Stoke City v Swansea City: Premier League – as it happened
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http://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2014/oct/19/stoke-city-v-swansea-city-premier-league-live Version 0 of 1. 5.57pm BST17:57 So that would be yer lot. Sure, the game didn’t have four goals in the last six minutes, so some people might think it wasn’t as good as QPR v Liverpool, but where else are you going to get a late guided header by Jonathan Walters to decide the game? Exactly. That, friends, is entertainment. Cheers for reading. 5.54pm BST17:54 Full-time: Stoke 2-1 Swansea The game wasn’t as good after the break, but Stoke were much more solid in the second period and full deserved the three points, despite the odd flash of the old rough-housing team of a few years back. 5.53pm BST17:53 90 mins + 5: They have a chance to with a free-kick some 35 yards from goal, which Fabianski goes up for, but instead Ki shifts it to Gomis who blazes the thing well over the bar. 5.51pm BST17:51 90 mins + 4: If Swansea nick anything here, they won’t deserve it... 5.50pm BST17:50 90 mins + 2: Bony does well, pouncing on a poor touch by Bardsley, the big striker batters his shot towards goal but it tails wide. The greedy route again, as he had options left and right. 5.48pm BST17:48 90 mins: And Ki wastes it, taking an ambitious shot when the cross looked the best option. Four minutes added time. 5.48pm BST17:48 89 mins: Nzonzi is finally booked for a hack on Bony. Perhaps the last chance for Swansea here. 5.47pm BST17:47 88 mins: Eeesh, Ki attempts to emulate Lee Dixon by playing a long pass back to his keeper at some pace. Fabianski deals with it admirably, though. 5.45pm BST17:45 87 mins: Stoke look like they plan to just see this out. Their primary tactic will probably be to give it to Walters in the corner, which they do there and he does them proud by winning a throw. 5.43pm BST17:43 85 mins: A comic fall from Taylor, under pressure from Shawcross after a Stoke corner, wins a free-kick for Swansea. Pffft. Last throw for Garry Monk - Marvin Emnes takes the place of Sigurdsson. 5.40pm BST17:40 82 mins: Could be an issue for Stoke, here. Bardsley went down a few minutes ago and has taken to the turf again, with the physio working on some painful-looking hip stretches. The problem is that Stoke have already made their three subs, so he’ll have to soldier on. 5.39pm BST17:39 80 mins: Post-script to that goal: as Fraser Thomas points out with an email, take a look at Fabianski’s reaction to the goal when you can. To say he went down in installments is an understatement. 5.38pm BST17:38 79 mins: Nzonzi wastes a great chance to seal the points for Stoke, initially doing well to skip past a couple of chances after cutting in from the left, but he just keeps on running, drifting across the edge of the box and passing up a couple of clear chances to shoot. He eventually shuffles the ball out to Walters on the right, but his cross can’t find Crouch. 5.36pm BST17:36 78 mins: Swansea try to get back into it immediately, with Sigurdsson barreling down the left, but as he gets in position to cross he wastes things rather by drilling the ball straight to Begovic. 5.35pm BST17:35 76 mins: Smashing goal, that. Cameron does well to intercept a Rangel pass in midfield, Stoke knock it around a bit to find some space for the delivery, which they do by feeding Assaidi on the left, and he clips the cross into the box where Walters waits, and heads well into the bottom corner. 5.34pm BST17:34 GOAL! Stoke 2-1 Swansea (Walters 76) You’ll never guess who set it up. 5.33pm BST17:33 75 mins: Bony gets a booking for a daft foul from behind that you could see coming from 100 paces. He slides in and nastily takes out Nzonzi at the ankle, and has his name taken by the man with whistle and notebook. 5.32pm BST17:32 74 mins: Swansea double-up on Assaidi as he ‘jinks’ down the left, which must be the definition of excessive caution. He proves the point by drilling his cross directly into Rangel’s shins. 