Stoke City 1 Newcastle United 0: Defeat heaps more pressure McClaren

Shaqiri's late goal gave Stoke City a 1-0 win at the Britannia Stadium.

And the result keeps the club second-bottom of the league ahead of Saturday's home game against Bournemouth.

Neither team had shone in a scrappy game played in atrocious conditions.

The Britannia Stadium was lashed by rain and battered by winds, and neither team had any fluency.

Stoke's breakthrough came nine minutes from time.

Shaqiri, fed by Mame Diouf, wrong-footed goalkeeper Rob Elliot with a left-footed strike nine minutes from time.

Newcastle, captained by Jonjo Shelvey, didn't trouble Jack Butland until the 90th minute, when substitute Seydou Doumbia shot from 10 yards.

United's players were applauded off the pitch at the final whistle.

NEWCASTLE UNITED: Elliot; Janmaat, Taylor, Lascelles, Dummett; Colback (Perez, 84), Shelvey; Sissoko, Gouffran (Riviere, 73), Wijnaldum; Mitrovic (Doumbia, 84). Subs not used: Darlow, Sterry, Saivet, Aarons.

STOKE CITY: Butland, Bardsley (Muniesa, 25), Wollscheid, Cameron, Pieters, Imbula, Arnautovic, Shaqiri, Whelan, Afellay (Diouf, 69), Walters (Crouch, 69). Subs not used: Haugaard, Muniesa, Ireland, Joselu, Bojan.

Goal: Shaqiri 81

Booking: Wijnaldum 45

Referee: Neil Swarbrick (Preston)

Attendance: 27,331 (1,622 Newcastle)