Another Saturday, another away-day adventure with the MIGHTY, MIGHTY TIGERS. The weather was miserable, Stoke was miserable, the Britannia Stadium was miserable and Stoke's "football" is definitely miserable. It was rotten game in truth, the Tigers were well below par as an attacking force and spent most of the game attacking long balls but we defended well and picked up another precious point. 8 away games in the top-flight, only 1 defeat. The run continues.
The first half was dreadful. City made one change from the recent matches. Barmby replaced Cousin with City reverting to a 4-5-1. Geovanni and Barmby enjoyed a little bit of freedom to roam but generally stuck to the wide areas. Stoke were the side with the initiative, in fact, we encouraged them to have it. We closed space in midfield and invited Stoke to punt the ball forward hopefully, a tactic they may be slightly familiar with. The entire half consisted of Stoke whacking the ball forward hopefully and then pressuring our defenders into conceding corners and throw-ins. We dealt superbly with the much publicised threat from Delap; only one flick from Cort that Myhill grabbed at the near post caused a problem. The throw-ins do breed fear though, at one point Myhill was faced with a Stoke attacker as he received a back pass. Rather than ship the ball out for a throw, he turned and whacked it out for a corner. It's madness. Our willingness to head anything that came into the box was very commendable though, Turner, McShane, Ricketts, Ashbee, It didn't matter who it was, someone always headed it. When we had the ball we played some neat stuff. Actually, compared to Stoke, we looked like Brazil in their pomp. We didn't turn that into chances, despite the hard work of King up front. Just before half time, Windass was booked for warming up too close to Delap while he was taking a throw-in. Deano had earlier warmed up in front of Delap as he prepared to take a throw-in, much to the delight of the traveling army. The cleared throw-in found Geo who was tripped by Griffin as he raced into their half. Griffin was obviously pleased with himself, taking a booking for cutting off a promising break and getting his team to half time unscathed. Er, wrong. Ricketts' long delivery was headed across the box by Turner, found its way to King and he swiveled and hit a beauty into the top corner. Cue the most common feature of the City away games this season: Mayhem in the away end!
The second half was as much of a non-event. City had a bit more possession overall but again failed to create a lot. Stoke applied a bit of pressure and Boaz made a terrific save as Fuller headed on another long throw. We were comfortable as a defensive unit apart from self-inflicted pressure and so to concede an equaliser was disappointing. We'd looked far more likely to score again rather than concede but only had a Marney strike to show for it. Sorenson kicked the ball out long, they won the header and as Fuller raced after the ball, Myhill pulled him down. At least, that was my view of it, 100 yards away through the fog. Myhill almost saved the penalty but couldn't and Stoke had a barely deserved point. We put on Halmosi, Cousin and then Garcia in an attempt to create a spark up front but it didn't work. Geo cut inside from the right and shot over, King capitalized on a mistake and crossed just too long for Cousin and Cousin should have done better when he also cut in from the right and had a shot blocked. Myhill made a decent save as the ball pinballed around our box from another long throw and that was about it. With ten minutes left, Ricketts did produce our own long throw into the box. There was a big cheer from the away end as he walked across and asked the ball boy for Delap's towel so that he could spend a load of time drying the ball like Delap does. Even more hilariously, in stoppage time, McShane walked across to take a defensive throw and again asked for the towel. He spent an age cleaning the ball and then gave his sweaty forehead a wipe over too. Brilliant! His throw was the last action of a dull game.
Myhill's first three kicks were absolutely terrible but he recovered from that and distributed well otherwise. He made a couple of decent stops when needed and handled well throughout. Ricketts looked comfortable at left-back again. He gave a little bit of support to the attacks but not enough overall. His height was useful and he made a large number of clearances. McShane was solid. He made one stupid mistake in the first half, stopping to argue that the ball had gone out for a throw while his opponent ran into the box at our defence. Otherwise, he stood up to the threat well. It was tough with the ball coming out of the air, Stokies flying after it and City defenders all being eager to clear and it did lead to some confusion but we dealt well with it. McShane's attitude helps. "If it moves: kick it. If it doesn't move: kick it until it does." Turner was at his brilliant best. Incredible positioning, superbly timed tackles and aerial dominance. Only the pace of Fuller undid him a couple of times, but otherwise, he was in total control. Zayatte had his poorest game for us thus far. He fought well against their attack but showed a lack of awareness at times that almost cost us, allowing attackers to rob him too often. He showed plenty of fight though as Leon Cort found out in the first half.
Midfield was a battle zone and our three were up for it today. Ash was excellent, especially in the air but also with his sensible use of the ball and his absolute, downright refusal to be beaten. Marney wasn't involved in the challenges but gave good quality on the ball. He was the only midfield player on the pitch who showed any ability to put his foot on the ball and pass it quickly and easily. Boateng played one suicidal pass to Ricketts in the first half but had a good game otherwise. He was the victim of some terrible refereeing decisions but kept playing and kept battling away. His ability to hold onto the ball proved useful and we looked a worse team for his withdrawal. It's a pity he doesn't quite have the mobility these days. Halmosi worked hard as sub but didn't really get into the game. He did nearly fluke a goal at the near post with his first touch. Geo played well in the withdrawn position, getting some good possession and giving them something to think about when he had the ball. His work-rate is incredible, not something you tend to get out of players like him. He needs to make better decisions on when to dribble the ball though, he loses it in our half too often. Barmby was barely in the game in the first half but moved closer to King in the second half and looked very good. He's calm in possession and played good passes.
King did a terrific job up front. We gave him a chance with the balls we played up and he controlled everything under pressure and found his mates. He was offside 3 times, once criminally, but otherwise, his work, his running off the ball and his work as the guy who took the knocks was incredible.
The referee was absolutely abysmal. One of the worst we've ever had since I've been watching. He got so many fundamental decisions wrong and he gave Stoke everything they asked for. He must have a grudge against Boateng. He gave a decision against him for high foot when the oppo's foot was higher. George was clobbered twice in quick succession and he gave Stoke a free-kick and then George was clearly whacked in the back with a shoulder and he gave nothing. He was just terrible. So were Stoke, it's hard to believe anyone could lose to a side that is so limited. Well done to Phil Brown, he got our tactics spot on (defensively) and picked a team that stood up to their one dimensional play. This was never a game that looked appealing on the fixture list and it proved not to be. Still, it's out of the way and we managed a point more than Arsenal, Villa and Spurs have at the Britannia this season.
Ratings: Myhill 7, McShane 7, Ricketts 7, Turner 8, Zayatte 6, Ashbee 8, Marney 6, Boateng 7 (Cousin), Geovanni 7 (Garcia), Barmby 7 (Halmosi), King 8.