Stoke City delighted with Bojan Krkic’s winner as Everton pay the penalty

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/dec/26/everton-stoke-city-premier-league-match-report

Version 0 of 1.

A hard-luck home defeat represented a Boxing Day blip for Everton 12 months ago. One year on and Stoke City’s slender victory barely registered as a surprise such is the downturn in form and fortune of Roberto Martínez’s team. The exuberance of last season has turned to exasperation at Goodison Park.

For the second successive Boxing Day Everton lost 1-0 to a team in red-and-white stripes as a consequence of a penalty and with Tim Howard unable to complete proceedings. Last year, against Sunderland, Martínez’s men responded gallantly to their goalkeeper’s dismissal and created a procession of chances. Against Mark Hughes’ side, however, there was only familiar torment; a lack of creativity, pace and guile.

With Bojan Krkic’s match-winning penalty arriving seconds after the referee, Lee Mason, showed Jonathan Walters a yellow card for a professional foul on Leighton Baines, there was also controversy to complete Everton’s miserable Christmas. “We are not in a good moment but we got nothing from the referee,” said the Everton manager. “We had the same referee at Sunderland [in November] where he gave a penalty against the last man but not a red card. Today it was a clear goalscoring opportunity. The referee gives a free-kick but only a yellow card. He has to give a red or nothing. It is a really bad sign to see the same referee making the same mistakes.”

Hughes, unsurprisingly, claimed it was a clear yellow for Walters as he said the incident occurred too far from the Stoke goal. Ultimately, and regardless of Mason’s decision, Everton never got close enough to it. “We stopped Everton playing balls down the sides of us and through gaps,” said the Stoke manager. “They didn’t ask too many questions of us in the second half.”

Martínez claimed it is the “footballing compliment” of opponents “doing different things and changing the way they play when they are facing us” that is responsible for Everton’s underwhelming league campaign. The reality is no one has had to reinvent the wheel to stifle his team and Stoke, with two compact, hard-working banks of four, were the latest side to expose a lack of ingenuity in the Everton ranks.

The home side awoke from a sluggish start and should have been ahead, complete with a one-man advantage, before Stoke went in front. First Kevin Mirallas’ low shot deflected off Glenn Whelan and sailed narrowly wide of the near post. The resulting corner from Mirallas dropped to Gareth Barry at the back post but the midfielder miscued and the ball sailed across the face of goal. Then came the controversy.

Barry picked out Baines running behind the Stoke defence and the England left-back was hauled to the ground by Walters, his position as the last man beyond dispute. Baines was not in control of the ball but closing in on a perfectly weighted pass. The referee took the easy option and seconds later Goodison’s fury erupted when Mason pointed to the

penalty

spot after Krkic broke down the left, cut inside James McCarthy and went down under a touch from the Everton midfielder. Krkic tucked the spot-kick inside Howard’s right hand post.

Mirallas squandered a glorious chance to level during the extended injury time, Steven Nzonzi cleared off the line from Steven Naismith and Martínez was forced to replace his goalkeeper, and also his captain Phil Jagielka, during the interval due to knocks. Everton’s endeavour could not be faulted in the second half but they created precious little and Stoke absorbed the pressure comfortably.

Man of the match Ryan Shawcross (Stoke)