Stoke City 2-0 Bolton Wanderers

  

   Stoke climbed four places in the Premier League table and out of the relegation zone on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win over Bolton at a snowy Britannia Stadium last night, our first league win by more than one goal in eleven and a half months, since a 4-2 win over Wolves in March 2008. One goal came in each half from forwards James Beattie and Ricardo Fuller and while the visitors came close at times, it was clear that Stoke deserved to take all three points from the game.

Snow falls on the packed Britannia Stadium

  Following his superb late equaliser at Aston Villa on Sunday, Irish international midfielder Glenn Whelan was rewarded with a place in the starting line-up, with Amdy Faye dropping to the bench for Stoke. Meanwhile, manager Tony Pulis moved Rory Delap, who had finished his three match suspension for his dismissal against Manchester City in January, straight back into the side on the left-wing in place of Danny Pugh, while acting captain and former Bolton man Abdoulaye Faye replaced Ibrahima Sonko at the heart of the defence after missing the Villa game with a back injury, and though not fully fit, he impressed as ever.

  After a fragmented start to the game, it was the Trotters who created the first real opportunity, a good passing move resulting in Swedish forward Johan Elmander being found in the box ten yards out. The former Toulouse player reacted well to the pacy cross to turn the ball goalwards, but Stoke ‘keeper Thomas Sorensen was equal to his effort, tipping it over his crossbar and behind for a corner.

  Two minutes later, after a first meaningful foray upfield, Stoke were ahead, the lively Whelan, who seemed determined to prove his worth to the side, playing an intelligent headed ball in between the two Bolton centre-backs to set prolific striker James Beattie clear on goal. In one on one situations, it is usually the player who commits first who loses, and this was the case here, with Bolton’s Finnish goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen diving early to his left, leaving Beattie with a simple half-volleyed finish down the centre of the goal to score his fifth for Stoke in seven games and put the Potters ahead.

Beattie eases Stoke in front

  Though Stoke had the better of the games chances, Bolton saw more of the ball and produced a succession of long-range efforts to test Sorensen, the Dane saving well from winger Matthew Taylor twice before Elmander drew a good save out of him with a well-struck free-kick.

  In the sort of game where both sides have extended periods of pressure, it was soon Stoke’s turn to attack again, Ryan Shawcross, who scored his first of the season against Villa heading off target after a dangerous cross from the generally disappointing Liam Lawrence.

A temporary gravity failure disrupted proceedings at the Britannia Stadium

  There was to be no equaliser or second goal before the break however, and  game entered a half time in which heavy snow fell constantly with the home side a goal to the good, and deserving it on the balance of play. Bolton emerged for the second half looking fired up, while Stoke seemed flat, which prompted Pulis to bring on Fuller in place of the ineffective Mamady Sidibe after 55 minutes, with Bolton boss Gary Megson introducing Fuller’s Jamaica teammate and the scorer of the Bolton’s winner against Newcastle on Sunday, Ricardo Gardner, on the left-wing.

  Young Stoke full-back Andy Wilkinson has been going from strength to strength in recent weeks, and has gone from nowhere near the first team, to undisputed first choice right-back in a matter of months, and fresh from stating that he wants to remain at Stoke for his whole career, the club’s longest serving player came close to netting his first Stoke goal on the hour mark, playing a neat one-two with Fuller twenty-five yards out before shooting, the ball deflecting narrowly wide of Jaaskelainen’s right-hand post.

Fuller takes the ball away from Andy O’ Brien

  Bolton then had the ball in the net, with Abdoulaye Faye directing a corner past Sorensen and into his own net, but the goal was disallowed by referee Mike Dean, who awarded Stoke a free-kick for a clear foul on Sorensen prevented him from gathering the ball. All too often goalkeepers are given too much protection from referees, but this was a blatant foul and had the goal stood it would have been a great injustice against Sorensen and Stoke.

  With eighteen minutes left on the clock, Stoke’s advantage was doubled after a trademark Delap long-throw led to a goal for the first time since early November. The throw caused havoc in the Bolton box, and was semi-cleared as far as Whelan twenty yards out. Keen to repeat his goalscoring trick, he shot left-footed, forcing a good save from Jaaskelainen after the ball took a very slight deflection. Fuller was quickest to react though, smashing the rebound into the roof of the net to give a degree of comfort to the scoreline.

 
Fuller guides home his seventh of the season

  Minutes later, two was almost three as Sonko, who had come on for Wilkinson ten minutes before, rose majestically to power a dominant header into the crossbar after a corner, with Bolton eventually able to scramble the ball away from danger.

  Megson’s men continued to push forward in the hope they could do to Stoke what Stoke did to Villa and score twice late on, with on loan Benfica striker Ariza Makukula, who Pulis was reportedly interested in bringing to Stoke before he went to Bolton, being brought on in place of defender Gretar Steinsson to play up front alongside Kevin Davies, who looked their only real threat. With the help of Makukula, the Trotters did have some late pressure, as normal time ticked into four minutes of injury time, with a volley from Elmander bringing a good save from Sorensen seconds before Dean called time on the game in a moment which rather typified the match; Bolton enjoying most of the ball but being limited to half chances while Stoke created the only good opportunities and finished them clinically, which is very good to see, though I would expect no less from Beattie who has built his career on his excellent finishing.

 
Abdoulaye Faye and Sorensen celebrate a seventh home win of the campaign

  The win lifts Stoke to fifteenth in the Premier League table, and is an even more significant result as relegation rivals West Brom, Portsmouth and Middlesbrough all lost either last night on Tuesday, giving us a two point cushion over eighteenth placed Blackburn. Now follows a frustrating ten day wait for the Potters before the next match, a difficult looking away trip to sixth placed Everton, but we seem to be a side revitalised in the last few games, scoring twice in each of the last three and if this continues, there is no reason why we can’t get another fantastic result in that game.

Stoke Side: (4:4:1:1)

                                    Sorensen

Wilkinson  Shawcross  Abdoulaye Faye  Higginbotham

                     Lawrence  Whelan  Diao  Delap

                                  Sidibe 
                                            Beattie

Substitutions: Fuller for Sidibe (56), Amdy Faye for Diao (66), Sonko for Wilkinson (72)

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Tonge, Pugh, Camara

Attendance: 26,319