Match Reports

Nationwide League Division 1

24 Aug 2002: Preston North End 4 Stoke City 3 Att: 15,442

SUICIDAL TENDENCIES FOR CITY IN PRESTON PANTOMINE by AndyP

As we sped along the M62 on the way to this game the general consensus from the Leeds Stokies was that while the defence was solid and teams would find it difficult to score past us, the current forwards were of concern, and a goal may prove difficult to find! How wrong we were! At full time at Deepdale, we had witnessed one of the most shambolic Stoke defensive displays for some time, yet found the back of the net three times!

The journey to Preston was fairly uneventful apart from one downpour just outside Leeds that could only be described as like driving through the sea, but the game was to prove an all action affair with plenty of drama. Handyside had recovered from his tonsilitis so returned to the defence meaning Petur Marteinsson was relegated to the bench despite his good showing against Bradford. Also Thomas was back at right back after serving his suspension and recovering from injury. Meanwhile Karl Henry was once again preferred to Bjarni Gudjonsson on the right side of midfield, and Iwelumo had not managed to shake off his thigh strain, so Andy Cooke was joined by the young Goodfellow in attack.

The first half began in frantic style, as Stoke immediately won a corner from a Goodfellow run moments after the kick off. This produced nothing of note, and the action soon switched to the other end when Preston won their first of many free-headers, but Cutler produced a brilliant one-handed reaction save to prevent a certain goal from a close range effort. Two minutes later a mazy run from Commons took him past two defenders into the box where he was hacked down when looking to shoot. The ref had no doubts and pointed to the spot. Much to our surprise Clive Clarke stepped up and blasted the ball into the net. Our celebrations were cut short as the ref ordered it to be re-taken, but Clarke repeated the act by cooly slotting it home to give the Potters a 1-0 lead after just 7 minutes.

The goal seemed to press the panic button for Stoke and they began to rock as Preston roared back at them. Just two minutes after our penalty a clumsy challenge in the box led to Preston being awarded their own spot kick! The home fans' delight was soon silenced when the penalty was put wide in front of the massed Stokie army. However, they didn't have to wait long to be cheering again, as two minutes later a silly foul gave away a free kick just outside the box, and an inviting cross was headed in by Healy, after leaving his marker, to bring the home side level on 11 minutes.

The home side began to dominate proceedings and Stoke looked far from comfortable. The defence was looking very shakey and meanwhile we were making little progress in midfield, and providing little service for the forwards. The defence was breached again after 24 minutes. At least three Stoke challenges around the edge of the box failed to clear the ball, and Thomas' final effort (deflected?) somehow flew across the box to Healy who was running in to support from the right wing, and he had time and space to drive a low shot into the corner past a helpless Cutler to make it 2-1.

Stoke's defenders were sleeping again on 30 minutes when a Preston corner was met by a free header which luckily hit the bar and bounced to safety. Having not learnt the lesson from this, four minutes later another stupid foul meant Stoke gave away a free kick similar to the one that produced the first goal. Once again this was met by a free header, and thankfully again hit the bar. Stoke's only bright spark was the excellent Commons, who won the ball on the left, beat two players with a piece of magical skill, then hit an audacious effort wide from just inside the Preston half trying to catch the keeper off his line. Preston meanwhile missed another good chance to extend their lead when a good move carved open the defence and a decent 12 yard shot hit the side netting.

Stoke somehow got to half time only 2-1 down when a fairer refelection would probably have been 5-1. The Oatcake's very own Smudge was sitting directly behind us, and he felt the last time Stoke played a half of football like that, they were beaten 6-1 away at Wigan last season! We hoped Mr Cotterill would issue the Mother of all rollockings, and restore some semblance of discipline to the Stoke players. However with the largely ineffectual forward line we thought the prospect of getting back into the game would be a difficult one.

Stoke did start the second half a bit more purposefully and composed, and began to pass the ball around a bit better. We were still struggling to make any real inroads in the Preston defence with hard working Cooke huffing and puffing alongside the disappointing Goodfellow who was struggling to make any impression on the game. But just as Stoke were beginning to get back into the game, Preston added a third goal as Fuller weaved past 2 challenges and stroked the ball past the advancing Cutler. That really should have wrapped things up for the home side, but to Stoke's credit they did not fold and began to fight back. A couple of minutes after the third Preston goal, a defender inexplicably handled in the area, and the ref could not fail to award Stoke another penalty. Clive Clarke stepped up again and hit a fine shot into the corner under the diving keeper to make it 3-2.

