Peter Crouch scored the only goal of the game at the Britannia stadium as Stoke saw off Newcastle who remain joint bottom of the Premier League.
Things started badly for Newcastle and never really got better as they fell behind to the first real chance of the game 15 minutes in. Victor Moses got the ball on the left wing just outside the box and then clipped in a right footed cross which Crouch got up early to nod home into the left bottom corner from eight yards, out-jumping Fabrizio Coloccini in the process.
Crouch had another good headed chance 10 minutes before half time. Stoke broke quickly with Moses releasing Marc Munisea down the left who delivered a first time cross which deflected to the former Spurs striker at the back post who headed back across goal only to see Daryl Janmaat clear off the line.
The visitors only real chance of the first half came a minute before the interval when Stoke only half cleared a cross who hit a drilled low shot from 30 yards right footed which Begovic tipped around his right post. Before the half was out Stoke should have doubled there lead when Moses involved again pulled the ball back from the left byline which Crouch missed with the ball coming the way of early substitute Marko Arnautović who hammered with his right foot running in only for Paul Dummett to block just in front of goal.
The second half was a pretty drab affair as a whole however a big chance came at the start of it. In the 49th minute Newcastle again only half cleared the ball and this time straight to Stoke's Austrian international who just dragged his right foot shot from the edge of the box a tad and it struck the foot of Tim Krul's right post.
Krul then actually had a save to make as his defender Janmaat hit it straight off Williamson with the ball then falling to Moses who Krul did well to deny with his feet from only nine yards. Despite lacking creativity all night Newcastle did get one big chance near the end of the game coming in the 84th minute. Sub Obertan used his pace down the right and delivered a decent low cross which hit a Stoke defender and fell for Jack Colback who hit a snap left foot shot from just six yards which cannoned off the bar.
In conclusion Stoke will know that they can play better however they did enough to win this game and will feel like they can kick on now in their season. Meanwhile it is still doom and gloom for Newcastle who may have no option to part company with Alan Pardew with them 19th in the League.
Player Ratings
Stoke City | Newcastle United | ||
STOKE_CITY_FC_medium.jpg | Stoke+City+14-15+Home+Kit+(3).jpg | Newcastle-United-badge.jpg | nufckit.jpg |
Begovic | 6 | Krul | 6 |
Bardsley | 7 | Janmaat | 5 |
Shawcross | 7 | Coloccini | 5 |
Wilson | 6 | Willamson | 6 |
Munisea | 7 | Dummett | 6 |
Whelan | 6 | Tiote | 7 |
Adam | 6 | Colback | 6 |
Moses | 8 | Gouffran | 6 |
Diouf | 6 | Sissoko | 6 |
N'Zonzi | 6 | Cabella | 5 |
Crouch | 7 | Rivière | 5 |
Substitutes | |||
Arnautovic | 8 | Cisse | 6 |
Ireland | 6 | Obertan | 7 |
Assaidi | NA | Ameobi | 6 |