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Post by northstokie on Dec 23, 2007 9:09:40 GMT
..especially the first couple of paragraphs!!
A game billed as a meeting of beauty and the beast had a fairytale start when Stoke, with their reputation for direct, physical, no-nonsense football, scored a goal of such precisely crafted finesse - Ricardo Fuller’s first of three – it was as though both teams had come out wearing the other side’s kit.
But it was no illusion. West Brom were knocked off the top of the Championship table thanks to Stoke spoon-feeding them an early dose of their own particular sophisticated style of play from which they could not recover.
Stoke had a two-goal lead at half-time thanks to their Jamaican international striker Fuller, who earlier in the week signed a two-year extension to his contract to keep him at the club until 2011.
Mamady Sidibe’s clever fifth-minute backheel, which set Fuller clear, was a wonderfully colourful piece of play by the Mali international on a dismally damp and grey Potteries afternoon.
Albion tried to pick their way back after the early setback with some of their trademark approach work, with Zoltan Gera catching the eye in midfield, but they always looked nervous whenever Stoke moved forward, and if the first goal was a result of sublime skill the second was simply a consequence of poor defending.
Bostjan Cesar’s trip on Fuller, for which the defender was rightly cautioned by referee Mark Halsey, produced a 35thminute free kick from Liam Lawrence, which threaded its way through seven Albion players inside the six-yard box before arriving at the feet of an unmarked Fuller on the far post.
Emergency measures were needed and West Brom manager Tony Mowbray sent for the cavalry at the start of the second half, pulling off Andrade Filipe Teixeira and Chris Brunt and sending on Kevin Phillips and Ishmael Miller to work alongside Roman Bednar in a three-pronged attack.
The idea was to try and overwhelm Stoke’s hitherto untroubled defences, but it was still 58 minutes before Robert Koren drew the first save of the afternoon from Steve Simonsen.
The frequency of Albion’s attacks increased and Miller thought he had scored with a header from Geras cross, but Leon Cort cleared off the line.
It was Fuller’s day, though, and his hat-trick duly arrived in the 67th minute. Serviced once again by Sidibe, he kept his cool when surrounded by defenders and curled his shot deliberately into the far corner of Dean Kiely’s net.
Six minutes later Bednar revived Albion hopes with a header from substitute Martin Albrechtsen’s cross, and the game might have taken a decisive turn a minute after that if Phillips’s shot had been either side of Simonsen instead of flying straight into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Albion should have scored again nine minutes from time when Cort’s appalling backpass put Bednar clear. But his shot lacked the conviction the situation demanded, and Simonsen thrust out a foot to save.
The visitors mounted a series of late attacks as the home side retreated further and further back to protect their lead, although a second goal would have flattered the nature of their defeat.
Stoke have never played in the Premier League, but after a week of unremitting good news there is a growing feeling around the Potteries that their moment may finally be approaching.
Fuller’s decision to extend his contract was followed by the club’s £6m purchase of complete ownership of the Britannia stadium from Stoke-on-Trent city council.
Giving West Brom a bloody nose has become a Stoke habit in recent years with only one defeat in 23 meetings with their old Staffordshire rivals.
“We always beat West Brom,” sang their delighted supporters. Not strictly true, but this latest victory extended the Potters’ unbeaten run to seven, including five wins, and a team unfancied for promotion at the start of the season are becoming serious contenders.
Star man: Ricardo Fuller (Stoke)
Player ratings
Stoke: Simonsen 7, Wilkinson 7, Shawcross 7, Cort 7, Pugh 6, Lawrence 7, Eustace 7, Delap 6, Cresswell 6, Sidibe 7 (Dickinson 84min), Fuller 8 (Parkin 90min)
West Bromwich: Kiely 6, Hoefkens 6, Cesar 6 (Albrechtsen 68min), Pele 6, Robinson 6, Gera 7, Greening 6, Koren 6, Filipe Teixeira 5 (Miller ht, 7), Brunt 6 (Phillips ht, 6), Bednar 7
Scorers: Stoke:Fuller 5, 38, 66 West Bromwich: Bednar 72
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Post by Rebelliousjukebox on Dec 23, 2007 9:16:59 GMT
Only 8 for Fuller?
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Post by FullerMagic on Dec 23, 2007 9:28:40 GMT
Written by ex-Sentinel and SCFC employee, Stoke fan Ian Bayley!
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Post by daverichards on Dec 23, 2007 9:30:43 GMT
fullermagic: yes I noticed that too, when I pasted it on the other thread  |
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Post by hotterpotter on Dec 23, 2007 11:31:18 GMT
Is it really only one defeat in 23 meetings with the baggies? I knew we had a good record against them but I didn't realise it was that good!  ;D Does anyone know the full stats of our meetings with them? ??? Cheers! p.s. can't believe "The Championship" was only half an hour long this morning - the fault of bloody Christmas I suppose!  Bah humbug! |
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Post by daverichards on Dec 23, 2007 11:34:39 GMT
[stato hat]
[/stato hat]
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Post by hotterpotter on Dec 23, 2007 13:02:17 GMT
Thanks IlfordDave!  |
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;D
Bah humbug!
