John O'Shea scored a second-half equaliser as 10-man Sunderland rescued a 1-1 draw at home to Stoke City on Monday that moved them three points clear of the Premier League relegation zone.
Jonathan Walters gave the visitors an early lead when he reacted smartly in the box to poke home from close range on nine minutes after his header had been blocked.
Sunderland had a player sent off for the second week running when Craig Gardner was shown a straight red card for a lunging, studs-first tackle on Charlie Adam with only 33 minutes on the clock.
Defender O'Shea equalised after 63 minutes when he struck the far post.
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