Having scored at the weekend Nathan Lowe was rewarded with his full debut at home, along with
Junior Tchamadeu, with both youngsters performing brilliantly at the weekend and fully deserving
their starts tonight. Due to the injury to Michael Rose, Luke McNally also came in at Centre Back.
The Starting Line-up for Stoke saw Travers in goal, Hoever and Tchamadeu as full backs, with the three in midfield being Laurent, Pearson and Johnson, with Leris and Haksabanovic supporting Lowe upfront.
The visitors, buoyed after a weekend victory against Leeds (having lost the previous four games on
the bounce); provided a return to their old stomping grounds for Will Smallbone and Taylor
Harwood-Bellis, with both players looking to make their mark.
In the early minutes Southampton seemed to settle well; passing the ball around comfortably but
Stoke battled to get back on the ball, with the first corner for Stoke coming after 3 minute but the
ball was cleared by a Southampton head giving Stoke a second which was eventually cleared for a Stoke throw leading unfortunately to nothing.
Shortly after, another quick break allowed Haksabanovic to push forward and try to get Leris
through on goal, however, the attack ended up with a third corner which was ultimately played to
Pearson who lashed over the bar.
After nine minutes, Stoke worked the ball forward with sharp passing allowing a snap shot for
Haksabanovic which didn’t trouble the keeper.
After thirteen minutes, Southampton worked their first real chance, however, good work around the
box failed to create a true shooting opportunity, fortunately for Stoke.
Two minutes later, Stoke created space for Hoever to rush forward and push close to the
Southampton box with his cross being cleared but the outlet down the right for Stoke looked a
dangerous out ball. However, Sulemana looked equally dangerous for Southampton on their left,
going with pace at Hoever, who needed to engage the forward faster to stop his attacks.
At twenty minutes, a ball forward from Hoever to Haksabanovic was flicked on with Nathan Lowe
free who unfortunately couldn’t control the ball with his first touch and Walker Peters cleared for
another Stoke corner which ended with no opportunity. However, there was a clear link building
between However and Haksabanovic with both looking for one another when free and pushing
forward.
Finally, on 23 minutes, Nathan Lowe won the first header and glanced it to a free Leris who pushed forward and then looked to return the favour as Lowe had continued his run into the box but the header was straight at the keeper.
For the first thirty minutes of the game, threats came from the same players on both sides, with
Haksabanovic and Sulemana causing problems for their respective oppositions, yet it remained nil nil. As the game entered the thirty fourth minute and as Stoke dealt with some sustained Southampton pressure, Stoke broke with, Haksabanovic freeing Nathan Lowe whose wipped in cross was just over Leris, who had broken into the box, but it was another good break from Stoke.
As we creeped towards half time, Armstrong glided forward until Laurent fouled the Southampton player, pulling his shorts back to slow him down ultimately giving Southampton a free kick, just outside of the centre of the box. After a short wait, Armstrong strode up and clipped the ball into the right hand postage stamp to give Southampton the lead – a tough break for Stoke after fighting their way into the game and creating some decent chances.
Stoke didn't let this halt their approach to the game as they pushed forward through Tchamadeu who having cut in, let fly with what appeared to be a deflection taking the ball just wide of the goal, only for the ref to blow for half-time with jeers from the home fans following.
We got back underway for the second half and with no changes at half-time, Stoke attacked the Boothen End and looked to press early and pressure Southampton from the back. Southampton pushed the ball forward, where Adam Armstrong crossed well towards his team mate who headed the ball down and hit McNally, with the ball bouncing out for a corner that lead to nothing.
Travers grabbed the ball and cleared to allow Leris to run onto the ball and work a chance which hit a defender and went out for a corner that again yielded nothing for Stoke, as the ref continued to win friends by giving a foul in Southampton’s favour.
52 minutes in and we see a ball in from Hoever, looking for Leris who is nudged over and no penalty is given, no surprise to the Stoke fans.
Stoke continue in their attempt to build some pressure with faster passing around the box with a number of crosses coming in from Hoever, but Southampton exploded out to create a chance for the electric Sulemana to skate into the box and shoot into both Travers and Wilmot who cleared the ball for a corner. The injury curse continued with Wilmot staying down after the clearance and unable to continue.
Jordan Thompson came on at left back with Hoever going into the centre back position as Southampton switched Sulemana over immediately to add more pressure onto the sub.
Stoke worked the ball to Johnson whose cross was aimed at Lowe who was then manhandled down by Bednarek and again no penalty, awful decision by the ref again, what do Stoke need to do to get a penalty this season!
After sixty five minutes, Stoke picked up the pace and passed the ball crisply around, finally creating a cross from Laurent which was too high for Lowe, who continued to make runs into the penalty area in an attempt to find space.
Wesley replaced Hoever who looked like he was carrying a knock and Tchamadeu went to centre
back with Leris at right back! The loudest cheer of the night from the home fans was a free kick given to Stoke by the ref but the Stoke fans really pushed the team on as their efforts were clear and the impact of the ref frustrated everyone in red and white stripes.
Late on in the game, tackles were flying in and the ref seemed oblivious causing more problems in
the game for both sides, in what was a shocking performance by the ref.
The final whistle went which signalled defeat for Stoke City, Wouter Burger got booked having gone to the referee to share his thoughts, which the Stoke fans made clear as he left the pitch having watched a twenty man brawl where Alcaraz pushed Travers over and the ref made no effort to get involved.
It's obviously a disappointing result for Stoke who worked hard and created some half chances, while Southampton looked to slow the game down and hit the ground whenever possible.
Stoke fans cheered their teams effort, which was clear to see, especially under such difficult
circumstances thanks to the ref, but once again, trudge off with nothing to show for the hard work.
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