MX23RW : Wednesday, December 25 04:53:26| >> :120:32480:32480:
[monks data]
Attendance: 30,039
Southampton logo
Premier League
Nov 21, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Stoke logo

0-1

FT(HT: 0-1)
Bojan (10')

Stoke City hold on to edge past Southampton

Bojan scores in the first half as Stoke City win an end-to-end game with Southampton 1-0 at St Mary's.

Bojan's first-half strike has seen Stoke City secure a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the Premier League clash at St Mary's.

The match started in open fashion and both sides had an early chance, first when Dusan Tadic's effort fell wide of the post with Jack Butland beaten, before Marko Arnautovic's shot was blocked and Bojan fired a weak effort straight at Maarten Stekelenburg.

After that frantic start it took just 10 minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was the visitors who found the opener through former Barcelona forward Bojan, when he finished clinically at the near post after Erik Pieters's deflected cross had found its way through.

Bojan Krkic of Stoke City scores his team's first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on November 21, 2015© Getty Images

The goal did not do anything to alter the open flow of the match, and after both sides had threatened to break downfield quickly only a smart instinctive save from Stekelenburg to turn Xherdan Shaqiri's effort round the post prevented the hosts from falling further behind.

Jose Fonte should have done better for Southampton when he could only head over from six yards after he was found by Steven Davis's free kick, and Jonathan Walters shot wide from Bojan's cut-back as both teams continued to create chances as an end-to-end first half began to draw to a close.

Stoke should have doubled their lead just over a minute into the second half when Arnautovic found Shaqiri, but the Swiss midfielder sliced his finish well over from close range.

Tadic and Victor Wanyama came close with efforts from outside the box as Southampton pressed for an equaliser, and substitute Sadio Mane had a fine chance minutes after coming on when his low shot was kept out of the bottom corner by a diving Butland.

As the hosts pushed, however, they left themselves vulnerable to conceding a second, but Stoke were unable to take advantage as after Arnautovic had fired wide, Charlie Adam and Ibrahim Afellay also missed the target as they looked to kill the game off.

A fine fingertip save from Stekelenburg denied Afellay in a frantic finish but in the end Bojan's strike was all that separated the sides as the full-time whistle blew, to move Stoke up into the top half of the table.

ID:258456: cacheID:258456:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4891:
Written by
Tom Nightingale
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jonathan Walters of Stoke City in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Liverpool at Britannia Stadium on August 9, 2015 in Stoke on Trent, England
Read Next:
Jon Walters signs new Stoke City deal
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool16123137162139
2Chelsea17105237191835
3Arsenal1796234161833
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest179442319431
5Bournemouth178452721628
6Aston Villa178452626028
7Manchester CityMan City178362925427
8Newcastle UnitedNewcastle177552721626
9Fulham176742422225
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton176742726125
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1772839251423
12Brentford177283232023
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd176472122-122
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham175572230-820
15Everton163761421-716
16Crystal Palace173771826-816
17Leicester CityLeicester173592137-1614
18Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1733112740-1312
19Ipswich TownIpswich172691632-1612
20Southampton1713131136-256


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!