Stoke City 0 - West Bromwich Albion 1

Date: Saturday 29th August 2015 
Competition: Barclays Premier League
Stoke:
5.6
WBA:
5.4
Myhill 6.4, Dawson 5.6, McAuley 5.5, Olsson 6.0, Lescott 4.5, Gardner 4.5 (McManaman, 46 4.6), Fletcher 4.6, Yacob 5.0 (Lambert, 34 5.8), Morrison 6.4, McClean 4.0 (Gamboa, 63 4.9), Rondón 7.3
Unused subs: Rose, Gnabry, Ideye, Anichebe
Manager: Tony Pulis 5.4
Scorers: Rondón (45)
Referee: Michael Oliver (Northumberland) 8.1
Attendance: 26,747   Home Fans 5.2   Away Fans 6.8

Summary:

Albion haven't got much out of Stoke in recent memory, especially at the Brittania Stadium. But then Stoke don't normally shoot themselves in the foot - twice - in the first half hour. Albion started with Salomon Rondon on his own up front and Joleon Lescott in for the injured Chris Brunt at left back in what may, if reports are true, be his last game before joining Aston Villa. Saido Berhaino continued his absence from the squad as transfer speculation continued despite Spurs being told he was "not for sale" this week.

The first red card was for Ibrahim Afellay, who slapped Craig Gardner after a minor altercation - Gardner receiving a yellow card for his part. Then, less than ten minutes later, Charlie Adam was adjudged to have stamped on Craig Dawson as he lay on the ground and headed off down the tunnel as well. Albion responded by switching to 4-4-2 with Rickie Lambert replacing Claudio Yacob, and in the third minute of first half added time they took the lead when Rondon headed home from Lambert's cross.

But they failed to take the opportunity to increase the lead in the second half, and it was arguably Stoke who were the better side despite their shortage in numbers. Nonetheless, three useful points as Albion rise to fourteenth place.

Mark Koppel:

Just arrived at Heathrow to hear that justice had finally been done after 3 seasons of Charlie Adam deliberately stamping on West Brom players. Two years ago he dragged his studs down Mulumbu's calf in the penalty box. No penalty and no sending off. Last year he stamped on Berahino at the Hawthorns and got away with it again. Yesterday he finally got what he deserved with yet another cynical use of his studs trying to injure Dawson.

I have only seen extended highlights of the game due to being on holiday so player ratings are based on watching only one hour on the game.

  • Myhill 7 - Caught everything cleanly but never stretched.
  • Dawson 7 - Some good covering even before the sending offs. Got forward quite well.
  • McAuley 7 - Looked strong and committed all game.
  • Olson 7 - As per McAuley and no mistakes this week.
  • Lescott 5 - Lots of backwards and sidewards passing. Not the player he is when at Centre Back or at the start of last season( i.e. Spurs away)
  • McClean 5 - Jury still out at this level.
  • Morrison 7 - Everything seem to come threw him.
  • Fletcher 5 - His non-existent start to the season continues.Does put pressure on referees though to get decisions.
  • Yacob 5 - Fairly non-existent.
  • Gardner 6 - Made the most of his slapped face.
  • Rondon 8 - Worked the front line hard and I for one would love to see him in partnership with Berahino

Subs:

  • Lambert 7 - Great pace for the goal but didn't look like scoring himself
  • Mac 5 - Really didn't make the most of playing against 9 men.
  • Gamboa 4 - Didn't realise he was still on our books. Wasted his opportunity overall considering the space he had to move into.One dreadful shot that has just landed.

oshawabaggie:

This was my first chance to get a look at the 'new' Baggies this season. I haven't read any other posts yet, if there are any, as I don't want them to influence my thoughts. Up until the sendings off there was only one likely winner of this game and it wasn't us. Shaqiri and Adam were in control of the game and causing our ponderous defence problems with their incisive through balls. We created nothing, Mozzas shot aside.

I suppose that technically they were both dismissable offenses, but if they had happened to us Baggieland would have been in uproar.

Even with a two man disadvantage Stoke played the better football at times. Nothing against Johnny Evans, but do we really need another central defender? This squad reminds me of my jigsaw puzzles after my brother had got a hold of them. All jumbled up and impossible to put together. We have decent players who don't want to stay, useless players we can't get rid of, ten centre backs, no fullbacks and no creative midfield. I'm not getting at Pulis, but can someone tell me why we paid 8 million for Chester, who sits on the bench, and are willing sell fan favorite Lescott to Villa for a million? Rondon, who looked a little like Brown Ideye at the start, settled in and scored a good goal - our brightest moment in an otherwise plodding performance. I do agree wholeheartedly with Pulis on the transfer window timing fiasco, but have we spent wisely this summer? How can we keep all these disgruntled players happy if we can't get rid? It will be a managers nightmare, but partly of his making.

To top it off we have an owner who doesn't want the club and can't sell it. Sorry to be so negative, but this looks like a shambles. Oh yeah, we won the game and got three valuable points, but I suspect Stoke will come away from this game feeling better about themselves than we will. I hope my negativity is misplaced.