John O'Shea helped ten-man Sunderland come away with a 1-1 draw against Stoke City in their English Premier League game Monday.
Sunderland were forced to play one man down for nearly an hour after Craig Gardner was sent off for a late challenge on Stoke City midfielder Charlie Adam at the Stadium of Light. Stoke were already in the lead by then thanks to a goal from Jonathan Walters in the ninth minute.
However, Sunderland battled on and found an equalizer in the 63rd minute courtesy defender O'Shea.
"We started playing more freely and after going down to 10 men -- the players reacted really well," Sunderland manager Paolo Di Canio told the club's official website.
"I'm very proud of the pride, passion and quality that were on display tonight.
"All of that together has made this a very big result for us. The win over Newcastle will go down in the club's history, but for me, what the players did tonight is 2,000 times bigger than what we did that day."
The point saw Sunderland climb a couple of place up to 15th, level on points with Norwich and Newcastle, with all three teams just three points adrift of third bottom Wigan, who have a game in hand.
"Although we didn't get the three points, the fight and spirit that I saw in my players and how they remained organized and didn't lose their brains makes me very happy and very proud," Di Canio added.
"When I see my team play like that it makes me confident and that combined with the tremendous atmosphere in the stadium makes tonight a game to remember.
"We got a point. It was a fantastic effort and a fantastic performance. We now have to look forward to the next game -- it is a Champions League Final for us."
Stoke are now eleventh on 41 points with two games remaining, and manager Tony Pulis wants his side to pick up all three points against Tottenham on Sunday, with the game coinciding with Stoke's 150th anniversary celebrations.
"We're almost there now and we have the chance to make it a day of double celebration when the club marks its 150th Anniversary," Pulis said. "To secure a sixth season in the Premier League would be the perfect to mark the occasion.
"In any other season, I think we would be done and dusted now in terms of safety with 41 points, but it's incredibly tight down there, and there are still some big, big clubs below us who are fighting for their lives to stay in this League.
"It's very surreal when you look at the table and if it means we still have to get a point or two from our final two matches, then that is what we will have to go out and do. But we're now looking to push on in those remaining games.
"We're unbeaten in our last three matches, we're on 41 points and we're eleventh in the table, so we're very pleased with that position."