5.31pm BST17:31 72 mins: Change for Stoke - Moses, who still looks troubled by that earlier injury, goes to the turf and has to be replaced by Oussama Assaidi. 5.30pm BST17:30 71 mins: Chance for Stoke, as Adam spreads the ball wide to Walters, whose cross is deflected and loops up, causing Fabianski a few problems. Indeed, he catches the ball but almost falls over the line with it. 5.27pm BST17:27 68 mins: Eesh, nearly a calamity for Pieters. Montero makes his mark by skinning Bardsley on the Swansea left, then clips a cross to the far post where the Dutch left-back heads with some power not far wide of his own post. It would, of course, have only been the second-most spectacular OG of the weekend. 5.25pm BST17:25 66 mins: Now Swansea go desperately close. Sigurdsson booms a cross over from a free-kick deep on the right, it goes to the far post and is headed back across goal, where Ki stabs towards goal, it goes past Begovic but Cameron (I think) is there behind him to block. 5.23pm BST17:23 65 mins: Oh boy, how did that not go in? Moses swings the corner over, which is flicked on at the near post then eludes everyone in the middle, finding Crouch at the far post who gets his head to it, but can only direct it over. Meanwhile, a pair of subs for Swansea, as Bafetimbi Gomis and Jefferson Montero come on, replacing Tom Carroll and Nathan Dyer. 5.22pm BST17:22 64 mins: Moses counters at pace through the middle, and feeds left to Adam, who tries an ambitious first-time shot. It’s blocked, and after a minor to-and-fro Stoke win a corner. 5.20pm BST17:20 62 mins: On the big question of whether the sash is back, Charles Robinson writes: “Now, I’m the last person in the world you’d want to ask about contemporary fashions, but it does seem the sash is back. My own team, Derby County, rocked an excellent example last season, adopting Thunderbirds colours.” Just look at the haunted eyes of Richard Keogh. 5.19pm BST17:19 61 mins: A pair of changes for Stoke - Jonathan Walters and Geoff Cameron emerge from the bench and enter the fray, with Diouf and Ireland, the latter of whom has been utterly anonymous, coming off. 5.18pm BST17:18 60 mins: The indignant and optimistic people of Stoke wail for a penalty after a mild barge in the back by Williams on Crouch, but nothing is given. It could’ve been a pen, I guess, but Oliver would have been very generous to point to the spot there. 5.16pm BST17:16 58 mins: David Moyes is in the hoose, sitting next to Alan Irvine in the crowd. Does anyone know if he wants a job? Adam tries a shot from range, but it rises, rises, rises over the bar. 5.14pm BST17:14 56 mins: Adam goes for the unorthodox free-kick by sliding one across the turf looking for someone to finish in the middle. That doesn’t quite work, but it breaks to Bardsley on the area’s edge, and his shot goes well over the bar. 5.14pm BST17:14 55 mins: Ah, the sarcastic cheer. Such salutations ring out around the Britannia as Pieters breaks infield, only for his efforts to be halted unfairly by Ki. Referee Oliver takes a step towards ensuring his car will still be there after the game by giving the free-kick. 5.12pm BST17:12 53 mins: Moses turns a couple of Swansea defenders inside out, then goes down under dual challenges from Sigurdsson and Rangel. No free-kick given, but Moses looked like he caught his knee under his body and goes down, requiring treatment. 5.10pm BST17:10 52 mins: Taylor is given oodles of space after cutting in from the left, around 25-yards out, but unfortunately for Swansea the chance is on his right foot, and the shot is poor and easily blocked. 5.09pm BST17:09 51 mins: Tom Adams raises an important point on the emails: “I notice from the picture of Peter Crouch that Stoke’s away kit has a stylish sash design, similar to West Ham’s most recent away effort. I’m a huge fan (and my own Aston Villa had one similar in the ‘90s) - does this signal a resurgence of the sash as a viable kit design and can anyone verify they’re coming back into vogue?” 5.08pm BST17:08 50 mins: Diouf and Taylor have a tug at each other (don’t, you’re better than that), but the Stoke man is penalised after the Swans left-back tumbles. 