Match Reports

Coca-Cola Championship

30 August 2004: Stoke City 1 Derby County 0 Att: 18,673

SLUGGISH STOKE NEED LAST GASP STRIKE TO DEFEAT DETERMINED DERBY! by AndyP

The omens weren't good for this game as I set off from Leeds in the usually trusty Fiat on Sunday night. Barely on the M62 the expiring clutch finally decided that 64,400 miles was too many and packed up. I turned back at the first exit, the car jerking its way home, and I'd never been so happy to see Elland Road as it made the last few hundred yards to my house. So Monday morning I was letting the train take the strain, but the wallet was feeling it too! Fellow Leeds Stokie, The Goat Major (a.k.a Dave!), was back in Silverdale for the Bank Holiday so we travelled in style to the Britannia, rolling up in his 1970s VW camper, the driver resplendent with a period "John Wark" moustache for good measure. I'm not sure if the admiring stares we received along the way were for the van, 'tache or his delightful girlfriend Emma! We pilled out, and strode off to the ground in eager anticipation.

The only changes to the side that performed magnificently at Cardiff was the exclusion of Clint Hill in favour of Wayne Thomas in the heart of defence, while Henry was dropped and fellow youngster Neal came in. The issue that troubled me was whether Stoke's efforts at Ninnian Park might have taken something out of them, and this game might have come too soon for some weary legs. Certainly in the early exchanges Stoke looked off the pace and their reputation for chasing everything and not giving the opposition any time on the ball was not shining through. If anything it was the visitors who looked eager into the challenge and more likely to pick up any loose balls in midfield.

Stoke first attempt came in the first minute as Russell surged into the box and unleashed a shot lacking real power from 15 yards. Camp in the Derby goal was able to drop low to his left and smother it comfortably. But Derby settled after this early scare and on 4 minutes forced the first corner of the game after a cross from the left was cut out by Thomas. The set-piece was easily gathered by De Goey in a crowd of players. The Dutch keeper was in action again on 9 minutes when Tommy Smith tried a fierce drive from 18 yards, and De Goey was forced to only parry the effort that came at him at head height, and Stoke hacked the ball clear. A minute later a long ball almost seemed to get Akinbiyi in behind the Derby defence, but the faintest of defensive headers saw the ball roll through to Camp rather than drop perfectly for the Stoke striker. On 12 minutes Stoke were in trouble when their move broke down on the left allowing Derby to play a ball right across the box, and Thomas' missed clearance caused a moment's panic, and De Goey clutched a resulting snapshot.

On 14 minutes at the other end Akinbiyi was hacked down while chasing a ball on the left wing, and Huddlestone deservedly found his way into the referee's notebook. The resulting free-kick was only cleared for a corner, where Brammer's cross was headed over by Noel-Williams lurking at the near post. Noel-Williams was guilty of missing an easier chance just a minute later, after good work down the left and a fine cross by Clarke picked him out, only for the big forward to head wide from six yards at the far post. It was a quality move and should have resulted in a bulging net, and Noel-Williams' furious reaction to the miss was testament to this.

This was the last period of any Stoke pressure for around a twenty minutes spell. The Potters seemed lacklustre in midfield, half a yard off the pace and not as hard working as they had been in earlier matches when it came to harrying the visitors, or constructing any moves of quality. This lull in Stoke's play allowed Derby to largely control things in midfield and produce a patient build up of neat passing, although they were lacking when it came to the final execution, struggling to get past the solid Stoke back four. On 22 minutes a string of passes ended in ex-Vale man Taylor shooting wide and over from 20 yards and five minutes later a Derby cross from the right flew menacingly across the box without anyone being able to supply the finishing touch. The lethargic nature of Stoke's play was beginning to frustrate the home support, and there were groans from the stands on 27 minutes as Stoke lost out down the right allowing the Rams to break quickly, but thankfully the move ended with Idiakez sending in a weak shot from 30 yards which was easy for De Goey

