Soft goal beats Potters

After rising to the challenges of the last week and seeing off Leeds and Sunderland in impressive style, Stoke fell to an easy goal from Saints’ player, Mario Licka.

Tony Pulis was disappointed to see the Potters travel back from the south coast with no points to show for their efforts: ‘We are desperately disappointed to lose, especially after conceding such a soft goal’, he said after the game.

It wasn’t as if the Potters had not had their chances. In the first half Lee Hendrie and Vincent Pericard had both come close. At the other end, Rasiak had fired a good shot on goal for Steve Simonsen to make a fine save. But it was Licka who put some daylight between the evenly matched sides, with a long range shot that left Simonsen getting a hand to the ball but unable to prevent it going into the net.

However, the main talking point was the referee waving a grand total of nine yellow cards – six at Stoke players, mostly for ‘technical offences’.

Southampton: Davis, Wright, Baird, Lundekvam, Bale, Surman, Licka, Idiakez, Skacel (Dyer 83), Rasiak, Jones.
Subs not used: Miller, Pele, McGoldrick, Wright-Phillips.
Booked: Baird, Idiakez, Skacel.

Stoke: Simonsen, Hoefkens, Higginbotham, Duberry, Griffin, Hill (Sweeney 70), Russell, Diao, Hendrie, Fuller, Pericard (Bangoura 77).
Subs Not Used: Pulis, Brammer, Paterson.
Booked: Hendrie, Griffin, Duberry, Diao, Higginbotham, Fuller.