We could have had five or six goals , I heard one commentator say. Might not be last on motd. Two years , and it's Europa League. Yipee !
That's wat I heard, the BBC commentator said it could have been 5 or 6 in the end. Well done Stoke, can't wait to see us on MOTD. It's a pity Villa beat Chelsea as they have gone above us tonight. Still 11th is OK and we are 3pts nearer to safety. Up the Mighty Potters
my view on yesterday. Stoke City 3 West Ham United 1 Saturday 16th March 2014 After the cracking win against Arsenal and a good point at Norwich, Sam Allardyce brought his troops to the ‘Bearpit’ to try and continue their recent good run which was only interrupted at Everton a week earlier. There was a good deal of optimism that Stoke would further consolidate their position by either another point or more being won, as the spring sunshine shone down. Stoke started the game slowly whilst West Ham started well, passing confidently and looking in control. As early as the 4th minute, Ireland gave away a needless freekick in a central position when clipping Noble. The same player floated the freekick and Begovic came out for a ball which he was never going to reach and Carroll headed the ball into an empty net. Within a minute Stoke were stirred into a swift move down the right with N’Zonzi crossing to an onrushing Ireland who shot on the run and saw it palmed away by Adrienne. Ireland really should have scored to equalize. On about 12 minutes, Pieters took a knock on the area of his leg which he had previously broken and was replaced by Mark Muniesa. For a period the game went quiet with both teams creating little until Stoke won a corner following a shot from Crouch which deflected wide of the post. The resultant corner saw Crouch head down and the ball bounce off the bar only for Crouch to volley back with the ball hitting Odemwingie on the shoulder before entering the net! So 1-1. Just on half time Ireland found himself one on one with Adrienne. His shot was saved comfortably, and this showed a player with little confidence in front of goal. The second half saw Stoke much more determined. Whilst Shawcross was bullied by Carroll in the first half, he dominated in the second half and let West Ham know who was boss! West Ham had a case for a penalty when Muniesa challenged Carroll and the ball hit his arm but appeals were firmly waved away by the officials. Probably the best move of the game saw Stoke go 2-1 up through Marko Arnautovic. There was great interplay between Ireland, Whelan and Cameron before a measured pass to Marko on the edge of the box. He took two players on and got the break of the ball before sliding the ball past Adrienne. West Ham pushed on and from a corner Stoke broke forward with Ireland carrying the ball some 65 yards before slipping the ball to the right to Peter Odemwingie to slam the ball past a hapless Adrienne to secure the win. The last ten minutes saw Stoke pass the ball for fun and West Ham could easily have conceded another 3 goals before the end of the game. Shots poured in and Adrienne did well to keep the score at 3-1. The crowd were singing ‘it’s just like watching Brazil.’ Also, ‘we are Stoke City we are taking the ???? It was also very pleasing to see the support that Mark Hughes is now getting support from the supporters. Another positive was Match of the Day analysts saying what ‘pleasing football Stoke are now playing!’ So after the Villa win against Chelsea we find ourselves in 11th position with 34 points and feeling that March has been a good month todate.
