This was a sloppy lackadaisical performance and we really can’t complain about coming away pointless.
BEFORE
It seems ages since that 0-4 Boro defeat and time has eased the pain somewhat but Stoke also bring back memories of an equally bad defeat; 1-5 back in March. I've heard very little news in the last week or so and am unsure whether any of our injured players will be back in the squad but I'm certainly hoping so and with Neil's enforced absence there'll be a vacancy. The game will obviously have an edge with the Alex Neil factor and he himself is apparently in a precarious position with his side just one spot above the bottom three. How ironic it would be if we gave them a good hiding and caused his dismissal. Gooch is a doubt for today's game but I'm sure he'll be well received by our fans if he's in the squad. I was planning to watch the game along with a group of the London Branch but I’ve just discovered that that won’t be happening now so it’ll have to be SAFSEE. My match prediction is a 2-0 win for us.
I got the team news around 2.00 and was very pleased to see that Ekwah and Pritchard were starting in place of the suspended Neil and Burstow, who was on the bench along with our other two strikers. Dack was also among the subs and it was good to see him back. Gooch was among the Stoke subs.
THE MATCH
I tuned in to SAFSEE and Stoke were in the red and white stripes as we kicked off. Stoke were sounding more threatening in the early stages and Patterson had to come off his line quickly after a bad pass by O’Nien had left us suddenly wide open. In the seventh minute we went behind when Leris passed to Mmaee and he scored with a right-footed shot from inside the box. There was an appeal for a handball in the build-up but it came for nothing. We didn’t have to wait long for an equaliser, though, as Jobe went on a good run and set up a great chance for Clarke to tap in from close range. We’d been sloppy but had picked ourselves up while Stoke too continued to go for it so it was an entertaining game. Hoever was sounding a dangerman down the right and we were still making too many dodgy passes. Johson got the first yellow for a foul on Pritchard in the twenty-first minute.
Stoke were committing a lot of fouls and we were awarded a free-kick twenty yards out after one on Clarke. Pritchard took the kick but it bounced off the wall and it only resulted in us being exposed at the back after a dodgy back-pass. Huggins was booked and Stoke got a free-kick as a consequence of it all. Commentator Benno was concerned that we weren’t getting the ball to Clarke enough. Just on the half-hour mark Patto had to tip over a shot and that was the first corner of the match. I felt another goal was on its way but I couldn’t say who was about to get it. Ballard conceded a second corner which immediately led to a third after Jobe headed it out. Jobe headed that one clear and the danger was over. Hume picked up a booking and I was looking forward to half-time as it had been a disappointing display from us so far with us giving the ball away far too often. Ba should have put us in the lead but he shot into the side-netting after Stoke had failed to clear. We conceded our fourth corner with three minutes to the break and got it away easily. It remained 1-1 at the break and there was very little reaction from the fans as the whistle went. It had been a scrappy display from us and I’d been surprised that there’d been so little mention of Ekwah but, still, we were level and there was everything to play for.
There’d been no changes as we kicked off again and Stoke won a corner after a minute. When it came over, McNally had a free header from six yards out and he put them 2-1 up. Shortly afterwards Stoke won another corner and Ballard headed that one clear. Ekwah managed a shot on target in the fifty-fourth but Travers in goal held it comfortably. We continued to pass sloppily and I felt we might go further behind. As soon as I typed that Benno said the same thing. The Stoke fans started to make a racket and we needed to make a change or two soon. Dack and Burstow started to warm up and a few minutes later Burstow and Rusyn did the same. Clarke was booked for a foul on Hoever and then Burstow, Rusyn and Dack came on for Ba, Pritchard and Roberts in the sixty-sixth.
Almost the first thing that Dack did was to take a free-kick that resulted in a Ballard header hitting a post. That was more like it. Aouchiche replaced Ekwah in the seventy-fifth minute and we needed a bit of magic to get us level as the match was slipping away all too quickly. Aouchiche headed over the bar and next thing Gooch received a good reception from both sets of fans when he came on for Vidigal with around ten minutes left. Soon Hemir replaced Jobe and it was about time for him to make a name for himself. We finally won our first corner but nobody reacted quick enough and Stoke got it away. We quickly won another corner and a Rusyn header was punched away by Travers. Five minutes of stoppage-time were announced and hope reared its ugly head. Aouchiche got the ninth yellow of the game but I may have missed one as they were coming thick and fast. Aouchiche shot over the bar in the dying moments and it ended 1-2.