Stoke continued to be ineffective, and after 32 minutes a trip on the energetic Akinbiyi 30 yards out led to a dangerously positioned free-kick. However this chance was wasted as Halls wafted a tame effort straight into the arms of a gleeful Camp in the Derby goal. At the other end 3 minutes later slack defending allowed a cross from the right and Bolder blazed over from 12 yards when he should have at least tested De Goey. Finally on 36 minutes Stoke put together a good passage of play, with a neat exchange of passes but after cutting into the box and finding himself in a fine position, Clarke fluffed his shot horribly and sent his 12 yard drive well wide. This was the start of an improved period for the Potters, and on 36 minutes a cross from Hall was flicked on by Noel-Williams, shielded by Akinbiyi for Brammer, but his shot was blocked and flew away for a throw. Brammer had time to send in another effort just before the half-time whistle, but this blast from long range did little to trouble the Derby keeper. A fairly dour half ended 0-0 and I'm sure Tony Pulis would have been glad of the break to revitalise his team. HT 0-0

Stoke needed a shake up and Pulis elected to replace the largely ineffective left-sided midfielder Neal with striker Asaba for the second half. Any Stoke fans expecting Stoke to come flying out of the blocks at their opponents all guns blazing on the back of a half-time roasting were left sadly disappointed. The Potters put in a really dozy start strewn with errors, which continually put them under pressure. They seemed even more disjointed than in the first period, and the usually visionary Brammer was guilty of some wretched passing. But for all of Stoke's laboured and ineffectual play, Derby could only play the ball around sweetly in midfield without managing to muster any great chances of note. On 57 minutes the usually faultless Halls was skinned on the left wing allowing a wicked delivery to fly across the area, and it took a timely prod clear from Hall to avert the danger with forwards ready to pounce. A minute later Bisgaard tried his luck from range but the Derby man's effort flew hopelessly wide and high.

On 60 minutes a Brammer corner from the right dropped invitingly for Taggart but it wouldn't sit up nicely for the burly defender, and it was cleared as he steadied himself to shoot around the penalty spot. Stoke forced another corner a minute later, but it was easily cleared for a throw. From this Derby earned themselves a corner after Halls allowed a Derby forward to cut inside and shoot, his effort being blocked by the Stoke defence. The cross was swung in and De Goey elected to punch clear under pressure when it seemed safer to catch. Seeing Stoke were struggling to produce anything inventive, Pulis decided to make a further change, and the strangely subdued Noel-Williams was replaced by Greenacre. The substitution might not have had much bearing on the next few minutes of play, but the bizarre incident that followed soon after certainly did liven up the game.

Stoke won a corner down the right on 66 minutes and Brammer's cross was met by the head of Taggart. When Camp failed to hold the effort, Akinbiyi reacted first in the scramble to poke home from very close range. With 3 sides of the stadium erupting in both delight and relief, the Stoke players wheeled away to celebrate as referee Neal Barry seemingly pointed to the centre circle to indicate a goal. With nine Stoke players off the pitch dancing with joy by the East Stand, Barry evidently changed his mind and awarded Derby a mysterious free-kick which they took quickly, racing up the field. Faced with only De Goey and Halls on the pitch, Bolder managed to blast home despite their desperate efforts, only to find that the referee was surrounded by four furious Derby players wanting to know why he was calling play back to their own area to make them take the free-kick again! There seemed absolutely nothing wrong with Stoke's "goal" to merit a free-kick, and equally there was nothing wrong with Derby's effort either except maybe it was taken without Barry blowing his whistle for the restart of play. Certainly if it had been allowed to stand, there would have been a riot, but the angry Stoke Faithful limited their retaliation to serenading Barry with "You're not fit to referee"!

