A very disappointing two points lost

It’s always extremely disappointing to watch your team throw away a two goal lead to draw a match, particularly at home, particularly against a newly promoted side, and especially if they happen to be your fiercest local rivals in the league. That’s what Stoke fans have to deal with today, and many will be understandably very angry after our woeful second half showing.

But far from a catastrophe

We should take heart from the old adage “you win some, you lose some” though. The season is nine months and 38 games long and there are always going to be some poor results and performances along the way. All things considered though, we’re still in an excellent position, ninth in the Premier League, and having taken eight points from a last possible twelve. That run has included unexpectedly good results at Everton and Tottenham, which mean that we can take yesterday’s result without too many worries. What’s important now is for the players to get their mindset right going into our next game at Hull, and prove their worth again. Let’s hope Phil Brown is still in charge at the KC Stadium by then.

Setting ourselves up for a fall

Jody Craddock was standing in an offside position when he scored Wolves’s first a minute into the second half. The goal, which stunned Stoke and spurred on Wolves and can be said to be the turning point of the game, should not have stood. That’s a bitter pill to swallow for a Stoke fan, but really its irrelevant. The ball should not have been allowed to get to him, with several Stoke players missing their chance to clear. Regardless of refereeing decisions, if you can’t properly defend set pieces at Premier League level, you are going to concede a lot of cheap goals. We conceded two yesterday. Hopefully that’s just a blip.

I feel sorry for Wilko

In the absence of the suspended Robert Huth, Andy Wilkinson has come in to the Stoke side at right back in recent matches and played well. His pace and tenacity are real assets to the team, as he showed time and time again as first choice in the position last season. It seems hard on him that he’s lost his place to Huth. I’ve been very impressed with the German so far, and I understand that after paying £6 million for him, Pulis wants him to play (though that’s clearly not the case with Tuncay), but for me it should be Danny Collins at left back, rather than Wilkinson at right back, that makes way.

Ether the thorn in their side

Though I’ve always thought that Matthew Etherington is by far the best of our left wing options, I’ve often previously had my doubts about him. At times last season he seemed unwilling to really run at defenders, as fans love to see wingers doing, and he tended to look a little on the chicken side. This year, there’s been a big improvement. He looks sharper, quicker and more determined, and capped a fine performance yesterday with a classic winger’s assist and a very well taken goal. He was rumoured to be unsettled off the field last year, but seems to have resolved any problems now, and it’s really showing in his performances.

The wrong substitutions as the wrong time

When we conceded the second, our side was all at sea. It was clear that a change was needed. Stubbornly, Pulis waited ten minutes, ten minutes during which we floundered, before introducing Mamady Sidibe and Tuncay. Neither player did anything. Sidibe, having just returned from a serious knee injury is clearly far from fitness, and looked tired after just twenty minutes, while aside from attempting to set a world record for the most step-overs in a minute, Tuncay struggled to make his mark on the game. For me, the game was crying out for a player with natural composure that can calm down his side and make something happen; it’s a shame Salif Diao was out injured. The long ball game wasn’t working, but with Sidibe on the pitch we reverted to it more and more. Liam Lawrence was given ten minutes at the end, but that’s seldom enough for a player to really make an impact. We’d been having success when we attacked down the wings, if he’d been put on as soon as Wolves equalised, perhaps the result would have been different.

The opposition

In the first half, Wolves were poor. They struggled to get going in an attacking sense, and were vulnerable defensively, particularly in the full back positions. The second half was a different story. Clearly told to play more positively by manager Mick McCarthy, they caused far more problems going forward and were rarely troubled at the back. It’s always tough for a newly promoted side to stay up, but they have pace and quality in their side from the likes of Michael Kightly and Kevin Doyle and, if they can play consistently like they did in the second half yesterday, they have every chance of avoiding the drop.

Player Ratings

Thomas Sorensen (gk): The Dane had a reasonable game in goal. He dealt with most of what Wolves threw at him adequately, and cannot be held responsible for either of their goals. 6

Andy Wilkinson (rb): Wilkinson played well, he was typically strong in the challenge and good in the air and seems to get quicker with every match, his pace coming in handy when he tracked back superbly to deny Doyle in the second half. 7

Ryan Shawcross (cb): Shawcross was largely effective, and caused real problems on the surprising occasions when he broke forward down the wings, but as part of the defence that conceded twice from set pieces has to lose a point or two. 6

Abdoulaye Faye (cb): Much like Shawcross, Faye was generally solid but has to be criticised for their goals. He had a great chance to snatch a winner at the death but badly mistimed his header. 6

Danny Collins (lb): In the first half Collins looked assured, but the proverbial wheels came off in the second. He seemed unable to do anything right, giving away the soft free-kick that led to their first, misplacing numerous passes and making what turned into an effective clearance for Wolves when he found himself free with a headed chance in their box. 5

Rory Delap (rm): Increasingly I feel that Delap is only in our side for his long throws, which were far from their best yesterday. He does not get forward well enough to justify his selection on the right wing. 5

Dean Whitehead (cm): Whitehead plodded through the afternoon, making little impact on the game. 5

Glenn Whelan (cm): Despite early promise, Whelan had a relatively quiet afternoon. He always seems to produce his best when brought on as a substitute rather than starting the game. 6

Matthew Etherington (lm): Etherington was our best player on the day. He was close to unplayable in the first half, notching up a fine assists and a strike that will be up there in our goal of the season polls. He was one of few players that looked like they could make something happen in the second half, and fully deserved his man of the match award. 8

James Beattie (cf):Beattie did well to hassle George Elokobi into scoring his own goal, and threatened in the air in the first half, but was anonymous in the second. 6

Ricardo Fuller (cf): The Jamaican didn’t have a happy 30th birthday. He looked off the pace all day and was unable to cause Wolves any problems before being substituted. 5

Mamady Sidibe (sub cf): Sidibe’s return was popular but ineffective. After just an hour in the reserves and a half hour run in the League Cup in midweek, there’s no way he could be match fit after seven months on the sidelines and it showed. He did very little. 5

Tuncay (sub cf): The Stoke fans bay for the Turkey captain to be played more often, but he did little to help his cause for selection, struggling to get into the game. He would have benefited from having a few more balls played to his feet rather than in the air. 5

Liam Lawrence (sub rm): Lawrence didn’t have enough time to make a meaningful impact. 6

A fair result would have been

Stoke City 2-2 Wolverhampton Wanderers – Seeing as we bossed the first half and Wolves the second, a draw seems about right.

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