Match: Stoke City vs West Bromwich Albion
We were hoping to get our own back over a team we thought we could have beat the last time round but didn’t. We had also played our worst game to date at their place. We knew the game was going to be hard and physical and that showed almost immediately when the West Brom centre midfielder put in a strong challenge on me over the ball. The game didn’t really get flowing until around the 30th minute and it was scrappy up till then. But it was West Brom who opened the deadlock with a slack and controversial goal when a cross was delivered and it appeared that their striker bundled the ball over the line with his arm, but the goal was given and we were 1 down.
We came out after half time and still believed that we could get back into the game and this happened when on the hour mark we were awarded a free kick. Tucka was first on the ball and saw that I had peeled free from my marker and quickly floated the ball to the back post where I nodded the ball across the keeper and into the corner of the goal to level things up. After the goal we continued to press on for another goal and the game became a little bit more open which meant chances for both teams.
The game was destined for a draw up until the 90th minute when West Brom hit us on the counter which resulted in a low cross and a controversial winner. Their striker passed the ball low towards goal from 6 yards but it appeared to have been saved by Danzelle which he then pounced on and held in his grasp, but the linesman flagged and awarded a goal which was given and we were dealt a cruel blow in the final minutes of the game. Overall we felt disappointed with both the result and our performances in parts.
