No Buts... Jack’s the lad for England
LAMBERT: HE MADE TWO WORLD-CLASS SAVES
STOKE keeper Jack Butland was hailed as the future of England after a stunning display earned his side a vital point at relegation rivals Southampton.
Butland went into the game under pressure after his terrible mistake against Leicester last week cost the Potters victory.
But he was immense in a relegation six-pointer on the south coast as he made a string of second-half saves.
The result leaves Stoke still in the bottom three but looking up after losing just once in their last seven games under new boss Paul Lambert.
Lambert said: “I’m pleased for Jack. Yes, in the Leicester game he made a mistake but he made two great saves immediately afterwards, so I knew then that he’d be fine.
“In the first half here he had nothing to do but in the second half he made two world-class saves. I said before I think he’s the best one around and has a fabulous future.
“He’s a big goalkeeper but he’s a proper bloke too, a really nice professional.
“I think he’s going to be a big player for Stoke and England.”
Lambert was pleased with his team’s gritty performance, even if it wasn’t enough to move them away from relegation trouble.
But for Southampton it was a miserable afternoon. They have now gone a club record eight Premier League home games in a row without a win – and have only won three of the last 21.
No wonder they are only one place above the drop zone and getting nervous.
Under-fire boss Mauricio Pellegrino refused to discuss his future, saying: “Southampton is more important than me. We are obviously disappointed with the result but I won’t say frustrated - frustrated is when you give up. In the second half we did everything to try to win – and deserved to.
“But in football you have to score goals and we couldn’t do it.
“We have to use the second half as a reference for the future and we have to start from the beginning at this tempo.”
Pellegrino had called for ‘togetherness’ in his team’s relegation battle ahead of kick-off – but that’s hard to achieve when you can’t score goals.
An awful, nervy and bitty first half did little to enthuse the Southampton faithful who had braved the cold weather.
In fact, they booed the side off at half-time after barely managing a shot on goal.
Stoke had the better opportunities, with Badou Ndiaye having a 43rd-minute header, from a superb Xherdan Shaqiri pass, well saved by Alex Mccarthy. The second half was a different story as the Saints came out fighting,
Stoke, who lost Mame Biram Diouf to a dislocated shoulder, brought on Peter Crouch to try and win the game – but it backfired as Southampton took control.
Goodness knows how they didn’t score, but Butland can take most of the credit.
He saved twice from the lively Josh Sims and made a stunning tip-over from a Cedric longrange effort.
He also flung himself full length to keep out Nathan Redmond and saved again from Cedric – before Sofiane Boufal (left) helped him out by heading wide when totally unmarked.
The final insult for Southampton came when they lined up a last-minute free-kick looking for a winner – and referee Anthony Taylor blew the final whistle instead.
It was a relief for Stoke fans and for any neutrals in the ground – but a bitter pill for the home support on yet another desperate day at St Mary’s.