By Alan Duffy

Stoke City 0-1 Sunderland Premier League 4th February 2012

Martin O'Neill's Black Cats continued their ascent of the table on Saturday against Stoke, although the very harsh sending-off of Robert Huth on half-time was undeniably a game-changing moment.

Liverpool turn their attentions back to the Premier League this weekend when they welcome Stoke to Anfield after two games in the FA Cup and Carling Cup.
The Reds go into the clash boosted by the news that skipper Steven Gerrard has signed a new long-term deal which is likely to see him end his playing career at Anfield.

1. Jonathan Walters (Stoke) 2. Shaun Derry (QPR) 3. Danny Higginbotham (Stoke) 4. Andy Wilkinson (Stoke) 5. David Meyler (Sunderland)

Bob Florez, Spring 2011 Official of the Year (Class 2 Sectional)

The regional voting by area Soccer Coaches is complete and their Spring 2011 Officiating recognition is complete.

Southwest Missouri Girls Soccer Official of the Year – Spring 2011: Bob Florez

Runners Up: Courtney Wendel and Patrick Burns

Courtney Wendel and Patrick Burns were both recognized by MSHSAA this year as well, working the Final 4 in early June.

A dismal day in Staffordshire didn't dampen the spirits at the Brittania, as Stoke City overwhelmed the Black Cats from Sunderland with two set-piece goals in the final 10 minutes.

Starting Formations

STOKE CITY FORM: In the first home game for newly-acquired John Carew, Tony Pulis paired him with Kenwyne Jones at the front of a 4-4-2 shape.

Glen Johnson lauded the performance of Luis Suarez after he capped a dream debut with a Kop end strike during the 2-0 win over Stoke City on Wednesday night.
Entering the field to a standing ovation after 63 minutes, Liverpool's new No.7 settled quickly into his stride.
His big moment arrived after 79 minutes when he rounded Stoke 'keeper Asmir Begovic and found the net despite the attempts of Andy Wilkinson to keep it out.

Kenny Dalglish watched Luis Suarez make a goalscoring debut for Liverpool – then backed his new-look strikeforce to frighten teams at Anfield.
Uruguay international Suarez took just 16 minutes to score after stepping off the bench as a 63rd-minute substitute to secure a 2-0 win for Dalglish's men against Stoke City last night.

Luis Suarez made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Stoke, while Manchester City slipped eight points behind Premier League leader Manchester United after a 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

City went ahead on the fouth-minute when Carlos Tevez took a pass from David Silva and put City ahead with an angled shot that took a slight deflection off Birmingham's Martin Jiranek on its way into the far corner.

Luis Suarez made his Liverpool debut as a substitute in a 2-0 win over Stoke, while Manchester City slipped eight points behind Premier League leader Manchester United after a 2-2 draw at Birmingham.

City went ahead on the fouth-minute when Carlos Tevez took a pass from David Silva and put City ahead with an angled shot that took a slight deflection off Birmingham's Martin Jiranek on its way into the far corner.

MANCHESTER, England — Javier Hernandez and Nani scored either side of Dean Whitehead's effort as Manchester United moved three points clear at the top of the English Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Stoke at Old Trafford here on Tuesday. A much-changed United made hard work of defeating a team they had beaten in [.