5.07pm BST17:07 49 mins: Moses makes what initially looks like a strong run down the left flank, but Fernandez glides into view and clears up the nascent danger for Swansea. 5.04pm BST17:04 46 mins: We’re back, back, back baby. The second half has begun, despite a slight delay as Nzonzi pauses to, well, emit a technicolour yawn on the sidelines. 4.56pm BST16:56 2 - Both of Charlie Adam’s Premier League goals from the penalty spot for Stoke have come against Swansea City. Converted. 4.55pm BST16:55 Stoke fans often complain about the lack of recognition that Ryan Shawcross gets, from England or whoever, but the brainless way he gave away that penalty is perhaps the reason that he’s a) still at Stoke and b) only has one England cap. 4.49pm BST16:49 Half-time: Stoke 1-1 Swansea A good game this, so far. Stoke have probably been the better side on balance, but both teams have enjoyed spells of dominance and neat passing. It’ll be a surprise if it ends 11 vs 11, mind. 4.48pm BST16:48 45 mins + 2: Oliver endears himself further to the home crowd by giving a free-kick against Pieters on the Stoke left, with which the ever-reticent Potteries faithful disagree at volume. 4.47pm BST16:47 45 mins + 1: Bardsley gets the booking this time. He barrels forwards into the box chasing the ball Williams gets there first but the Stoke full-back sneakily leaves his leg in and takes his opponent out, thus earning the yellow. 4.45pm BST16:45 45 mins: Bardsley goes right through the back of Routledge, and referee Oliver adds to the list of questionable decisions by not producing a yellow card. 4.45pm BST16:45 44 mins: Stoke are cooking now. Moses goes on a mazy run, before his left-footed shot is blocked. The ball breaks to Adam outside the box, but his body-shape is all wrong and blazes the ball well over the bar. 4.43pm BST16:43 GOAL! Stoke 1-1 Swansea (Adam 43) Fabianski goes the right way, to his right, but Adam’s kick is powerful and far enough to the corner to evade him. 4.43pm BST16:43 PENALTY TO STOKE Evening things up, anyone? Moses dashes into the box, there’s a vague hint of a shirt-tug and a push from Rangel, Moses goes to ground and the penalty is given. In fairness, it did look like more of a push from the ref’s angle. 4.40pm BST16:40 40 mins: Bit more variety from Stoke, as Moses skips down the flank, gets to the byline and cuts back to Adam on the edge of the area, whose shot is on-target but is easily saved by Fabianski. 4.39pm BST16:39 39 mins: Stoke once again shift the ball around trying to create the space for a shot, but that one gets caught under Crouch’s feet and it’s blocked. 4.38pm BST16:38 38 mins: Mark Hughes does an excellent line in standing with arms folded, shaking his head like a man observing a particularly slack piece of parking. 4.37pm BST16:37 36 mins: Diouf gets a booking for what is deemed to be a high foot, but Fernandez’s leg was just as high, but the Swansea man got there a fraction of a second earlier. Unlucky, to say the least. At the other end Bony claims another penalty after barging into Shawcross, but on this occasion coming off worse and falling to the floor. Nothing doing that time, Wilf. 4.35pm BST16:35 35 mins: Mark Hughes shakes his head at the decision but he can shake that bonce until it falls off if he likes - that was a penalty. No doubt we’ll hear plenty of ‘We’d have 20 penalties a game if all of those were given’ complaint after the game, as if that was a valid reason not to give fouls. 4.33pm BST16:33 GOAL! Stoke 0-1 Swansea (Bony 34) The Ivory Coast striker casually sends Begovic the wrong way. 4.33pm BST16:33 PENALTY TO SWANSEA From a corner, there’s the usual jostling in the area, in the middle of which Shawcross, who wasn’t looking at the ball, wrestles Bony to the ground and referee Oliver, eagle-eyed, spots it and gives the penalty. He also books Shawcross. 