Stoke City were made to rue the dismissal of captain Ryan Shawcross as Sunderland scored twice in the final 10 minutes to earn a 2-0 home victory and a second successive Premier League win.
Substitute Duncan Watmore made the points safe for the Black Cats with a strike only moments after Patrick van Aanholt had broken the deadlock with this left-footed piledriver into the bottom corner.
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Sunderland climb out of the relegation zone at the expense of North-West rivals Newcastle United, and are beginning to look much less like certainties for the drop after a few weeks under Sam Allardyce.
The Potters had won five of their last seven league games, four by a 1-0 margin, and few would have bet against a repeat of that scoreline after a goalless first half in which they had the best chances.
But they were forced into a rethink two minutes after the restart as Shawcross was sent off for a second yellow card. Although they remained a threat on the counter, Sunderland ground the 10 men down.
Adam Johnson teed up Van Aanholt for his first league goal in Sunderland colours on 82 minutes, and Watmore doubled their lead within 90 seconds with his third of the season into the bottom corner.
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