Sunderland earn Stoke win to ease pressure on Michael Beale

Sunderland responded to the bombshell news that Alex Pritchard has expressed a desire to leave the club by earning an important win over Stoke City to ease some of the pressure on head coach Michael Beale despite supporters again displaying their frustrations.

Mason Burstow scored his first goal for Sunderland to open the scoring before Abdoullah Ba and Pierre Ekwah took the game away from Steven Schumacher's side midway through the second half.

A Jenson Seelt own goal handed an unlikely lifeline to the visitors who included Lynden Gooch making his return to the Stadium of Light - but Beale's side were able to see out the game in what was an essential three points for the under-fire head coach following a week of intensified criticism.

We Are Sunderland look at some of the key points from a much-needed afternoon on Wearside :

Alex Pritchard rocks Sunderland

When it rains at the Stadium of Light it tends to pour and that continued to be the case ahead of Stoke’s visit to Wearside as little over an hour before kick-off the news landed that Pritchard had expressed a desire to leave Sunderland with immediate effect.

Pritchard has been influential for Sunderland in recent months with a number of goal contributions and has, arguably, been the standout player under new head coach Beale. But just seven minutes before team news landed, the club released a statement confirming Pritchard had made himself unavailable for selection with his decision to seek a move away from the Stadium of Light.

It added another layer to the questions that continue to circle around the club and its ownership group of Kristjaan Speakman and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus – with the news coming less than 48-hours after Speakman had confirmed the club had offered Pritchard an extension and that the midfielder is likely ‘happy’ on Wearside having cemented a regular run of games under Beale.

“On Friday morning, Alex Pritchard informed the club that he was no longer available for selection and he subsequently withdrew from today’s matchday squad,” a statement read.

“The midfielder also expressed his desire to leave SAFC with immediate effect. The club will be making no further comment at this moment in time.”

Speakman said prior to the game: “From Alex’s perspective, we’ve made the decision more recently to offer him an extension to his contract. We wouldn’t normally do that because we’d normally do that as part of our succession planning somewhere around March or April time. But we just felt that in conversations with him, that was something we probably needed to do because of the situation and where his head was at more than anything.

“I think that’s the right thing for the football club to do, and he is in a really good position. He’s in the team, and I’m sure he’s happy.”

Pritchard’s absence gave Beale a selection headache with the decision made to reintroduce Ba to the starting line-up on the right with Jobe Bellingham occupying the No.10 role behind the returning Burstow as Sunderland’s striker merry-go-round continued.

High performance culture from the background noise

The news of Pritchard’s time at Sunderland being over added further fuel to what threatened to be an uncomfortable atmosphere at the Stadium of Light following the continued disapproval from supporters of Beale as the club’s head coach.

Beale appeared to anger supporters in the build-up to this game when hitting back following the chants for him to leave his position at the Stadium of Light in last week’s defeat to Hull City. Beale confessed to being ‘bemused’ and ‘perplexed’ by ‘the outside noise’ from supporters who have voiced their disgruntlement – fans having also taken to social media to express their views with ‘BealeOut’ trending online several times over the course of the last week.

It led to questions as to whether supporters would vent their frustrations from the off against Stoke. But while chants against Beale or the club’s ownership were muted, fans did show their frustration in another way when unfurling a banner in the Roker End which read: ‘High performance culture. From the background noise’ in a subtle gesture towards both Beale and Speakman for recent comments.

The banner was held aloft momentarily in the opening minutes of the game before supporters then returned to getting behind their team - the performance and, ultimately, the result contributing to that aspect of things as Sunderland took control of the game.

While Beale and the club's hierarchy will be pleased that criticisms were kept to a minimum, there's no denying the storm clouds remain prevalent on Wearside. 

Michael Beale’s best performance

Beale, while keen to stress his lack of involvement in the club’s decision to part ways with former boss Tony Mowbray in recent days, has hinted at why the decision may have been made given the run of form of just two wins in nine games before his departure. Yet Beale entered this game at just two wins in seven games across all competitions which met he was erring on the side of being under pressure based purely from a results perspective, as opposed to that outside noise.

Beale and his opposite number, Schumacher, met at an interesting point given that both took over their new roles within a day of each other last month. In the six league games since, both had guided their side to two wins, but Schumacher had Stoke seventh in the form table, courtesy of just one defeat, with Beale’s Sunderland in 19th having taken seven points from the first 18 available to him.

Equally however, the Sunderland head coach has been keen to highlight how pleased he has been with the attitude of his players, despite their indifferent form, with this being the high point of his reign to date.

After a lacklustre display against Hull, a fifth consecutive game of recording an xG of less than 1, things appeared to click into place for Beale’s side here. While not necessarily at their absolute fluid best, there was certainly a renewed vigour about the home side who pressed Stoke high and got in-behind the full-backs a number of times in dangerous areas. It was typified with the opening two goals scored; both excellent counter-attack efforts.

Given the absence of Pritchard, Beale was forced into at least one change against Stoke but, as it turned out, the two he made both got on the scoresheet in Burstow and Ba. Things may have been slightly different had Tyrese Campbell levelled the scores inside 22 seconds of the second half before Ba capped a fine move from Clarke’s assist.