4.32pm BST16:32 31 mins: After all that nice passing Stoke very nearly go ahead through a good old-fashioned Stoke goal, with Diouf barrelling his way through the Swansea defence, but the ball doesn’t quite fall for him and Taylor swoops in to clear the danger. At the other end, Shawcross is on the receiving end of some vociferous complaints by Sigurdsson after the Englishman barges into the Icelander’s back. 4.29pm BST16:29 29 mins: This game has been characterised by neat bouts of passing on the edge of the penalty area. Another passage occurs, this time by Stoke but just before Crouch can swing his foot and take a shot, Ki steals in to spirit the ball away. 4.28pm BST16:28 27 mins: Routledge does well to open his body and dink in a cross from the left, but unfortunately for he and the whole Swansea gang the man on the end of it is Carroll, 5ft 1, who can’t jump high enough to get anything approaching a proper header on the thing. 4.26pm BST16:26 26 mins: Moses evades Rangel with an almost imperceptible shimmy, moves it infield where a couple of nice passes set Crouch up for a shot on the edge of the box, but a diving block by Williams prevents anything serious coming of it. There are some half-hearted cries for a handball, but nothing is given. 4.24pm BST16:24 24 mins: Moses drifts a cross from the left corner of the area to the far post, which Crouch doesn’t jump for and the replays display why - that naughty boy Taylor had a fistful of his shirt. Crouch complains, but to no avail. 4.23pm BST16:23 23 mins: Neil Taylor gets a talking to from referee Michael Oliver, 12, for a pretty bad foul on Ireland. That’s all it is though - no card is produced. 4.22pm BST16:22 22 mins: Sigurdsson swings the cross over, but it’s just too far ahead of Fernandez at the far post and it skips out for a goal-kick. 4.21pm BST16:21 21 mins: Dyer tries to make inroads with a run down the right channel, but he is halted by a combination of Pieters and Nzonzi. Free-kick to Swansea. 4.20pm BST16:20 19 mins: Carroll tries a long pass from middle to left flank. Carroll reaches and exceeds said flank with said pass. Throw-in to Stoke. Fin. 4.18pm BST16:18 17 mins: ‘Is this a library!?!?’ banter the away fans, who earlier were reclaiming the traditional accusation that Welshmen lie with their livestock. Great bunch of lads. 4.15pm BST16:15 15 mins: Bony tries to turn provider, attempting a Bergkampian slipped pass between full and centre-back, but Pieters reads the danger and is there to cut it off before Dyer can do anything of use. 4.15pm BST16:15 13 mins: Bardsley tries a big, booming cross from deep on the right aiming for Crouch at the back stick, and while it doesn’t quite reach the big man Fabianski tumbled back and waved at the ball in a manner that is unlikely to fill any Swans defenders, fans or managers with any great confidence. 4.13pm BST16:13 12 mins: Like an ersatz Xabi Alonso, Adam tries a shot from the halfway line, but unlike Xabi, it doesn’t go in. 4.12pm BST16:12 11 mins: ...And Stoke counter at a fair pace, ending in a shot from Adam that fizzes just wide of Fabianski’s post. An enormously undeserved goal like that could’ve been is why football, and indeed sport, is so brilliant. 4.11pm BST16:11 10 mins: Oh, that would have been an absolutely fabulous goal. Some magnificent one-touch passing from Swansea ends with a Sigurdsson back-heel putting Ki clear on goal, but his finish is straight at Begovic who beats it away. 4.10pm BST16:10 9 mins: The opening few minutes has been pretty quiet, but Swansea have very much been on top. Well, they’ve been controlling possession, at least. 4.07pm BST16:07 6 mins: Ah, great chance for Sigurdsson, who is played clear on goal with a beautiful reverse pass by Routledge, but instead of sliding or dinking the finish, he tries to skip around Begovic, loses control of the ball and thus the chance. 4.04pm BST16:04 3 mins: Early issue for Swansea, as Nathan Dyer is down, winded and with a bump to the head. He should be OK, though. 4.03pm BST16:03 2 mins: Early work for Fabianski, who has to deal with a tricky little cross from the left by Charlie Adam, smothering the thing after it bounced in that awkward bit just in front of him. Updated at 4.04pm BST 4.00pm BST16:00 1 min: We’re away, Swansea getting things started. 