SOBS CRAIC STOKE 2-0 SUNDERLAND a-love-supreme/Sobs%20Reports/sobsstokeaway.htm As days out go, that wasn’t the best. After the heady delight of the City victory, we had two weeks to smile and look forward to the next game. No disrespect to Stoke, but the visit to the Potteries was one from which we were entitled to believe we could get something from. After a pleasant lunchtime in Uttoxeter, an increasingly popular spot for Sunderland fans en route to Stoke, we got the Kevin Friend show. Since they’ve turned professional, I honestly believe their standards have dropped to a frighteningly low level. What did he think he saw that merited THAT decision? Anyway….as sort of expected, we lined up Manonne Celustka Brown O’Shea Bardsley Ki Larsson Colback Johnson Giaccherini Fletcher It was a fairly close affair with neither side really getting on top, but there had been enough shown to make us think that we could get something out of the game. Stoke, if anything, looked a little timid by their standards and there were signs that we were starting to push them back, with Johnson doing well out wide and Ki doing what we’ve come to expect of him as he anchored the midfield from deep. Our formation was quite fluid, despite how I laid it out above, and at times we were a very definite 4-3-3. Colback shot wide, then Johnson found Fletch with a longish ball, but the shot was half blocked and Huth got back to clear it off the line. Manonne nearly made a fool of himself as he watched the ball sail over his head and land on top of the net, then Stoke almost scored one for us, with the ball bouncing around Sunday morning style before Shawcross got it away. There, I’ve won my bet - I got the words “Shawcross” and “style” in the same sentence. Then Stoke reverted to type and slung a long ball forward to Nzonzi (weren’t we supposed to be after him?) and he put it perfectly in to the path of Charlie Adam who popped it in from the edge of the box for the first goal. Still, there was an hour to go, and we were playing controlled football – none more controlled than Wes Brown. Five minute after the goal, he put in a perfectly controlled tackle on Adam. I’ve watched it twenty times, and any contact was the merest brush. Their man carried on running after Brown had won the ball, and the ref didn’t even blow at first. I thought there must have been another incident I’d missed when he pulled out the red card, but no, it was for the perfect tackle. As for Mark Hughes claiming it was a poor challenge, well….give your head a shake, man, and be honest. From no angle does it look a foul, never mind a cardable (real word?) offence. So that was the end for Wes, but he’ll be back at Villa because that one will be rescinded as sure as night follows day. It was also the end for Giaccherini, making way for Roberge to fill the hole in defence. The rest of the half was played at no particular pace at all, as the players were either scared to make a tackle of any sort, or was absolutely baffled. There was more action off the pitch, to be honest, as the steam could be seen coming from Gus’s ears from where I was sat. and the entire backroom staff were going ballistic. We changed ends, and as at Hull, our depleted numbers more than outfought the opposition, showing real spirit and no little skill. We won a string of corners but Stoke are nothing if not good in the air, and we couldn’t make any of them count. Seven, I think. On a normal day, we wouldn’t have grumbled when Begovic clattered Fletch as the chased a loose ball, but bearing in mind the Wes red, that one merited at least two red cards. Consistency is what we want, and I don’t mean being rubbish every week, Mr Friend. Roberge did a Benno-style burst forward early in the half, but Colback couldn’t quite find him, then Bardsley fired in a shot from distance as we kept on applying pressure when we could. Gus went for broke with about twenty minutes left and brought on Borini for Celustka. He was lively enough, but we couldn’t carve out the space he needed to test their keeper, and ten minutes after he’d arrived Crouch broke upfield. He played it into the path of Nzonzi and he made no mistake as he clipped the ball past Vito for the second. Big Jozy replaced Fletch, who’d had a tough afternoon against Huth and Shawcross, as you’d expect, and our Yankee doodle dandy relished the task of banging into those two. For five minutes, it was a canny battle, but with no end product. We wasted a couple of free kicks, with Johnson and Larsson failing to get the ball into the danger area, but once again we’re left wondering who we’ve upset in the footballing hierarchy to merit another afternoon when things just pile up against us. It’s like we have to play the opposition, the officials, Ray Winstone, and Barack Obama every game. Man of the match? I like watching Ki, I like watching Giaccherini, and I like watching Brown, but the ref decided that I could only have one of them for ninety minutes. Johnson had a good day at the office, and Colback was his usual composed self, but all things considered, I’d go for O’Shea. I know he relies on Brown to bring out the best of him, but today he took a deep breath after his marra had gone for a bath and led his troops well. Keep the faith.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 12:08:31 +0000
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