Stoke stalemate
report from official swfc site
It wasn't a win but on the plus side it wasn't a defeat either and in
the current circumstances the Owls can take heart from that and
the fact they managed to keep their first clean sheet of the season.
This was always going to be a
test of character for Wednesday
considering their league form
this season and as expected
Stoke threw the kitchen sink at
the beleaguered Wednesday
defence.
Indeed at times it was backs to
the wall stuff with Stoke keeper
Ward not having a serious save
to make before the interval as
the Second Division side piled
on the pressure.
Indeed Wednesday enjoyed
their share of luck as Peter
Thorne hit the inside of the post
with Kevin Pressman beaten
after getting on the end of Kyle
Lightbourne's flick.
The hosts also had a good claim for a penalty turned down when Lee
Briscoe appeared to fell Chris Short in the Wednesday area as he
tried to reach Graham Kavanagh's pass. Whilst Des Walker also
came close to putting the ball into his own net.
Half-time Stoke 0-0 Owls
Thankfully it was a different story in the second half as Andy Booth and
Gilles De Bilde went close from Briscoe's corner. Then De Bilde hit
the post from a yard out after Ward had somehow clawed away
Booth's header.
Beni Carbone once again found himself on the bench and came on
for De Bilde with just over half an hour to go and looked particularly
dangerous and with just twenty minutes to go his 35-yard drive nearly
led to a goal as Ward parried the shot but stumbled off-balance but
Andy Booth with plenty of time fired off target.
Stoke almost snatched a winner six minutes from time when Thorne's
diving header, from Short's cross, flew just wide of Pressman's goal.
Nevertheless Wednesday held out for a draw that will hopefully lay the
foundations for a prolonged recovery both in the cup but more crucially
in the league as well.
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Briscoe