Stoke City 1-0 Manchester City – My View

  I’ll take a look at what I think are the key points from yesterday’s 1-0 home victory over Manchester City.

A huge win
Yesterday’s result was undoubtedly a very important one for Stoke. The three points moved us ahead of the likes of Middlesbrough and Blackburn and out of the relegation zone, but on top of this, the manner in which the victory was achieved, with such a fine team performance with just ten men, will do wonders for our morale going after recent disappointments.

Immense Defence
While Manchester City had the vast majority of the possession and territorial advantage in the second half, they never really looked like scoring. That is a great credit to the Stoke rearguard action, not just of the back four, but of the team as a whole, who all gave their all for the cause.

Maturity beyond their years
Special praise goes to young defenders Andy Wilkinson and Ryan Shawcross, who both put in fantastic defensive performances, and in Shawcross’s case looked a threat going forward too. While nerves and panicked play may be expected from young defenders under pressure, neither showed a hint of this, putting in thoroughly commanding professional performances. This is particularly pleasing from Wilkinson, who has let his frustration and the occassion get the better of him in the past, but yesterday had one of the world’s best players in Robinho in his pocket.

Shawcross with a slight height advantage over Bellamy

New blood
The last two goals we have scored have been scored by new signing James Beattie and assisted by fellow new-boy Matthew Etherington. Both have fitted superbly into the Stoke side in the first few games and the two seem to have an understanding of each other that would usually take years to develop. Yesterday’s winner was an excellent stretching header from Beattie from a perfect cross from Etherington, the two new signings providing the quality we have lacked.

Delap in the headlines for the wrong reasons
We have grown used to seeing pages of the sporting press dedicated to Rory Delap’s spectacular long throw, but yesterday he made the news for all the wrong reasons, getting sent off for stupidly and unprofessionally kicking the ball into Shaun Wright-Phillips after hacking him down. Tony Pulis said he could not and would not condone Delap’s actions and I agree with him, we were very lucky that his moment of stupidity didn’t cost us any points.

Selective refereeing
I often feel that our reputation as an overly physical side leads to referees giving unjust decisions against us. While Delap was out of order and right to be sent off, seconds before his offence, Wright-Phillips had launched a tackle at Matthew Etherington that warranted at the very least a free-kick to Stoke. Referee Martin Atkinson chose to wave play on though, resulting in the incident with Delap. Then, after Delap had kicked the ball at Wright-Phillips, the Manchester City player kicked out at Delap, catching him on the calf, an offence worthy of a straight red card, but yet Atkinson either didn’t see it, in which case his refereeing credentials should be called into dispute, or he unfairly chose to ignore it.

Martin Atkinson sends off Delap

£93 million of talent?
The Manchester City side of yesterday, with a total transfer value of almost £100 million, was in my opinion the worst that have travelled to Stoke this season. Totttenham were equally bad, but it must be remembered they played the majority of the game with ten men, not against ten men. City’s play in the final third truly was dreadful. It is incredible that a team can have so much possession in the opposition’s half and fail to force the ‘keeper into a meaningful save, as City did yesterday.

The Britannia Stadium atmosphere
The atmosphere yesterday was once again fantastic, with the perfect level of support for the Stoke players and intimidation for the Manchester City side. The spontaneous roar of encouragement on 80 minutes which was apparently heard two miles away was incredible, and some humorous moments were provided by the jeers aimed at Robinho: she said no.

Player Ratings:

Thomas Sorensen (gk): Sorensen had remarkable little to do in a game where we had so little possession. In the absence of a difficult save to make, he coped well with all aimed at him. 7

Andy Wilkinson (rb): A very good display from Wilko, who got the better of Robinho all match and kept his head at times when in the past he has failed to do so. 8

Ryan Shawcross (cb): Shawcross put in an outstanding shift, allowing Manchester City’s forwards nothing on the ground or in the air. He was also a menace going forward from set pieces, producing an exquisite flick that almost brought a goal. 9

Abdoulaye Faye (cb): Another excellent captain’s display from Abdoulaye, as commanding as Shawcross in the penalty area and ultra-cool when under pressure. If he doesn’t win player of the season it’ll be a travesty. 8

Danny Pugh (lb): Left-back is definitely not Pugh’s best position, he looks far more comfortable in the centre of midfield. He had a reasonable game, and it is hard to find fault in the play of anyone involved in that defensive performance, but he was caught out a few time by City’s fast counter-attacking. 6

Rory Delap (rm): Delap started the game well, and his long throws seem to be back to their very best, he was extremely stupid and unprofessional to get sent off in the way he did though. 4

Amdy Faye (cm): Amdy signed a new contract at Stoke this week and I for one am delighted. He didn’t have his very best game, possibly something to do with being knocked unconscious in the first half, but he was still good, strong in the tackle and commanding. 7

Glenn Whelan (cm): Whelan had a good if not great game, doing little wrong and contributing well upfield, providing a superb pass into Etherington during the build up to our goal. 7

Matthew Etherington (lm): Another very good performance from Etherington who has made a very promising start to his Stoke career. Though he had to defend a lot, which he did well, he was able to make the difference in attack, providing a telling cross for Beattie’s goal. 8

James Beattie (cf): A very good home debut from James in a match that it was difficult for Stoke players to impress in. He managed it nonetheless though, taking his chance brilliantly when it came and earning us the points. He also provided a good outlet for our balls upfield in the second half. 8

Ricardo Fuller (cf): Fuller was the one player in the starting eleven who you cannot say had at least a decent game. He dwelled on the ball too long when he got it and showed his typical petulance when things went against him. It’s small wonder he only lasted 45 minutes. 5

Subs:

Richard Cresswell (cf): Cresswell came on for the ineffective Fuller at half time as he provides a little more tracking back to help the defence. He did reasonably well in the situation, but did little to shine. 6

Andy Griffin (lb): Griffin came on with quarter of an hour remaining and didn’t do a whole lot to get noticed in the time he was on the pitch. He was lucky not to give away a penalty though, Martin Atkinson waving away strong Manchester City claims after a possible trip on Micah Richards, though it must be said that Richards went down rather easily. 6

Ibrahima Sonko (cb): Sonko came on very late to add some steel to the defence, and was not really on the pitch long enough to give a rating.

My man of the match: Ryan Shawcross

Another fine display from England U21 Shawcross