Sunderland 3-1 Stoke City: Chelsea loanee Mason Burstow scores as Black Cats ease to victory

Report and free match highlights from the Sky Bet Championship clash between Sunderland and Stoke City at the Stadium of Light on Saturday | Goals from Mason Burstow, Abdoullah Ba and Pierre Ekwah seal welcome win for Michael Beale's men

Saturday 27 January 2024 18:37, UK

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Chelsea loanee Mason Burstow ended his long wait for a first Sunderland goal as the Black Cats beat Stoke 3-1 to ease the pressure on head coach Michael Beale.

The forward broke his duck in his 14th appearance for the club before Abdoullah Ba and Pierre Ekwah also scored to end the hosts' run of three straight defeats in all competitions and move them level on points with sixth-placed Coventry in the Championship.

A Jenson Seelt own-goal was a mere consolation for Stoke, who remained 19th after their second straight loss.

Some Sunderland fans chanted for Beale to be sacked during last week's defeat to Hull and the problems deepened for the former Rangers boss this week, with the Black Cats publishing a statement before kick-off on Saturday claiming midfielder Alex Pritchard had «made himself unavailable to play and expressed his desire to leave with immediate effect».

But Beale and the Black Cats put those issues to one side against Steven Schumacher's visitors.

The hosts were the brighter of the two sides from the off and had two good chances to break the deadlock in the opening quarter of an hour.

Jack Clarke has been the shining light for Sunderland this season and he could have added to his 13 goals when he blazed over from inside the box. Moments later, the former Tottenham and Leeds winger teed up midfielder Ekwah, who tried to catch out Stoke goalkeeper Daniel Iversen at his front post