Stoke held by West Brom

Stoke City were unable to arrest their poor run of form after being held to a drab 0-0 draw with West Bromwich Albion at the Britannia Stadium.

Last Updated: 16/03/13 at 18:05 Post Comment

Liam Ridgewell kept close tabs on Jon Walters

Liam Ridgewell kept close tabs on Jon Walters

Tony Pulis' side went into the game with only one win in ten matches and although they controlled the first half, they couldn't force a breakthrough.

West Brom assumed the ascendancy after the break, but despite a trio of chances falling to Romelu Lukaku, they too were unable to grab a winner.

Both teams failed to impress in a poor first half desperately short on quality. Stoke showed no end of energy and commitment, but they were totally bereft of penetration going forward and created chances only from high balls into the box.

The first came after four minutes, when Cameron Jerome scooped a header over and wide from the penalty spot after a cross from Matthew Etherington on the left wing.

West Brom then had the best chance of the half a minute later through Chris Brunt, but having been played through on goal following a slick passing move, the Northern Irishman fired his low, left-footed shot straight at Asmir Begovic.

The visitors persistently struggled to retain possession and spent much of the opening period on the back foot, albeit defending the barrage of crosses into the box stoutly.

They improved considerably after the break, though, and should have gone ahead within two minutes of the restart, when Jerome Thomas planted a cross straight on the head of Lukaku, only for the Belgian to head down and into the arms of Begovic.

The on-loan Chelsea forward then spurned an even better chance seven minutes later. This time it was the marauding Liam Ridgewell who found him with a pinpoint left-wing cross, but Lukaku failed to make contact with the ball and Marc Wilson gratefully cleared.

He still wasn't finished, though, because just after the hour mark Begovic deflected a James Morrison cross on to Lukaku's face and the ball rebounded just the wrong side of the post.

West Brom manager sent on Peter Odemwingie and the controversial forward twice drew saves from Begovic with shots from outside the box, before Wilson went close at the other end for Stoke with a header from a corner.

The hosts thought they had won it at the death when substitute Kenwyne Jones brilliantly collected a high ball on his chest and stabbed a shot goalwards, but man-of-the-match Ben Foster was right behind it.

Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Sky Bet

    • Retrieving latest Sky Bet odds

More Match Results

Sunday, 19 May 2013
16:00
Chelsea 2-1 Everton Report
Liverpool 1-0 QPR Report
Man City 2-3 Norwich Report
Newcastle 0-1 Arsenal Report
Southampton 1-1 Stoke City Report
Swansea 0-3 Fulham Report
Tottenham 1-0 Sunderland Report
West Brom 5-5 Man Utd Report
West Ham 4-2 Reading Report
Wigan 2-2 A Villa Report

Barclays Premier League

Position Team P GD PTS
1 Man Utd 38 43 89
2 Man City 38 32 78
3 Chelsea 38 36 75
4 Arsenal 38 35 73
5 Tottenham 38 20 72
6 Everton 38 15 63
7 Liverpool 38 28 61
8 West Brom 38 -4 49
9 Swansea 38 -4 46
10 West Ham 38 -8 46
11 Norwich 38 -17 44
12 Fulham 38 -10 43
13 Stoke City 38 -11 42
14 Southampton 38 -11 41
15 A Villa 38 -22 41
16 Newcastle 38 -23 41
17 Sunderland 38 -13 39
18 Wigan 38 -26 36
19 Reading 38 -30 28
20 QPR 38 -30 25

Updated Sun, 19 May 2013

Footer 365

CL final: Bastian Schweinsteiger aiming to treat Wembley to footballing perfection

Bayern Munich's Bastian Schweinsteiger aims to treat Wembley to footballing perfection in the Champions League final.

Pardew to remain at the helm

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew will remain in charge at St James' Park after holding talks about his future with owner Mike Ashley.

LB: Toffees won't come unstuck

Leighton Baines insists the upheaval of losing manager David Moyes to Manchester United after 11 years in charge will not derail Everton.

Mail Box

More Scared Of Losing AVB Than Bale...

We thought we would have to resort to another mailbox about maths but we've had some grand opinions about Man United, Newcastle, Tottenham and more. Oh and maths...

An Ode To Rafa And Loads More Mails...

We have one Chelsea fan who recognises the job done by Rafa Benitez while there's maths from Liverpool, Newcastle and Manchester. And Shawcross to Arsenal? Nah...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved