Alex Neil winner again in Stoke City vs Sunderland fixture

Stoke took all 3 points. Well, Alex Neil’s side always wins this fixture! (Last season he won one as Sunderland manager & one game as Stoke’s!) Here’s how this game unfolded in real time:

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The new grudge-match of the 2020s: Alex Neil against his old side. 4th vs 4th-bottom. Five changes as five players return from injury, so it’s nice for City to have defenders (like Hoever, Rose and Stevens) on the pitch for a change. Vidigal & Mmaee return up front.

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0.00 Truly disturbing moment as the minute’s silence for the victims of the conflict in the Middle East is broken by shouts and boos of abuse and anger about the conflict. I picked out the word “Israel” but nothing more. Either way, this is not the place.

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6.41 1-0 !! Ball falls kindly from a Leris header for Mmaee to slot home. However, his first touch is surely handball! Sunderland players reckon so! Good cut-out by Burger to create this chance.

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9.51 1-1 !! Is that former Stoke-loanee Jack Clarke slotting home after Mark Travers fails to hold a shot from the left? I think it is. Sloppy at the back by City. Preventable.

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19.05 Ref has to come over and calm Alex Neil down. Sunderland fans make merry.

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20.30 DJ Johnson takes out Pritchard from behind and is surprised by the yellow card. Replay makes it look even worse!

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28.50 Burger’s deflected shot scares keeper Tony Patterson into tipping over. Sadly the subsequent corner is a dead squid.

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40.05 DJ’s error lands the ball with Ab Ba, who thankfully bangs it wide. Travers does his nut!

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46.03 2-1!! McNally heads in a DJ corner in off the post!! Place goes mad! Nobody guarding the far post!

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49.45 Burger miskicks, and then has to grab a player to recover and it fall. Yellow card!! Very funny though.

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Attendance is a slightly implausibly 25512, with loads of free Community Trust free tickets (all free).

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55.01 DJ and Burger get in each other’s way but eventually Johnson gets a shot away (blocked, albeit).

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60.55 DJ Johnson lucky to be on the pitch with grappling tackle right in front of the ref.

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63.35 Hoever chopped down by Clarke after great work by Johnson and the tricky Vidigal almost set up Leris for a goal.

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67.48 Sunderland’s Ballard’s header hits the post.

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69.45 Josh Laurent and Jordan Thompson are on for Burger and Johnson.

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72.25 Thompson takes a time-wasting one for the team. Yellow card for holding on to the ball when it’s their free kick.

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79.01 Lynden Gooch and Nathan Lowe on for Mmaee and Vidigal.

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86.12 Clarke brings out a save in Travers. Starting to get desperate, as Stevens is yellowed.

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91.50 Comically THREE Stoke players go down with cramp. Really?

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95.00 Stoke take the 3 points! Deservedly.