SUPER MARIO SHINES IN CAPITAL
Boss praises Vrancic after star turn in thrilling away-day success
MICHAEL O’neill toasted Mario Vrancic’s matchwinning performance as Stoke City secured a fine win away at top-six rivals Queens Park Rangers.
Vrancic brilliantly made the first goal for Tyrese Campbell and scored the second himself – after watching Adam Davies save a penalty he had conceded at the other end – for Stoke’s first win at London since October 2014.
O’neill praised Vrancic’s contribution off the ball as well as with it as Stoke then kept a clean sheet against a side which has been scoring so freely.
The manager said: “He’s got real quality Mario, that’s why we brought him to the club. He’s demonstrated that on more than one occasion this season.
He played some fantastic passes, passes that other players don’t see, and he’s given us that something extra at times this season. We’re delighted to have him.
“He’s a little bit of a throwback as a player but where he was good today, I have to say, was out of possession because he had to get out and get up to Dickie when he stepped into the game and manage Johansen, who’s a good player, clever and goes in behind.
“Mario had a bit of defensive responsibility there and he gave us a balance on the left defensively as well as the quality on the ball we know we’re going to get.”
Davies made a series of impressive saves, including stopping Charlie Austin’s low penalty.
O’neill said: “He’s a very dependable goalkeeper. He’s demonstrated that on a number of occasions for us.
“I thought he gave a lot of assurance to his back three and I’m delighted for him.
“Him and Joe have been in a battle for that number one jersey and, as Joe’s injury will keep him out for a little bit, if Adam can keep up performances like that then Joe will find it difficult to get back in. That’s the competition you need.”
The win puts Stoke in sixth, one point behind QPR and three behind third-placed West Brom approaching the half-way point of the season – the perfect tonic after losing the last two.
O’neill said: “I thought first half we were very good. We expected a quick start from Rangers and they gave us that.
“They’re in great form, arguably the in-form side in the league if you look at their last five or six results.
“It wasn’t particularly a slow start, but I thought once we got hold of the ball in the first half we showed what we are capable of.
“We knew they would always carry a threat, but I thought 1-0 at half-time was the least we deserved.
“Then second half we knew that the game would become very open. They’re a team that will always attack, they threw a lot of men forward and we had to defend as we did.
“I still felt we carried enough threat on the break, and we got that second goal through Mario.”