STOKE PLAYED THE second half of their loss to Newcastle United with just nine men after having Irish internationals Glenn Whelan and Marc Wilson sent off in the space of four minutes — a spell that also saw manager Mark Hughes sent from the dugout.
Alan Pardew sought to capitalise on his side’s numerical advantage by bringing on Shola Ameobi for the second half and it was a moved that worked for the Magpies as they scored four times despite Stoke’s attempts to play with everyone behind the ball.
The win means the Magpies have now amassed 22 points from nine Premier League matches but they were helped considerably by a Stoke side that self-destructed after Oussama Assaidi had given them a 29th minute lead.
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Whelan’s double booking was deserved but completely unnecessary as first he was involved in an altercation with Yohan Cabaye before receiving his marching orders just minutes later for tripping the Frenchmen.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes was less than pleased with the decision and let his frustration with Martin Atkinson get the better of him, flinging his coat in the air in a temper tantrum before heading for the stands.
Three minutes later, Whelan’s fellow Irish international Marc Wilson followed him for an early bath after he was correctly adjudged to have brought down Loïc Rémy. The French midfielder missed his spot kick but made up for it seconds later by equalising.
Yoan Gouffran capitalised on a poor punch from Stoke ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen three minutes after the break to continue his scoring run, although it did appear as if they ball may have gone out of play prior to Hatem Ben Arfa’s cross.
The brilliant Ben Arfa twice struck the woodwork either side of Rémy grabbing his second in the 56th minute. Davide Santon’s cross from the left was flicked on by Sissoko and Rémy made no mistake with a simple header at the far post.
Cabaye curled home from 20 yards 10 minutes later to seal the game for the home side and claim his fourth goal in as many matches against Stoke.
Papiss Cisse rounded off the scoring for Newcastle when he converted from the penalty spot after Erik Pieters had upended Ben Arfa in the area.