3.58pm BST15:58 Well this is delightful. Julian Farino writes: “Have you noticed the ‘Marvellous’ element to the game there? Having directed the film for BBC2 I was invited to today’s game. Would liked to have been there, only I am in Miami on new job for HBO with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. . From Nello to The Rock, quite a culture clash...” 3.47pm BST15:47 It’s probably poor form to link to stuff on another website, but there’s a nice feature on the BBC at the moment about the old grounds of clubs who have moved in the last 20-odd years. Since Stoke are one of those teams, here are a few pictures of the old Victoria Ground, which sadly still appears to be wasteland, surrounded by a perimeter fence and a warning by the company that now owns it, but are doing bugger all with it, to keep out, lest anyone dare to try and bring back some happy memories. Updated at 3.48pm BST 3.31pm BST15:31 If the Stoke and Swansea players decide that the nation can only cope with so much excitement after the silly closing stages of that QPR v Liverpool game I completely understand, but some of us have got a minute-by-minute to sell here, so at least give it a bit of pep, eh lads? 3.28pm BST15:28 If you want to read what it’s like to watch a man losing his mind and fingers, have a look at Daniel Harris’s minute-by-minute of QPR v Liverpool. It was 1-0 after 87 minutes... 3.12pm BST15:12 So that’s two changes by the Swans, with the suspended Jonjo Shelvey replaced by little tiny mini pint-sized Tom Carroll, while Angel Rangel is back, taking the place of Ashley ‘Jazz’ Richards. Sparky mixes things up for Stoke, with Erik Pieters in for Marc Muniesa at the back, Stephen Ireland replacing Glenn Whelan, which will presumably mean Charlie Adam dropping deeper, while Marko Arnautovic takes a seat (presumably due to a hip problem picked up while playing for Austria) and Mame Biram Diouf steps up. Updated at 3.17pm BST 3.03pm BST15:03 Team news Stoke Begovic; Bardsley, Shawcross (c), Wilson, Pieters; Nzonzi, Adam; Diouf, Ireland, Moses; Crouch. Subs: Sorensen, Muniesa, Walters, Cameron, Sidwell, Assaidi, Bojan. Swansea Fabianski; Rangel, Fernandez, Williams (C), Taylor; Carroll, Ki, Sigurdsson; Dyer, Routledge, Bony. Subs: Tremmel, Bartley, Shephard, Fulton, Montero, Emnes, Gomis. Referee: Michael Oliver. 3.00pm BST15:00 Preamble You know how some things traditionally called underrated eventually become overrated because of the number of times people call them underrated? The Claude Makelele Paradox, as described by many important sociologists. Well, there’s a point at which over the past couple of years people have been saying ‘Actually, Stoke play some quite decent football these days, donchaknow’, when the population as a whole might genuinely start to believe these Potters are some sort of re-imagining of Ajax ‘95, a total football whirl in the windy Midlands. Quite obviously, this is a nonsense. Sure, Stoke are less objectionable than they used to be, but they could hardly be more objectionable than they were in their bruising, battering pomp under Tony Pulis. Mark Hughes made them a perfectly decent side last year, but just like Roberto Martinez replacing David Moyes at Everton and doing an excellent job of building on the work of a predecessor who everyone thought would be very tough to follow, the old second season syndrome appears to have kicked in down at the Britannia, with two wins to their name this term and a series of baffling defeats, most notably last time out against Sunderland, who celebrated that win by inviting Southampton to enjoy a goal buffet yesterday. Simply put, Stoke haven’t been awfully good this season, and the prospect of them not really improving does present the rather delicious idea of them reaching December in real relegation trouble, binning Hughes and turning to the best available manager for getting a team out of relegation trouble. Whoever that might be. They might be well in for some points this afternoon, though. Swansea gaily mocked predictions of doom with three wins from their opening three games, but since then have stalled rather, losing fairly blamelessly to Chelsea and Southampton, before drawing a little shamefully with those two doyens of North