This incident did seem to rouse Stoke and while they hardly went for the throat, it suggested that Derby's defence might actually begin to creak if the home side could muster a sustained period of pressure. The visitors increasingly looked to be settling for a 0-0 draw, and for all their possession, they never carved out an effort likely to trouble the Stoke defence. The frustrated home support were baying again when on 75 minutes Greenacre chased a hopeful ball into the box and sent Camp tumbling. The striker was entitled to go for the ball, and the keeper's theatrical fall, and his subsequent playing dead in a bid to see Greenacre booked thankfully did not impress the referee. (His two minutes of play-acting would eventually have grave consequences for his side). The last 15 minutes of play saw Stoke start to increase the pressure, but often they were let down by their own poor play. In a two minute period Halls wasted 3 throws in dangerous positions near the box, while his fellow full-back Hall could only manage a poor cross after a decent Stoke break on 82 minutes looked to open up the Derby defence.

The Stoke crowd offered generous applause on 87 minutes when former City favourite Peschisolido came on as a Derby substitute, though most were praying he wouldn't repay us with a Rams goal! Russell sent in a cross from the right on 89 minutes, but Akinbiyi's header down fell agonising behind Asaba, and into stoppage time Russell shot from 15 yards after a turn, but his effort was tame and Camp pounced on it easily. Just when it looked like it would remain scoreless, Stoke produced a killer blow in the final minute of time added on. Akinbiyi controlled well and fed Russell who swung a cross from the right into the middle. A head seemed to clear the ball but it fell towards the back of the area where Marcus Hall arrived to drive a sweet volley thumping into the net, sending three sides of the Britannia wild. There was nothing wrong with this goal and the game had barely restarted when Barry blew his whistle to indicate full-time. FT 1-0

Team Marks: (4-4-2 formation)

GK De Goey (6) Not much to do. Some poor kicking and electing to punch rather than catching lowers his mark.

RB Halls (6) Pushed up to assist attack but strangely off form. Caught out at the back a couple of times, and those wasted throws were very frustrating when we were in need of something more dangerous.

LB Hall (7) A good display overall, and arrived on cue to smack home a delightful winner.

CB Taggart (7) Cool and calm at the back, untroubled by anything that Derby threw at him, and won every header. [STARMAN]

CB Thomas (7) One early error but strong and solid from then on.

RM Russell (7) Hardly saw him in the first half, but he improved in the second and was part of the mounting pressure that led to the goal.

RCM Brammer (6) Disappointed with him really. Often seemed to be struggling to keep up with the pace and unusually his passing let him down. Gave the ball away too often.

LCM Clarke (7) Nothing inspiring but hardworking and one of the few creative players in the first half.

LM Neal (6) Surprisingly jaded, and seemed unwilling to get stuck in which is very unusal for this committed youngster. No surprise that he was replaced at half-time.

RCF Noel-Williams (6) A couple of poor misses and generally unable to trouble the Derby defence.

LCF Akinbiyi (7) Ran around chasing everything as usual. Derby looked worried when he was on the ball, and he had what looked a perfect goal ruled out in mysterious circumstances.

SUBS

Asaba (7) When he got involved he gave us something else to help worry the Derby defence. His support play had invention but never quite came off.

Greenacre (6) Nice touches and intelligent use of the ball in some of our later build up play, but never looked a goal-scoring menace. Can't remember him having a chance on goal.

Conclusion

To be honest this was far from a polished performance by the Potters and they didn't really deserve this win. They looked tired, devoid of ideas and Derby no doubt wanting to avoid another thumping like they'd received from Crewe 2 days before, worked hard in midfield and prevented Stoke from creating a great deal. The visitors paid for ultimately settling for a draw early in the second half, yet they can feel disappointed with some justification not to have taken a point from this game. Their goalkeeper's antics ironically produced the added time that allowed the very late winner. Once again Stoke had reserved one of their poorer displays for my appearance at the Britannia, but for a change still delivered all three points and allowed me to enjoy a post-match pint! It is often a mark of a successful side that they can still win without playing well, and the impressive start to the season plus being second in the league after 6 unbeaten opening league matches, might have a few Stokies whispering of promotion chances. How many times have Stoke played well and still taken nothing from a game? Maybe Lady Luck is finally looking down on us for a change, and this might herald the start of some interesting times for Stoke City FC.

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