City keeper Steve Simonsen was the hero of the hour after saving Mikael Forssell’s second-half spot-kick, and ensured City secured a well earned point against Birmingham City in front of the Sky TV cameras.
Steve Bruce will be thinking ‘that’s two lucky games we’ve had here’ after Stoke dominated for long periods.
Birmingham undeservedly knocked Stoke out of the FA Cup in February and followed it up with an undeserved point against a Tony Pulis team playing with plenty of effort and commitment.
City’s midfield pairing of Dave Brammer and Darel Russell looked the part of the team Tony Pulis will be most eager to strengthen after lacking the quality pass to supply Vincent Pericard and Mama Sidibe with enough ammo for clear-cut chances.
Pericard and Sidibe worked hard throughout and caused the Blues defence problems all afternoon. Pericard certainly looks like ‘work in progress’ after another strong display upfront. Sidibe was always an eager runner and was unlucky not to score after good work in the second half saw him in one on one situation, however Maik Taylor saved smartly at his near post.
Brammer’s passing was somewhat wayward all afternoon and he conceded the second half penalty after his reckless challenge on Fabrice Muamba nearly saw a point slip from the Potters’ grasp.
Steve Simonsen’s excellent save to his right post thwarted Forssell’s penalty and saved Brammer’s blushes. The City keeper has started the season in good form and will no doubt be attracting attention from the Premiership if he replicates these kind of performances.
Peter Sweeney and Luke Chadwick were willing runners yet again, and Sweeney especially put in another good display. His midfield bursts are catching the eye and he looks the player TP labelled a ‘gem’ when he signed just over a year ago.
Danny Higginbotham didn’t recover in time for the match so Carl Dickinson slotted in at left-back. ‘Dicko’ did OK but needs to improve his distribution if he’s to challenge Higginbotham (and maybe Broomes?) for the left-back shirt.
It was Clint Hill and Michael Duberry who were excellent at centre-half though, and their commanding display saw former Chelsea striker Forssell and Arsenal loanee Nicklass Bendtner blocked out the game.
City’s defence looks as good as any in the division, and IF Pulis can add a couple of ‘quality’ signings (especially to the centre of midfield) Stoke might be carrying the tags of ‘surprise package’ come the end of the season.
Most Stoke fans were happy with the performance against a Birmingham side with a wealth of quality. However, even a rather rotund looking David Dunn couldn’t turn Birmingham’s fortunes around and City can be the happier of the two teams tonight.
Potters: Simonsen, Hoefkens, Dickinson, Duberry (c), Hill, Chadwick (Paterson 90), Brammer, Russell, Sweeney, Pericard, Sidibe. Subs (not used): Sigurdsson, Harper, Duggan, Pulis Jnr.
Blues: Maik Taylor, Kelly, N’Gotty, Tebily, Sadler, Johnson (c), Nafti, Muamba (Danns 69), Larsson (Dunn 55), Bendtner, Forssell. Subs (not used): Doyle, Clemence, Martin Taylor
Referee: Richard Beeby
Player Ratings
Steve Simonsen 8
A superb second half penalty save saw him given the sponsors Man Of The Match. Simonsen looks in the kind of form we saw a couple of years ago.
Carl Hoefkens 7
Didn’t get forward as much as usual, however defensively very sound and offers a calm influence on the ball.
Carl Dickinson 6
Games=experience and that’s what ‘Dicko’ needs. Didn’t do a lot wrong, but didn’t offer the kind of support Sweeney would have liked.
Michael Duberry 9
A captain’s display. Excellent.
Clint Hill 8
Epitomised the level of effort from the team in a typical Clint Hill performance.
Dave Brammer 5
Gave the penalty away which could have cost a point, and his general play wasn’t good enough. Can’t accuse him of lack of commitment to the cause, however.
Darel Russell 6
Gave the ball away far too many times and didn’t provide Pericard or Sidibe with the quality service they desired.
Luke Chadwick 6
Not as lively as Tuesday night, and suprising he wasn’t replaced earlier in the second half. Full of running and always an outlet until tiredness kicked in.
Peter Sweeney 7
Looks the player TP called a ‘gem’ when he signed for us. If he can improve his fitness levels further, he could have a massive role in any future success this season.
Mama Sidibe 7
He is here, he is there, he is everywhere! Was unlucky not to score and caused Birmingham’s defence problems all afternoon.
Vincent Pericard 7
Hold up play excellent, however didn’t really find himself in an obvious position to score. Looks like he needs a few more games. He’s certainly a handful.
Manager Rating
Tony Pulis – 7
Perhaps should have made a substitution earlier than he did, especially with Chadwick tiring, however his team were better than their multi-million pound opponents and more than matched them in every position.
Opponent Rating
Steve Bruce – 5
Will be looking for more from his expensive array of players. Birmingham looked very ordinary and will need to up the ante if they’re to make an instant return to The Premiership.
