Sunderland earned a vital point in their battle against relegation by sharing a 1-1 draw with Stoke City this afternoon.

The Black Cats scored in the opening minute as Asmir Begovic spilled Will Buckley's low cross and Connor Wickham followed up to slot the ball home.

However, Stoke equalised when Charlie Adam fired a strike into the top corner to ensure that the game finished all square.

Here, Sports Mole rates the best and worst performances from the Britannia Stadium.

STOKE CITY:

Goal

Asmir Begovic: Made a terrible mistake in the first minute as he spilled Buckley's cross into the path of Wickham, who took advantage to score. However, he did make some crucial saves as the game wore on, including a point-blank stop from Jones after the break. (6/10)

Defence

Geoff Cameron: Did not get too involved as his team dominated possession, but defended well and made sure that there was no threat down his side of the pitch. (6/10)

Ryan Shawcross: Dependable display from the captain. Made some vital challenges and was strong in the air throughout. (7/10)

Philipp Wollscheid: Looked shaky at times and was almost made to pay for losing the ball cheaply outside his own box to Wickham, before Shawcross helped to bail him out of trouble. (6/10)

Erik Pieters: Came under a lot of pressure in the second half and was forced to defend deep. When he was able to get forward, he delivered a couple of decent balls into the box, but it was not enough to seriously trouble the visitors. (6/10)

Midfield

Steven N'Zonzi: One of Stoke's most reliable players. He helped them to control the midfield and made plenty of important tackles. (7/10)

Charlie Adam: Outstanding display from the Scot. He scored a great goal to bring his side level and he looked a threat whenever he got on the ball. Delivered some brilliant crosses into the box and almost won the match late on with a long-range effort. (9/10)

Stephen Ireland: Got involved in a lot of Stoke's forward play and was always reliable when he was in possession. (7/10)

Attack

Marko Arnautovic: Set up Adam for the opening goal after battling well for the ball. Had a couple of good efforts from range and was one of his side's most dangerous players. (7/10)

Jonathan Walters: Had a good chance to score early on, but his attempt was saved by the keeper. He worked hard for his team, but eventually ran out of steam and was replaced by Odemwingie late on. (6/10)

Mame Biram Diouf: Not the best of games for the Senegal international, who looked laboured in the first half and failed to connect with any of Adam's decent crosses. He had Stoke's best chance of the second half with a close-range effort that was saved by Pantilimon. Replaced by Crouch. (6/10)

Substitutes

Peter Crouch: Caused the Sunderland defence a number of problems in the final 20 minutes, but did not have a clear goalscoring chance to win the match. (7/10)

Peter Odemwingie: Received a great ovation from the crowd on his return from injury, but did not see enough of the ball during his time on the pitch. (6/10)

Phil Bardsley: Was only on for the last three minutes and barely got a touch. (6/10)

SUNDERLAND:

Goal

Costel Pantilimon: Could have done nothing about Adam's goal, but made a wonderful save right at the end to tip behind the Scot's powerful long-range effort. (7/10)

Defence

Billy Jones: Came under heavy pressure, with most of Stoke's attacks down his side of the pitch, but he managed to deal with their threat well. (6/10)

John O'Shea: The Irishman put in a fine display to keep Diouf quiet and his performance at the back was vital as his side came away from the Britannia with a point. (7/10)

Sebastian Coates: Put in a very good showing alongside O'Shea. He won a number of tackles and his positional play was excellent all afternoon. (7/10)

Patrick van Aanholt: Constantly bombed down the left to support his team's forward players and was solid at the back. Had a couple of attempts on goal, although neither came close to finding the target. (7/10)

Midfield

Lee Cattermole: Typically-robust display from the midfielder. He put in a number of strong tackles and battled well for his team. (7/10)

Jack Rodwell: Quietly went about his job. Helped out his team whenever they started to drop deep and was strong in the air. (6/10)

Jordi Gomez: Looked dangerous when Sunderland were on the attack and had a decent chance at the start of the second half when he was picked out on the edge of the box, but he could only scuff the ball straight at the keeper. (7/10)

Attack

Connor Wickham: Was in the right place to score the opener for the Black Cats. He continued to lead the line well and put in a great shift for his team. (7/10)

Will Buckley: His dangerous cross was spilled by the keeper, allowing Wickham to score inside the opening minute. The winger delivered some more dangerous crosses in the first half before he was replaced at the break. (7/10)

Jermain Defoe: Had a great chance to double Sunderland's lead when he was found by Cattermole's long pass, but he fired his shot into the side-netting and Stoke equalised moments later. He did not have too many more chances, but put in a lot of effort. (6/10)

Substitutes

Danny Graham: Made a positive impact after coming on at half time and caused plenty of problems for the Stoke defence. (7/10)