Steven Fletcher fires Sunderland to first win of the season

Steven Fletcher scored twice as Sunderland got their first win of the season with a 3-1 victory against Stoke City this afternoon.

Connor Wickham struck his first Premier League goal for 10 games after just four minutes when he converted with a header from Fletcher's cross.

The visitors restored parity on 15 minutes when Charlie Adam's shot flew into the bottom corner after he'd used a defender as a decoy to deceive Vito Mannone in the Sunderland goal.

However, Fletcher gave his side the lead on 23 minutes when he rose highest from Jordi Gomez's corner to nod home.

Marko Arnautovic spurned a great chance to level things up after Peter Crouch had played his teammate in on the half-hour mark.

Sunderland nearly extended their lead when Will Buckley's over-hit cross almost looped over Asmir Begovic.

Bojan was introduced as a second-half substitute, and the Spaniard fed Oussama Assaidi wide on the left, but the Moroccan's shot was saved by Mannone on 73 minutes.

However, as the game crept towards the final 10 minutes, Fletcher grabbed his second of the match to wrap up the points for the Black Cats.

Wickham's lengthy run ended with a low cross into the box, and Fletcher was on hand to convert as Gus Poyet's side claimed their first victory of the campaign.