The cushion of that two-goal lead gave Beale’s side added confidence as you could see the shackles loosen a little bit compared to recent weeks. Against Ipswich and Hull, two teams involved in the promotion race, Beale has maybe erred on the side of caution a but this was Sunderland releasing the handbrake slightly which will encourage supporters ahead of a significant trip to the Riverside to face Middlesbrough next weekend.

Ekwah’s clinical strike sealed the points for Beale’s side – the first time Sunderland have scored three times or more since prior to November’s international break and the 3-1 win over Birmingham City.

"I'm delighted with the players and delighted for them as well," said Beale. "The work ethic of the boys behind the scenes – it’s been a difficult two weeks for them. It’s been a really good day. It’s just one performance and we need to build on it."

It was a result Beale was in desperate need of as he tries to turn the tide with a disgruntled fanbase. Where eight days ago Beale headed down the tunnel to a chorus of boos and somewhat vociferous chanting, here his side were applauded off, potentially providing a building block for the rest of the season.

Mason Burstow off the mark after latest striker switch

Much like Nazariy Rusyn following the 2-0 win over Preston North End on New Year’s Day, many of the headlines will belong to Burstow for breaking his goal-drought with Sunderland at this, the 14th time of asking.

Burstow was in the right place at the right time to guide in Ba’s knockdown and his header from inside the six-yard-box had just enough on it to sneak in between two Stoke defenders on the line. The relief was palpable for Burstow who, again like Rusyn, was surrounded by his team-mates and showered with congratulations before releasing an outpouring of emotion in front of the Roker End.

The on-loan Chelsea man has been the one of Sunderland’s four summer recruits to have been afforded the most game time this season but his performances had led to some suggestions the 20-year-old could return to Stamford bridge this month after an unsuccessful first half to the campaign.

Prior to his goal just minutes before the break, it felt as though it could be another nearly day for Burstow where things just didn’t quite work out.

Much of Sunderland’s play, as it often does, came down either flank with the likes of Clarke, Jobe and Hume all expressing themselves more than we saw against Hull and establishing good areas within the final third. Burstow, however, was left a little anonymous with very few touches in the first half coming from within the central third of the field.

Much of that, however, will drift into the background as the most important touch of them all came where you want your striker to touch the ball inside the six-yard-box. It was a poachers goal, Burstow finding himself in the right area at the right time.

Burstow had a spring in his step after the break as he led Sunderland’s press with a little more conviction – his forward runs across goal creating space for both Ba and Ekwah’s goals in the second half.

Burstow was withdrawn 10 minutes from time for Rusyn and received several embraces from the coaching staff. As was the case with Rusyn earlier this month, the onus will now be on Burstow to try and continue the momentum gained from this breakthrough moment in his loan spell.

An afternoon to forget for Gooch on his Wearside return

"I feel like I know the stadium like the back of my hand, indoors, the pitch, everything apart the away dressing room,” Gooch told We Are Sunderland in the build-up to this game. “It'll be really weird but it'll be great to see everyone.”

The Academy of Light graduate was given a warm welcome on his return to the Stadium of Light, his first after leaving the club in the summer - applause arriving from the Roker End during his warm-up. His departure brought an end to an 11-year association with the Black Cats – a Sunderland fan through and through.

All of that was put to one side once the whistle blew for kick-off. Operating on the right-hand side of Stoke’s back four, Gooch was tasked with keeping former team-mate Clarke quiet.

It was an area of the pitch Sunderland targeted and had plenty of joy throughout the game. Clarke preoccupied Gooch, allowing Jobe and Hume to run in behind. Stoke struggled with those runs in behind in the opening stages of the game, the best two chances of the opening 20 minutes falling the way of the hosts.

Sunderland focused their attacks down Gooch’s side as the first-half wore on, Clarke robbing the Potters’ right-back to set the Black Cats away three-on-two on the edge of the area. He cut inside onto his right shaping up to shoot, but overran it and tried to poke it through to Ba, who had stopped his run as Stoke recovered.

It was a warning sign for the visitors and one they should have heeded. The defining moment in the first-half came when Clarke got the better of Gooch again, his shot saved by Daniel Iversen, looping into the air and Ba heading the ball back across goal for Burstow to bundle over the line.

Gooch looked to redeem himself after the restart, his dangerous low cross narrowly missing the outstretched Luke O’Nien at the near post, a touch likely resulting in a goal. But Sunderland hit Stoke with a clinical counter to double their advantage.

Gooch again involved. Ba lofted the ball through to Clarke on the left-hand side, who held off his former team-mate, recovered his composure and drove infield from the left with the space opening up ahead of him.

Sunderland’s talisman rolled the ball to Ba at the far post, who was left with a straightforward finish beyond Iversen.

There was one silver lining for the 28-year-old, his deep cross turned into his own net by Seelt in bizarre fashion, but with Sunderland three goals to the good, it was a mere consolation.

In the end, it was a tough afternoon for Gooch on his return, but a standing ovation for the former Black Cat when he was withdrawn in the final few minutes of the game will be something he will take away from his return to the North East.