East incompetence Sunderland and Newcastle. The short version is they haven’t won since August, and while Garry Monk is most definitely doing a better job than most, including your fearless correspondent, expected, you don’t imagine Swansea and Stoke will be too far apart in the table in a few months. Plus, Monk looks like an estate agent, whizzing around in a branded Mini, twirling a set of keys around on his finger while wearing a crisp white shirt and handing you the wrong paperwork. Monk might actually be at a minor disadvantage this weekend, with several of his players spending their international breaks in assorted far-flung places. Wilfried Bony travelled with Ivory Coast to Congo, Federico Fernandez went with Argentina to Beijing and Hong Kong, Ki Sung-Yueng hauled his bottom home to South Korea and played a couple of times, while Tom Carroll played for the England Under-21s in, erm, Wolverhampton. Hughes has spent much of his press time this week rebuffing theoretical/invented by the gossip pages interest from Manchester United in Ryan Shawcross, but when he hasn’t been denying ephemeral transfer guff he’s been saying stuff like the following. See if you can guess who he’s talking about: He’s unique in what he offers. I think he can get better with age like Teddy Sheringham. I think with his attitude to work and the good attributes he has, and if he keeps playing well then there’s no reason why he can’t keep playing for a long time if he keeps fit and well. The heading and technical ability he has isn’t going away. That ability may well increase in his later years as his understanding of the game increases. He’s an intelligent footballer as well.” Yes, that’s right kids, Sparky was comparing Teddy Sheringham to one Peter Crouch. An interesting gambit, to say the least. We’ll see if such talk is stuff and nonsense over the coming 90 minutes. 3.00pm BST15:00 Nick will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s Amy Lawrence on the best of the Premier League so far: For Chelsea, the integration of Thibault Courtois, Cesc Fàbregas and Diego Costa into their team has worked to perfection. From day one, this trio imported from La Liga have only increased the power and precision that makes José Mourinho’s team tick. Costa has catapulted himself into the Premier League with the explosive attacking instincts which emphasise exactly what they have been missing since the days of Didier Drogba in his pomp. Nine goals from his first seven domestic appearances give Chelsea a brilliantly sharpened edge. “The guy who comes from the very small village behind the sunset,” as Mourinho sweetly described him, has fire in his game. The stroke of genius was not only that Chelsea bought the bulldozing presence of Costa, they also purchased an assist machine in Fàbregas at the same time. Together, they are making the Premier League look easy. Good luck everyone if those hamstrings clear up. Zaniest match: Leicester City 5-3 Manchester United The expression on Louis van Gaal’s face spoke volumes. The manager who arrived with such an overbearing reputation confronted the harshest realities of the Manchester United rebuild. For all the excitement of the millions spent on embellishing the attacking department (and Ángel Di María scored a peach, remember) the defence looked like a scientific experiment lost in chaos theory. A bizarre penalty gave Leicester a leg up when they were trailing 3-1, and from that moment Nigel Pearson’s team borrowed a script straight out of Roy of the Rovers. Jamie Vardy, once of non-league football, scored and assisted in marauding fashion. Esteban Cambiasso, beamed down from Argentinian folklore into the East Midlands, joyfully marked the occasion with a goal. The fact that it was the first time in 853 Premier League matches that United let a two-goal lead lurch into a defeat gave resonance to the sheer craziness of what everyone at the Kingpower Stadium witnessed. For Leicester, it could not have been any more weird and wonderful. “I think it’s a decent result,” said Pearson – a contender for understatement of the season. Read the full story here. |