Crawley Town Vs Stoke City - Match Report

Stoke City reached their third Fa Cup quarter-final for the third season running on Sunday as they breezed past League Two side, Crawley Town. After a mid-week defeat at the hands of Valencia, it was a game in which the Potters needed to ‘dust themselves down’ and regain the momentum they showed in the early part of the season.  Tony Pulis made six changes for the tie as he introduced; Danny Collins, Cameron Jerome, Matthew Upson, Glenn Whelan, Ryan Shotton and Dean Whitehead back into the fray.

Despite the league positioning difference between the two sides, Crawley started the stronger and put the Premier League side under pressure from the off with a succession of corners. The Potters remained firm though as Collins managed to clear the ball away despite David Hunt’s accurate delivery.  However, the League Two side nearly took the lead inside the first ten minutes as Hunt’s delivery fooled both Collins and Begovic which allowed the ball to bounce off Peter Crouch, before rebounding off the crossbar. 

As both sides are notorious in their respective league’s for ‘hurting’ the opposition from set pieces, it came as no great surprise that both looked dangerous from throw-ins and corners. Stoke’s first real attack came in the 13^th minute as Rory Delap had his first opportunity to test the Crawley defence. Although Crouch rose highest, his header flew over the top of the crossbar, much to the relief of debutant ‘keeper Rene Gilmartin.  The Premier League outfit were beginning to introduce themselves to the home crowd as every attack produced a shooting opportunity. This time, Delap combined with Jon Walters which allowed the Irish striker to pull the trigger from the left hand edge of the penalty area. However, again Gilmartin was not tested as Walters dragged his shot wide of the right hand post.

Controversy struck in the 17^th minute when Delap dived into a challenge with Hunt, but despite replays showing the midfielder was first to the ball, referee Mike Jones sent Delap for an early bath as he was shown a straight red card. Begovic was called into the action to make his first save in the 31^st minute as Kyle McFadzean tried his luck after a spell of possession for the League Two side. His shot was fired straight at the Bosnian though, making it a comfortable save for the ex-Portsmouth ‘keeper.

Further controversy struck in the 42^nd minute as McFadzean bundled Ryan Shawcross over in the penalty area, leaving Mike Jones with no option but to award the Premier League side a penalty. Regular penalty taker, Walters, stepped up and fired the ball past Gilmartin into the right hand corner of the net giving the Potters the lead at half-time.

The second half was one of few chances but it was again Stoke who made theirs count when it came to goals and they doubled their lead in the 53^rd minute when Whelan whipped in a free-kick from mid-way inside the Crawley half, before Crouch leapt up at the far post to head the ball past Gilmartin, sending the one thousand travelling Potters fans into raptures and dreaming of another trip to Wembley.

Crawley began to let their frustrations tell as shots were fired from long-range which meant that Begovic didn’t have to pull off a smart save in either half. However, Crawley did come close mid-way through the second half when a ball in from Dean Howell was met by Tyrone Barnett who swivelled before unleashing his shot, which looked to be heading past Begovic, but it took a deflection off Shawcross before flying over the bar.

On-loan Arsenal striker Sanchez Watt came closest to grabbing a goal for the League Two side when he found himself with the ball in-front of goal, but his shot flew just over the bar, much to the relief of Begovic. Crawley had one last chance to send Potters’ hearts racing in injury time when Scott Nielson’s ball into the danger zone wasn’t cleared by the Stoke defence, allowing Barnett to head the ball towards goal before it struck Collins on the line, on what looked to be his left arm. Much to the disappointment of Crawley though, the referee waved play on and Stoke maintained their clean sheet.

The Potters face a tricky trip to Anfield in the quarter-final but should they beat the Reds, another trip to Wembley awaits and who knows, maybe the Fa Cup could be heading back to the Potteries for the first time.

Written by Hannah Burrows