When Stoke were promoted to the Premier League back in 2008, there was a daily football radio show on over here and I remember the host saying he wouldn’t be surprised if Stoke didn’t win a single match in the EPL. That sentiment wasn’t that far off from the rest of the punditry world. But lo and behold, they have more than survived. They have become a thorn in the side of the rest of the league. The kind of club that you wish would just get relegated so they would just stop making your life so difficult when you need three points. Today, Stoke got a deserved point and ruined yet another weekend for most of us.
The return of Enner Valencia and two up top gave us hope that three points would be added to our tally this afternoon, and the first few minutes of the game were all about Enner. In the opening 60 seconds Noble sent a ball over the Stoke back line that Valencia ran on to. His cross found Kouyate, but his shot went straight across goal and back to Noble before going out for a goal kick. A few minutes later, Valencia picked up the ball at the top of the Stoke penalty area. He moved the ball to his right, and visions of his missile against Hull popped into my head. But he was fouled and West Ham were awarded a free kick.
And what a free kick it was.
Noble and Cresswell stood over the ball, and Noble made the first approach but dummied it while Cresswell came in right behind him and struck the ball with his left foot and sent a curling thunderbolt into the top corner. The interplay between the two was so good that Begovic started moving to his right in anticipation of a Noble shot, and by the time he realized what was happening it was too late.
West Ham 1, Stoke 0.
West Ham stayed on the front foot, and in the 11th minute Sakho looked more like a charging NFL running back than a striker as he plowed through a Marc Wilson challenge and into the Stoke area. Jenkinson got on the end of Sakho’s cross and tried to chest the ball on goal. The ball rolled wide and Begovic collected it with Valencia closing in.
West Ham were again on the front foot in the 16th minute when Kouyate picked up the ball on the top of Stoke’s eighteen yard box. After a deft little move around Steven N’Zonzi he sent a curling shot that Begovic saved. Stoke countered right away when Walters and Arnautovic combined to set up the former for a long range effort but Reid did well to get in the way and stop it from troubling Adrian.
But trouble became the name of the game for West Ham for the rest of the first half, with Stoke asking most of the questions and West Ham having very little to say on the matter. In the 30th minute Victor Moses got the ball completely un-marked about 35 yards from goal. With no West Ham defender in his way, Moses ran straight ahead and let loose, but his shot was deflected out for a corner. The corner was cleared but only momentarily, and Stoke were awarded a free kick after a foul by Noble. With a cavalry of Stoke players moving in on goal, Adams chose to shoot. If the net had been twenty rows back in the crowd it would have been a cracking goal.
A few minutes later, Walters drove down the left but his shot went wide of Adrian. Then, Arnautovic won the ball off Winston Reid and fed Victor Moses, but his shot was also wide. Soon thereafter, Moses left the game with an injury. In a fit of sheer partisan hubris, I cheered. Moses had been their most dangerous player up to that point and I was happy to see him leave.
Much has been talked and written about regarding Alex Song’s dip in form. The most obvious symptom of this issue has been how often Song has lost the ball under seemingly little to no pressure. In the 56th minute it happened again, with Walters being the interceptor. However his hard struck effort went wide of Adrian’s goal. For all the times Sam has bemoaned our inability to finish our chances, Stoke were the team that were creating opportunities only to squander them.
For a guy that has played so few minutes, Nene comes up a lot in conversation between West Ham fans. The overall feeling is that Sam didn’t want him and would rather let his muscles atrophy then risk him doing something like…I don’t know… score a goal maybe. When Cole came on for an injured Sakho in the 59th minute, that conspiracy theory may have gained a lot of momentum. But it was the next substitution that I think will be talked about for a long time, and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if the David’s made up their minds once and for all when Alex Song was taken off for Kevin Nolan. Song looked livid, and despite his weaker performances of late I’d still much rather have him on the pitch than Nolan. Some may disagree about the severity of that decision, but it’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
In the 71st minute, Kouyate used his brute strength to create a goal scoring opportunity. His shot was sent out for a corner, which N’Zonzi got on the end of and cleared away from danger. Stoke countered right away with Stephen Ireland down the right hand side. His attempt was deflected out for a corner. The set piece was headed out by Collins, but Charlie Adams got to the ball first and sent a cross into the box that Adrian was able to gather.
Stoke came inches away from scoring an equalizer in the 81st when Diouf got on the end of an Arnautovic cross. His header beat Adrian, but bounced off the inside of the right post and skidded across the goal mouth before being cleared by Jenkinson. The curse of the late conceded goal looked ready to haunt us again, only it was a bit early for that. In retrospect, I wish that shot had been the equalizer. Easier to stomach.
Stoke had another chance in the 90th minute when Adams got the ball inside the West Ham penalty area, but Jenkinson did just enough to impede Adams effort and send it wide. Then Arnautovic was called offside after sending the ball into the West Ham net from an Ireland pass. When West Ham were awarded a throw in with only a minute of added time left, I was stupid enough to feel comfortable. I should know better, shouldn’t I?
With seconds remaining in injury time, Arnautovic picked up the ball thirty yards from goal and made a diagonal run through the West Ham penalty area. In full stride he sent a shot back across goal and into the bottom corner.
West Ham 1, Stoke City 1.
Stoke deserved their point. I would go so far as to say they deserved three points. Certainly more than we did. From midway through the first half, Stoke were the better team. West Ham looked sloppy and lethargic. And while I cannot draw a direct line from the substitutions to the late equalizer, that is where my brain is focused. Even under what we consider basic Samology, you need some players who are comfortable on the ball when trying to protect a 1-0 lead. Song is better at that than Nolan. Nene might be better at that than Cole. If we were in a relegation battle this game would have sent me into a severe depression. Part of me wants to hear what Sam has to say on the matter. But another part doesn’t want to hear a word from him right now.
I’m going with the latter.