Stoke City eased back into the Championship's automatic promotion places with a 3-0 victory over Charlton Athletic, powered by Sorba Thomas' bizarre first-half brace at the Bet365 Stadium. The Wales winger found the net twice from attempted crosses, either side of Million Manhoef's crisp finish, as Mark Robins' side raced three goals clear inside 35 minutes.
For a Stoke team coming off back-to-back defeats against Coventry and Leicester, this was a timely reset. They climbed above Middlesbrough into second place, even if leaders Coventry remain an imposing 10 points clear, while a seventh league clean sheet underlined the Potters' control once they had ruthlessly exposed Charlton's fragile start.
For Charlton, however, it was another grim evening that followed an all-too-familiar script. Four days after falling 4-0 down inside 22 minutes and conceding five before half-time against Southampton, Nathan Jones' side again imploded early, found themselves 3-0 down away to another of their manager's former clubs, and could not turn an improved second-half showing into a route back into the game.
Early Onslaught and a Bizarre Brace from the Left