EARLY CHRISTMAS PRESENT AS POTTERS EARN CAPITAL VICTORY
THAT was as solid a professional performance as you’d care to see, topped with two cracking goals, sealing an away win in London to boot, which we all know are rarer than hens’ teeth... or Stoke penalties hitting the back of the net.
It arrived via three pivotal moments in the match, begun by another peach of a goal laid on by Mario Vrancic. The Bosnian slid a perfectlyweighted through-ball, which zipped across the slick, damp Loftus Road turf, and was finished on the run, first time, by Tyrese Campbell, low to the keeper’s left.
With aplomb.
That came just after Campbell had had another glorious chance saved by Seny Dieng in the Rangers goal, as the striker started the match hungry for action and involvement, sniffing space, shooting on sight.
It was wonderful to see. Tye’s confidence is building and that is great, but as sharp and in tune with his game as Campbell looked this weekend, last Saturday he had seemed lethargic and off the pace. Such is the way of a returning player who has spent 12 months out. Tye won’t be anywhere near 100% match fitness or sharpness yet, as his departure on 66 minutes showed, but he is getting there.
Championship defences should be very, very afraid.
Conversely Campbell’s strike partner Steven Fletcher had some terrible luck in front of goal. Twice in the first half Rangers men got in the way of certain goals, first when Dieng reacted quickly to get up off the floor to smother Fletcher’s follow up to Campbell’s initial shot two yards out and then, just before half-time, when Yoann Barbet inadvertently diverted a goalbound shot onto the post with his thigh after slipping over.
At that point you had to wonder if this was going to be yet another one of ‘those’ games.
Michael O’neill had the side defensively very well organised with Morgan Fox offering good balance on the left side of the three-man defence and as City grew into the match either side of half time you felt like it could just be our day.
Then came the second pivotal moment of the game. Vrancic bearhugged Barbet to the ground but Charlie Austin had been watching too many Potters take spot-kicks and emulated almost a decade’s worth of dreadful penalties, allowing Adam Davies to swoop to his right and fingertip the ball away via the post.
That’s one spot-kick save each for Davies and Joe Bursik in London and it was heartening to realise it isn’t just us who is terrible from 12 yards.
So, it was our day and it was down to that man Vrancic to seal the points with his third intervention in the game when he ambled forward languidly, shifted the ball onto his less-favoured right foot and slotted the ball brilliantly into the bottom right corner from 22 yards with 13 minutes to go.
Thank heavens for Davies, though. For quite a while it was touch and go at either end, but a series of seven superb saves by the Welsh custodian, especially the early one from Ilias Chair’s skidding header and two
late parries from close range in the crowded penalty area kept Stoke’s noses in front.
It was a superb performance by the keeper in difficult handling conditions to secure a clean sheet, three points and a first win in the capital for over 2,500 days. It was also just the second occasion this season on which City have scored more than one goal away from home in a league game.
No wonder the ‘Five Pints of Bass’ song came out in Yuletide celebration.
The up and down season continues.
At least the players can take a hardearned breather from competitive football this midweek to rest and work on formations and tactics with O’neill, given that the hectic Christmas and New Year period is looming.
Consistency is the one thing which has been missing in recent weeks, but Sunday’s game showed all the constituent parts are there.
As ever, putting them together for 90 minutes is the problem which O’neill has to solve week by week in his quest for a solid play-off position.