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Stoke 0-0 Southampton: Three things we learnt
Stoke produce a heroic defensive performance
After being reduced to ten men mid-way through the first half you had to fear for Stoke as they faced up to the reality of playing over two-thirds of the game with a player down. There can be few complaints regarding Arnautovic’s red card but his clumsy tackle certainly put his team mates in an unenviable position with a man down against an extremely good opposition in the form of Southampton. However, The Potters produced an astonishing display of disciplined defending that allowed them to claim a share of the spoils – and you have to admit that the home side were well worth a point.
Yes, The Saints dominated possession, pinned the hosts into their own half and could have easily have secured victory had Jay Rodriguez’s studs been a centimetre longer, but in reality Stoke restricted the number of chances that the visitors created to a bare minimum. Ryan Shawcross, on his return from injury, and Bruno Martins-Indi resembled a brick wall at the heart of The Potters’ defence that Southampton struggled to break down. Joe Allen and Glen Whelan worked tirelessly across the midfield, often being forced to chase shadows as they became outnumbered in central areas. Even Jonathon Walters, who was given the unenviable task of ploughing a lone furrow up front, did his best to be a nuisance to the Southampton defenders and held the ball up well despite limited support. Finally, when Claude Puel’s side did break through the massed ranks of red and white stripes they came up against a goalkeeper in Lee Grant who is in the best form of his career.
The sending off somewhat ruined the game as a spectacle, a shame given the fact that the opening twenty minutes had been open and entertaining, and you can hardly blame the home side for covering up and looking to hold on for a point. In the end, The Potters were well worth their clean sheet, simply based on their outstanding defensive performance.