LIVE: STOKE CITY v PETERBOROUGH UNITED: Posh beaten away from home again, but they didn’t deserve this one
Posh have picked up just three points from eight away games ahead of a trip to the Bet365 Stadium to play the team in fifth place.
It’s a homecoming for new Posh assistant manager Matthew Etherington who faces the club with whom he finished his playing career.
Follow all the action live on the PT Blog below.
Stoke City v Peterborough United
Key Events
- Posh have the worst away record in the Championship with 7 defeats in 8 games
- Stoke City have won 5 of their 8 home games losing just once, to Championship leaders Bournemouth
- Versatile defender Nathan Thompson expected to return for Posh after suspension
- New Posh assistant manager Matthew Etherington finished his playing career at Stoke
- Stoke goalkeeper Josef Bursik was in goal for Posh when they clinched promotion from League One last season
Full-time: Stoke City 2, Posh 0.
Goals at the start and the end of the game win the day for Stoke. Inbetween Posh were much the better team withiout testing the goalkeeper.
Posh chase an equaliser
96: Can you believe it Demeble tackles, Caampbell bursts away scores. Fine finish and game over
94: Booking Cambell hacking Knight.
93 Posh win a corner, but Thompson fouls goalie
7 mins added time for Posh to play against 10 men.
90: Flashpoint, Surridge trying to time waste. Knight pushes him into hoardings. Surridge retliates with his head into chest. RED card for Surridge, yellow for Knight.
88: Great cross Ward. Burrows ar far post difficult and wide.
87: Unreal from the ref. Posh break Dembele on the ball. He stops play as Stoke player claims a head injury. Stoke players have been sitting down all half,
86: Poor from Ward with players lining up in the middle he shoots well wide
85: Knight immediately on the ball in the oppo area. Slices wide with his left foot,
84: Knight for Beevers
82; Stoke now continually slowing the game down. Surridge now on for Fletcher
82; Corner punched pinball in Stoke area, Szmodics volley 25 yards blocked
82 Szmodics into area, shot blocked corner,
10 to go Posh haven’t really threatened since Taylor hit the bar.
80: Smith booked cycnical foul.
79: Dembele now on the left. Stoke seem happy with 1-0 although they burst into the area and Steven Fletcher is thwarted by Thompson.
77: Campbell for Brown,
76: Dembele wins a corner. Again taken short, Grant shoots weakly wide.
73: Dembele hacked twice in succession, Allen caution after full-back was let off.
71 Burrows for Butler. Butler wasn’t great
Posh still have wingbacks, Grant has dropped deeper.
68: JCH on for Norburn.
Posh appear to have weathered a mini Stoke storm. Back in control again, still not seen a save from home keeper though.
The game stopping constantly as Stoke players keep sitting down. Sub now as Morgan Fox comes on for Josh Tymon
59: Posh spring back into life. Ward wins a corner. Taken short, Dembele dribbles into area, but shot blocked.
57: Oh how’s your luck, Taylor rattles the underside of the crossbar frpom 25 yards. Szmodics heads home rebound but well offside
55 Goodback post header Ward to concede another corner. Posh clear and breath a sign of relief
54: My how did that not go in. Great double save Cornell from Batth and then Fletcher,
Stoke win header at far post cleared though, ball returned by Sawyers skims off Kent’s head for a corner.
Dembele gives ball away, Taylor cautioned and he’s furious. Replay suggests ref was right. Free kick 25 yards out
Think Stoke boss has got into his players at half time. They look more positive in these early stages.
Crowd is 21,285 (1.026 Posh).
48: Crikey Cornell comes for a ball he can’t get outside his, Brown takes it past him, but his shit is weak and easily intercepted by Thompson.
No changes for either side.
The teams are back out, big roar from the Posh fans.
Posh will kick off
Half-time Stoke 1, Posh 0
And that’s half-time. Plenty to encourage Posh. Unlucky to be behind to a deflected goal.
Posh just can’t get the final shot/pass right. They’ve been the better side since conceding without testing the goalkeeper. Stoke have been poor.
45 Ward wins corner. Taken short and shot blocked again.
44 Ward and Dembele combine the latter dances into the area shot deflected but not into path of several Posh players
Corner hit long and cleared. Vrancic at other shoots well wide from distance
41 Great pass Thompson, Ward into area, cuts inside, back outside, shot deflected wide
Cornell catches
39: First Stoke corner. This could be a challenge.
Posh continue to press. Szmodics working hard. They’re trying to get the ball forward a little quicker.
