Stoke 1 - 0 NewcastleXherdan Shaqiri strikes for Stoke City as Newcastle United feel the chill
Home team scorersXherdan Shaqiri 80
Warm weather training in Spain is possibly not the ideal preparation for sub-Arctic conditions in Stoke but Newcastle United were coping with the chill factor until Xherdan Shaqiri struck 10 minutes from time to turn up the heat on Steve McClaren.
An unerring swing of Shaqiri’s left boot lifted Stoke above Chelsea and Southampton in the table and left Newcastle stuck in the bottom three, looking on with envy as their relegation rivals Swansea won at Arsenal to move six points above the drop zone. A draw would not have been an injustice on a night when driving, icy winds made football difficult, as it was not one of Stoke’s more impressive performances and the travelling supporters must have left wondering when conditions will favour a Newcastle recovery if a fortnight off could not do the trick.
Bournemouth at home on Saturday presents an obvious opportunity but anything less than a win will spell trouble. “It’s still in our hands, Saturday becomes huge for us now,” said McClaren. “We have talked about becoming harder to beat and we started that process tonight.” More controversially the Newcastle manager said he thought he detected improvement in his side, though it turned out he was basing that assessment on the abject performance in the last game at Chelsea.
This was such a scrappy, squally game it was obvious the first goal or moment of skill might settle it and so it proved, even though the breakthrough took 80 minutes to arrive. Shaqiri turned up in the middle instead of marauding down the right and beat a statuesque Rob Elliot from a good couple of yards outside the area with a crisp shot the goalkeeper evidently did not see coming.
The first half had been a largely featureless affair, notable only for the two shirtless cheerleaders among Newcastle’s support giving in to the cold and getting dressed after 15 minutes, and the quality of Shaqiri’s crosses into Newcastle’s penalty area. Had there been anyone of similar quality on the end of them the game might not have gone so long without a goal but they all eluded Jon Walters and no other Stoke players ever got near enough.
Newcastle were even less ambitious, content mostly to admire Stoke’s neat build-ups and keep them at bay on the edge of their area. Jonjo Shelvey brought a save from Jack Butland as early as the fifth minute, though the shot was tame in the extreme and neither Newcastle nor their captain managed much else on target in the first 45 minutes.
Not that Stoke’s shot count was much more impressive. For all the cultured touches shown by Ibrahim Afellay and Marko Arnautovic, the main threat was always Shaqiri, who forced a save from Elliot when he grew tired of crossing and cut inside for a shot.
Newcastle’s hesitant approach was neatly summed up when Georginio Wijnaldum played Moussa Sissoko through on goal on the stroke of the interval. A more confident striker might have made more of the opportunity or at least managed a shot. Sissoko did not react sharply enough and allowed the American Geoff Cameron to check back and dispossess him.
After Cameron wasted an overlap opportunity with a feeble cross into Elliot’s arms, Mark Hughes made an overdue substitution and sent on Peter Crouch. If ever there was a night for a direct approach this was it, though it was Shaqiri who went straight for goal, cutting out the new target man.
Newcastle might have pulled a goal back in the closing minutes but for a superb reaction save from Butland to keep out Seydou Doumbia’s shot, before Arnautovic ended the match by hitting Elliot’s bar. “Butland is becoming a bit of a curse for us, he made four magnificent saves at St James Park and now he has cost us a deserved point,” McClaren said afterwards.
Hughes did not quite see it that way. “Over the course of a season an outstanding keeper earns you points,” the Stoke manager said. “Jack is doing exactly that and it is the sign of a great keeper still to be able to react after not having much to do for most of the game.”
Guardian