Stoke suddenly had a bit of belief about them, and you could see that Preston had started to look a little worried themselves. They still managed 2 more freeheaders from a corner and another freekick. Both went wide and over. In a bid to boost the attack Henry was replaced by Gudjonsson, and Lewis Neal came on for Gunnarsson who had not had the best of games in midfield. Meanwhile the home side replaced their forwards with defensive midfielders as they looked to hold on to what they had. Commons, and Neal began to link well, and Stoke suddenly had a bit of confidence and desire about them as they looked for an unlikely equaliser. And it was Stoke that were finishing strongly, roared on by the travelling support as 5 minutes of added time were announced.

Much to the travelling Stokies' disbelief and joy Stoke's efforts were rewarded with an equaliser 3 minutes into added time. One last push had earned a corner, which was swung in by Commons, and met by a fierce Cooke header after he escaped his marker. This was right in front of the travelling hordes, and we went berserk! It seemed that Stoke had managed the impossible and rescued a point out of a total lost cause. However it was the home fans who had the final laugh in this pantomine performance, as in the last minute of stoppage time a hopeful lob over the defence caught them out playing an offside trap, and Cresswell was able to run into the area, round Cutler and slot home to make it 4-3 with virtually the last kick of the game.

Only Stoke could deliver a kick in the teeth like this! Smudge behind us was absolutely livid, and I'm sure he would have been still shouting about the ludicrous offside trap error half way down the M6! While we were gutted to have not held on for one more minute to take a point, in all fairness to Preston they had been the much better team for the vast majority of this game and a draw would have been a travesty. If they had taken their first half chances they would have won by a mile. However, Stoke's battling second half display had deserved some reward, and it was heartbreaking to throw away a point with a suicidal bit of defending with seconds to go to the final whistle. Still, suicidal defending had been the order of the day for Stoke, so it came as no real surprise in this Deepdale disaster!

Team Marks:

GK Cutler (6) Made one fine save, but looked shakey on crosses. Couldn't do much about the goals.

RB Thomas (5) Gave away too many silly fouls. Possibly at fault for the second goal. Not a brilliant return.

LB Clarke (7) Probably the pick of our defenders. Made some good tackles and kept a cool head for the penalties.

CB Shtaniuk (6) Not a good display from Shtanner. Didn't win as many headers as he should, and gave away too many silly freekicks. Not at his best at all. Lost his man in the box on a couple of occasions.

CB Handyside (5) Like Shtaniuk, not at his best. Did he marshall the defensive for that last suicidal offside trap? Bad move!

RM Henry (5) Does not look at home on the right. Better in the middle. Didn't really offer us an attacking outlet down the right. some poor distribution at times.

CM O’Connor (7) Ran after everything as usual. Usually involved in our better moves. Couldn't command midfield though.

CM Gunnarsson (6) Looked out of sorts and not up with the pace at times. Didn't win as much in midfield as he should, and wasted possession with some poor passing.

LM Commons (8) What a find this lad is! A brilliant run to produce the first penalty, and he has fantastic dribbling ability. He faded out a little after halftime, but then came back to life in the last quarter as Stoke hunted for the equaliser. Our main creative and attacking force. (STARMAN)

CF Goodfellow (5) Sadly out the game for much of this. He has speed, but his control seems to have deserted him, and for much of the match he was a passenger. On this display if he is a striker then I am the Archbishop of Canterbury! Contributed very little, and the Preston defence had an easy day with him.

CF Cooke (7) As usual a hardworking display, and got his reward at the end with a well taken goal. He huffed and puffed, had no real partner alongside him, and lacked any useful service.Once again I'm sure Mr Cotterill will be chuffed with his work rate.

SUBS

Gudjonsson (6) Added more attacking guile than Henry, but didn't make much of an impact. Tended to drift inside when we were crying out for service from out wide.

Neal (6) Added a bit more pace and thrust to midfield, but could not produce any telling moments of quality.

Jurgen Van Duerzen ( ) Not fair to issue a mark as he came on seconds before the end just before we conceded the fourth goal! Did he even kick the ball?!

Conclusion

A brilliant game for the neutral, with seven goals and all kinds of drama! No so good for those with weak hearts or Stoke City loyalties. We almost snatched a undeserved point from a performance that was largely shambolic, but we can take pleasure from the spirt the lads showed to fight back. Away from home we have to be tighter and more disciplined than this, and scoring a goal early doors must produce a solid team effort to preserve it, not a suicidal display more in keeping with a five-a-side game in the park. Hopefully we can get these mistakes out of our system early in the season, and learn from them, or else we may be in for a few hidings over the coming months. On the positive note, once again Commons was superb, and we seem to have unearthed a real gem with him.

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