36 Grant just clears the bar from 25 yards. Good spell from Posh.
35: Fine run Szmodics. Support is slow to arrive but he wins corner which is taken short and Ward shot blocked.
34: Grant free kick clears bar, goalie unconcerned. Posh have the pace to unsettle this defence if they can move the ball quicker.
33 Szmodics wins free kick on edge. At an angle though. A more direct ball might work against a slow defence
Now Stoke pass the ball out of play. A longer ball from Posh and goalie pressured into kicking the ball out
31 Posh try a long throw and get nowhere. Good from Dembele to win the throw.
30. 0-0. After a lively start thois has become very poor. No threat from either side. Build-ups very slow and often inaccurate
Free kick wasted, Posh immediately give it away again trying to play out from the back, sigh,
28: Late call by ref for foul by Kent, but replays show he was correct. Free kick Stoke
Excellent sweeper skills Cornell as ball played in behind Ward
25: Late challenge on Grant. Batth booked, Posh wanted more
Posh appear to have stopped pressing
Beevers free header from corner, but header misdirected. Taylor overhits return to keeper
23 Good run Grant, Szmodics finds him, cross is good, no-one in middle though, bit corner
Hull winning Posh into bottom 3 as it stands
21 back, back, back Cornell kicks it out of play sigh
20 Ward interception, he could shoot, but passes inside, Posh eventually crowded out.
15: Ward blocks cross, injured.
Ward up and back on.
14: Posh have a lot of possession, but keep turning back, Stoke break and two passes later crossing the ball into the area, Taylor clears
Stoke playing a high defensive line, making the pitch small,
Stoke knocking the ball about with confidence now
9 quick free kick. Brown into area, Thompson blocks
Stoke also pressing and Posh having to hurry their clearances
8 mins Good grief, Kent underhits backpass Cornell clearance hits Brown, but goes wide of goal. Kent apologises
Posh are pressing high which might explain JCH absence. They’ve started ok despite conceding
Posh respond well to falling behind win a corner, Beevers heads the second cross into keepers’ arms
Vrancic given a lot of time to shoot from 25 yards and he did, off a defender into the corner. Disaster
3 mins Stoke score big deflection
Dembele furthest forward. Szmodics also centra;
Fergie was expecting a Stoke onslaught early doors, ball currently in home half
Wing-backs it is. Thompson in the middle of the back three. Butler and Ward wingbacks
1 And we’re off
Posh will attack the end housing their own fans in the first-half
Posh are in their fancy away kit
Here come the teams. right in front of the 1,000 or so Posh fans who have been in good voice already
Teams will be out soon once the obligatory Sweet Caroline is over. The Hen party in the box behind men are enjoying it at least.
Former Posh player Dean Holden is Stoke’s assistant manager. Dave Hibbert works at Stoke and Kevin Russell works in the club’s Academy.
Not sure what to make of that Posh line-up. Ward and Butler could be wing-backs. Fergie spoke of changing formations mid-game and this line-up could certainly do that. Surprised JCH is on bench though.
Referee today is Eddie Wolstenholme. Apart from a mad five minutes before half-time he was fine in the Coventry v Posh match earlier this season
Posh have left centre forwardf Jonson Clarke-Harris on the substitutes’ bench. Versatile defender Nathan Thompson is back after suspension and Jorge Grant is recalled with Harrison Burrows dropping to the bench.
There is no place in the Stoke matchday squad for their former on-loan Posh keeper Josef Bursik.
Posh: Dai Cornell, Nathan Thompson, Dan Butler, Frankie Kent, Mark Beevers, Jack Taylor, Oliver Norburn, Joe Ward, Jorge Grant, Siriki Dembele, Sammie Szmodics. Substitutes: Jonson Clarke-Harris, Idris Kanu, Will Blackmore, Conor Coventry, Josh Knight, Ronnie Edwards, Harrison Burrows
Stoke: Adam Davies, Leo Ostigard, Danny Batth, Tommy Smith, James Chester, Joe Allen, Mario Vrancic, Josh Tymon, Jacob Brown, Romaine Sawyers, Steve Fletcher. Substitutes: Jack Bonham, Morgan Fox, Tyrese Campbell, Ben Wilmot, Demeaco Duhaney, Sam Surridge, Tom Ince.
Big match build-up
Posh players currently walking on the pitch which looks in good nick.
Matthew Etherington is not the only Posh player to be popular in these parts. Gaby Zakuani played right back in a Tony Pulis side that won promotion to the Premier League.
I’ve arrived at the BET365 Stadium ahead of Stoke City v Posh. A bit chilly and breezy, but another terrific stadium for Posh fans to visit.
Team news around 2pm