney, and Hennessey fielded Townsend’s 55th-minute effort with little difficulty.
But the former Tottenham, midfielder broke the deadlock in style three minutes later when, after being fouled by Scott Dann, he curled a superb free-kick past the helpless Hennessey. Palace fought for a way back into the game as an increasingly nervous Newcastle dropped ever deeper in an attempt to preserve their lead, and the Eagles got their chance were awarded a penalty for handball by Moussa Sissoko as he challenged Scott Dann with 20 minutes remaining. However, Darlow dived to his left to keep out Cabaye’s effort as St James’ breathed a collective sigh of relief, one which was repeated on the final whistle after a tense conclusion resulted in no further drama.
