Rapport från Dave, vår man på plats
Dave var på plats i lördags när kontraktet säkrades på KC Stadium mot Hull. Här kommer hans rapport och bilder.
Aye up duck,
"WE ARE STAYING UP ..........WE ARE STAYING UP"
Pete, Wils, Charlotte and me made the journey up to Kingston-upon-Hull to witness the mighty potters securing premiership football at "The Brit" next year by winning away from home for only the second time this season.
Incidentally, both of our away wins have come against the two rivals that came up with us from the Championship last season.
I think that we all felt pretty relaxed and had the feeling that Stoke had already done enough this season to ensure our Premiership status. I know I did.
The now customary sausage sandwich was washed down with a can or two of Carlsberg (sorry Swedes) as talk focussed on Stoke getting to safety as soon as possible and thus avoid any undue nerves in the remainding games of the season.
Once we got to Hull, Pete (now there’s a surprise) knew of a Social club that sold cheap Guinness (only £2.30) which was only a short walk from the away end. They even allowed us to park there for free although they did charge £1 to get in. The place was full of Stokies who were enjoying a quiet beer or two before the match once they had endured the gruelling task of having to queue for a fair bit. Steve (spam head) joined us as he had travelled by train as he lives "up north".
The Kingston Community stadium is an impressive ground that has all its corners filled in.
It was a colourful spectacle that greeted us once we had entered the away end. Bright sunshine mixed with the colours of the Hull fans home shirts & the Stokies red 'n' white ones. I much prefer it when Stoke play in red 'n' white stripes away from home. I would imagine that at Arsenal for the last game of the season they will probably wear the new black away kit.
I was surprised by the lack of support from the home fans. I thought that the place would be rocking but their fans seemed too nervous. Who could blame them, they are are on a terrible run and their home form has been poor all season. The 2,500 Stokies however were in full voice throughout the game.
Sorro - Good 'hands' again but also got down well to 'shot stop' when called upon. He will be disappointed to of been beaten by a free kick from outside of the area for the second successive week.
Shawcross - Moved to right back and actually did OK. His extra height in that position was also useful.
Wilko - Switched to left back and had a really good game. What you get with Wilko is 100% effort but he is improving in other aspects of his game. He showed today that his distribution can be good. At this rate he has the potential to be Stoke player for a long time to come.
Ab Faye - Quality. Has become a real cult (I said cult) figure. I'll never tire of seeing him run up to the fans at the end.
Cort - Pulis surprised us all by including the forgotten man and ex-Hull defender Leon Cort. He hadn't started a league match since he played ironically against Hull back in November. He actually did well considering his lack of match practice.
Lawrence - Celebrated his call up to the Ireland squad with that wonder goal. He picked his spot superbly. Him & B.T. seem to be real mates.
Delap - As usual worked all afternoon.
Whelan - Played well. Unlucky not to score with those 2 second half efforts.
Etherington - I thought he did OK although I think his early booking had an effect on his game. After his sending off at Sunderland he did not want another red card here. I was fuming when the referee failed to book a Hull player for a foul on Ethers soon after his booking.
Fuller - Great swivel to score the opener. Surprisingly passed to Lawrence for the second.
B.T. - Good performance. B.T. does so much unnoticed work. For Fullers goal he blocked off a Hull defender so that Fuller had a clear effort on goal quite brilliantly.
Cresswell - On for the tired B.T. Pulis only seems to play Cressie at away games nowadays. I am sure if Hull had equalised he would of been blamed.
Pugh & Kelly - Late replacements for Ethers & Fuller.
Great scenes at the end with the players (even Pulis) coming up to the supporters. The spirit really feels like the fans and supporters are together.
Another great result and a great day out.
"WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE...............WE ARE PREMIER LEAGUE"
......Dave
