It probably wasn’t a fair result given Stoke’s domination of large parts of the game either side of the interval, but as at Goodison Palace showed resilience, defensive grit and an ability to hit hard on the break. If the win was built on the foundations of an excellent performance in goal to back up solid defending, it was seized by one of several dangerous counter-attacks that we launched in the second half, and from an unlikely source with quality to match.
Another large Palace following turned up at The Britannia to the news that Cabaye was injured, and replaced by Ledley (first League start this season?). That caused some furrowed brows, losing our midfield ace against what certainly turned out to be a quite different Stoke side from the prehistoric days of one Tony Pulis. Pardew started with a 4-4-2, Puncheon on the left flank and Bolasie supporting Wickham up front, and started fairly brightly without bothering Butland. However soon Stoke established dominance in midfield and kept Palace penned back for long periods, in part because Palace’s passing was at times very poor and we could not play the ball out of our own half. Still nothing much came of Stoke’s period of pressure either: their shooting from the edge of the box was poor, and Ledley & McArthur kept their midfield from penetrating into the box to support lone striker Shaqiri, who was perhaps Stoke’s most disappointing player. It took 25 minutes for either side to have a shot on target, but that nearly led to a goal with Hennessey making a fine save diving to his right from a shot he must have seen late.
Palace’s breaks were mostly down the right, but Zaha was having trouble getting past Pieters, all too often drawn into a battle of upper-body strength that he nearly always lost. Our problem s were down the left, where not only did Puncheon’s habit of drifting infield deny us width, but it also allowed Glen Johnson to push on, often leaving Souaré outnumbered. After about 30 minutes, with the midfield being overrun, Pardew made a switch to 4-5-1, with Puncheon dropping deep in the middle in almost a quarter-back role, and Bolasie on the left. That addressed one problem – and Bolasie did make one fine penetrating run late on – but still Palace struggled to break free, with possession often given away by poor decisions or execution, most of the players being guilty on at least one occasion. One failure to clear saw a cross from our right deflected onto the post by defender or attacker. The match was becoming scrappy so it was unexpected that Palace should make the breakthrough almost exactly on 45 minutes, Zaha a victim of a stupid challenge from behind in the box when he was facing away from goal. Wickham seized the ball and smashed the ball straight down the middle.
Second half found Palace kicking off with only 10 men, Wilf being very late out of the tunnel & not allowed to enter until he reached the halfway line – dozy thinking! The wind now became an obvious factor with Palace playing into it, but it did allow long balls to be played over the top for our wingers to catch. Stoke made a couple of openings, Johnson drawing another good save from Hennessey. Despite Stoke ramping up the pressure on & off the pitch it was Palace who made two good chances on the break: a fine run from Bolasie & excellent cross saw McArthur sliding in at the far post to just be denied by Butland; then Bolasie again broke free but his finish was awful. Almost immediately Stoke’s riposte saw a melee in Hennessey’s goalmouth that was somehow repelled by keeper & defenders. The pressure was really being turned up now but Palace saw off a series of crosses, well dealt with by Hennessey, Dann & Delaney. As often happened, as the game wore on it stretched and the second half had far more space & goalmouth action.
On about the hour Wickham departed injured; again Palace played a couple of minutes with 10 men as, despite Wickham being treated on the pitch then taking an age to limp off, Chamakh wasn’t ready to come on (blame the coaching team, not the player). He immediately made an impact, setting up McArthur in the box for a shot that was blocked with shouts for a penalty, then being set free by Bolasie but dragging his shot just wide of the far post. Stoke withdrew a midfielder & threw on the more physical threat of Walters, and Palace survived a shot that was deflected inches wide of the far post with Hennessey a helpless onlooker. Palace still looked bright on the break, with Wilf taken down twice in one attacking move, but Stoke really should have equalised when Bojan was played clear on the right side of our box; Wayne’s save was similar to those miracle saves Julian made to keep us up under Pulis.
Sadly Wayne was soon beaten, but the goal stemmed from some uncharacteristically shoddy defending. Hennessey had punched a ball out towards the corner flag trying to prevent a corner, but no one in a Palace shirt followed it up, and the ball didn’t go out of play. Although the initial cross was scrambled away, in the confusion that followed the ball struck a Palace hand, and (as some had feared) the referee evened things up by pointing to the spot – I can’t comment on the handball from 150 yards away but comments after the game indicated he had got that call right. Hennessey nearly reached Bojan’s fiercely struck penalty but it was 1-1 with 15 minutes to go.
Stoke went for the throat and it did seem like there could only be one winner. That thought was reinforced as Mutch and Lee Chung-Yong came on for Puncheon and Zaha, with a little more defensive solidity but a loss of pace. Stoke still made chances but with only a couple of minutes left Lee set Bolasie free and Yannick broke into the box, but his finish was poor and saved by Butland (very similar to Hennessey’s best effort). From the corner both Mutch & Delaney had efforts blocked, then the ball ran free to Lee outside the box. His howitzer was struck so cleanly and accurately that Butland has no chance as it flew into the far top corner. The next few minutes are something of a blur as grown men hugged each other, and while Stoke strove for a second equaliser, we allowed long balls to be policed out of play, then ran the clock down on the break.
Hennessey – 9 – Almost faultless display from Wayne, with at least three very good saves (not sure who stopped what in one scramble) and commanded his box with some good catches & punches. Shall I knock a point off for not quite getting to the penalty? It may be that this performance closes Speroni’s career as Palace’s No.1 – a bittersweet moment.
Ward – 7 – Solid game, wasn’t often outflanked. Quick to clear up after Hennessey’s save in second half.
Souaré – 7 – Had trouble dealing with his winger & Johnson (thanks to his wingers) but stuck to his task well.
Dann – 8 – There were a couple of poor passes but also some decent runs out of defence. As for the day job his defending was as good as ever.
Delaney – 8 – Fingers pointed at Damien for the handball but I couldn’t see either offence or offender. There was one great block in the first half, the usual competent defending in the second, and a bit part in the winning goal.
Ledley – 7 – Looked a little rusty at times, and he was never quick at the best of times, but Joe stuck to his role well. Better at blocks than passing as usual.
McArthur – 7 – You tend to get consistent performances from James (very boring to keep writing the same old tosh each week). The passing wasn’t always accurate but with Ledley he kept Stoke at bay in the first half. Unlucky to be denied by Butland (although ref gave a goal kick).
Zaha – 6 – Thought Wilf had a mediocre game, summed up by his late arrival for the second half. Had one good run & cross in the first half, and did win the penalty. Defensively was slow at times in tracking back. Improved second half with a little more space but rarely looked like beating Pieters.
Puncheon – 6 – Not so good on the left wing – didn’t help Souaré much; looked more comfortable in the middle and did play some creative passes. Another who looked better in the second half.
Bolasie – 7 – Running – good; crossing – good; tracking back – hmm; finishing – oh dear!
Wickham – 6 – Struggled against Shawcross & Wollscheid in the air, but did make some good lay-offs with feet. Had bottle to take the penalty and thump it home.
Chamakh – 7 – Looked slow when came on (but no slower than his arrival) but his touch helped take advantage of the greater spaces opening up. Finishing a little rusty.
Mutch – 6 – Helped slow the game down and save a point... then had a small role in the winner.
Lee – 7 – I was muttering about a lack of pace; there was certainly plenty generated by his boot!