Stoke moved into second spot with a hard-fought 2-1 win over fellow promotion hopefuls Bristol City.
Sidibe's brace sees Stoke rule at the Britannia
Stoke moved into second spot with a hard-fought 2-1 win fellow promotion hopefuls Bristol City at the Britannia Stadium.
Mamady Sidibe was the hero for Stoke with a clinical first-half brace to move Tony Pulis's side closer to the promised land of the Premier League.
The win moves Stoke three points clear of third-placed Hull with just two games left, while Bristol City remain in fourth and look like they will have to make do with a place in the play-offs.
Bristol City had the first chance of the game on 12 minutes when Dele Adebola flicked his header straight at Carlo Nash.
Stoke broke the deadlock on 14 minutes when Sidibe headed in Liam Lawrence's free-kick from the right.
Four minutes later Ricardo Fuller wasted a good chance when he blazed his shot from the edge of the box over the crossbar.
Stoke doubled their lead on 36 minutes when Sidibe raced clear onto Fuller's flick-on and slotted the ball past Adriano Basso.
Sidibe came close to completing his hat-trick just before the hour mark when he saw his shot kicked off the line by Michael McIndoe.
Lawrence was inches away from scoring on the hour when his superb free-kick shaved the outside of the post.
Bristol City were gifted a route back into the contest on 67 minutes when Leon Cort appeared to head the ball into his own net under pressure from Adebola.
Bradley Orr almost drew the visitors level three minutes later when he saw his effort cleared off the line.
