O’Neil’s ‘silly’ red card cost us the game , says Norwich boss
NEARLY two hours after Gary O’Neil senselessly launched himself into the back of Ibrahim Afellay, Norwich manager Alex Neil was struggling to explain what was going through his player’s mind. He was not alone.
A more stupid sending-off you will seldom see. It cost Norwich dearly as they were forced to play for an hour at the Britannia Stadium with 10 men. And it could cost them even more in the long run.
They are battling for their Premier League lives and O’Neil will miss the next three games through suspension. No wonder the 32-yearold midfielder apologised to his team-mates at half-time because it was a shocking lapse of judgment from a player of his experience.
With half an hour gone and the game goalless, O’Neil chased the ball to the touchline, where Afellay was ushering it out of play in front of the Stoke dug-out.
The ball was actually over the line by the time O’Neil launched into a scissor tackle through the back of the Dutchman, sending him sprawling to the turf in agony. Stoke manager Mark Hughes and his staff were off the bench in unison, and understandably so. A brief melee ensued while referee Neil Swarbrick reached for the easiest red card he will show this season.
‘For an experienced player to make that decision in such an important game was silly to say the least,’ said a baffled Neil afterwards.
‘I was surprised as anybody to see the tackle go in. There’s no defending it. It was certainly a sending- off and Gary has come in at half-time and apologised to his team-mates.
‘It was a bad decision from Gary. The ball was going out aimlessly at the halfway line. I don’t think there were any flashpoints before that riled him up.
‘It was completely out of character. If I was to pick a player in our squad who wouldn’t do that, it would be Gary O’Neil. It made our task a lot more difficult.
‘Up to that point we started really well. I don’t think you could have called a winner before the sending-off.
‘He knows he’s done wrong. It’s disappointing for all
concerned because it’s not helped our cause tonight and it’s certainly not going to help us in the next three games when we’ve got an experienced player missing. But me slating him here isn’t going to help us.’
O’Neil’s team- mates deserve great credit for making a game of it after Jonathan Walters put Stoke ahead five minutes into the second half.
Vadis Odjidja- Ofoe was guilty of going in halfhearted in a 50-50 tackle with Marko Arnautovic. The Austrian won the ball and immediately crossed to the far post for Walters to slide in and turn the ball past Norwich goalkeeper Declan Rudd.
The last thing anyone expected at that point was a Norwich equaliser but it arrived five minutes later — and what a strike it was.
Wes Hoolahan clipped a pass to the edge of the penalty box and Odjidja- Ofoe chested it down for Jonny Howson to hit a cracking effort into the top corner.
It was always going to be difficult for Norwich to hold out for a point and the impressive Joselu put Stoke back in front in the 67th minute, firing through the legs of Ryan Bennett and into the bottom corner after Afellay had touched a clearing header from Sebastien Bassong into the path of his team-mate.
Stoke sealed victory 11 minutes later when Affelay’s free-kick had Bennett backpedalling under pressure and the ball glanced off the defender’s head and into his own net.
‘The sending-off changed the shape of the game,’ acknowledged Stoke boss Mark Hughes, who also revealed that Xherdan Shaqiri could be out for up to two weeks with the hamstring injury that forced him to miss this match.
‘It was a strange decision by the lad to go into the challenge. Both of his legs have left the ground in a scissor motion so it’s a dangerous challenge. It just didn’t make sense.’
STOKE CITY (4-2-3-1): Butland 6; Johnson 6.5, Shawcross 6.5, Wollscheid 6, Pieters 6.5; Afellay 6.5, Whelan 6; Walters 7, Krkic 6 (Odemwingie 56 min, 6), Arnautovic 7 (Van Ginkel 76); Joselu 7.5 (Crouch 82). Subs not used: Haugaard, Wilson, Adam, Diouf.
Scorers: Walters 50, Joselu 67, Bennett (og) 78.
NORWICH CITY (4-5-1): Rudd 6; Martin 5.5, Bennett 5.5, Bassong 6.5, Brady 6.5; Tettey 6, O’Neil 4, Howson 7, Hoolahan 6.5 (Jarvis 63, 6), Odjidja-Ofoe 6 (Redmond 62, 6); Mbokani 5.5 (Jerome 75, 6). Subs not used: Ruddy, Wisdom, Dorrans, Olsson. Scorers: Howson 55. Booked: Tettey. Sent off: O’Neil. Man of the match: Joselu. Referee: Neil Swarbrick 7. Attendance: 27,274.