HUGHES ROCKED
Brighton’s £13m ace Izquierdo nicks point
MARK HUGHES spent most of this match in his seat, no doubt pleased wi t h what he was seeing. But then, with Jose Izquierdo’s little prod on the hour for 2-2, it maybe felt a touch hot and up he got.
There cannot be a lot of comfort for the Welshman right now, and particularly not last night, when he will have been more acutely aware than normal of a Premier League manager’s mortality.
The sacking of Tony Pulis will have resonated, not so much on the grounds of shared nationality but because it means four of the five clubs beneath Stoke have booted their bosses this season.
It is like an ugly game of dominoes. So for that reason, this will feel like a game that got away, given Stoke led twice and were pegged back twice. In the first i nstance, i t was Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who nudged them in front, only for Pascal Gross to reset the game on the brink of halftime. Then, with that half still not up, Kurt Zouma headed Stoke into the lead again. Good stuff, solid, a win on the cards against a side who would be drawing rave reviews if it wasn’t for Burnley and Watford. Except, it wasn’t to be. Izquierdo, Brighton’s £13.5mil- lion record signing and a winger who has made at best a middling impression since arriving, had his flourish and the game was level.
Great for Chris Hughton, whose side go five games unbeaten in the top flight, but a royal pain in the backside for Hughes. They are three unbeaten, but their proximi ty to the relegation zone is impossible to ignore.
But whatever the implications, this was occasionally a brilliant game. The first half was excellent, a fairly even split of chances, minor assaults and major grumbles.
Brighton probably shaded it until the goals came, with Glenn Murray swinging and missing the ball in front of the target, before Dale Stephens fancied himself a little too much with a half volley f rom 35 yards and Izquierdo pushed wide with a one on one. At least two good chances and not a single Stoke save. Poor, really.
And Stoke? They brought their usual crash and bang — Ryan Shawcross left dents in Murray and Anthony Knockaert in the first 20 minutes — but they also picked Brighton’s locks well.
Mame Diouf had a shot deflected over the bar and a Shawcross header necessitated a finger-tip save by Matthew Ryan. Good stuff to go with the heavy tackles.
And i t went up a notch on 28 minutes, when Xherdan Shaqiri accepted a short pass in his own half and pinged long to ChoupoMoting. The Cameroon striker brought it down on his toe and rolled around Lewis Dunk, who had lost his bearings on the turn. With his instep, Choupo-Moting beat Ryan and Stoke were ahead.
Brighton fought back. They were denied what appeared to be a penalty when Shawcross slid in on Murray and got the man, before levelling a minute before the break. Davy Propper did the bulk of the damage, bouncing off three or four challenges before checking his run and pulling a low ball into the area from the right.
Pascal Gross shoved his way into space and shot past Lee Grant while tumbling.
Hughton clenched both fists but swore like a madman less than two minutes later as Stoke went back in front. Darren Fletcher, who was making his 326th Premier League appearance to set a record for Scots in the Premier League, caused problems with a corner, Choupo- Moting headed back across goal and Zouma won the battle of the braves i n the six-yard-box scrap. Wonderful stuff at the end of a thrilling half.
The second was a little more placid. Joe Allen and Ramadan Sobhi exchanged passes in the tightest of spaces in Brighton’s area before the Egyptian was charged down by Ryan, and then almost nothing until the 60th minute, when Stoke’s door was kicked i n. Stephens deserves a mention for floating a ball behind enemy lines and Murray did well in controlling and flicking inwards to Izquierdo. His first go was a pass that was deflected right back to him by Kevin Wimmer and his second was a lashed finish past Grant.
On came Peter Crouch who, like Fletcher, was setting a record, this time for Premier League appearances as a substitute — 143, for those who count such things.
It was not enough to make that seat any cooler for Hughes. BRIGHTON (4-4-2): Ryan 7; Bruno 6, Duffy 6.5, Dunk 5.5, Bong 6; Knockaert 6 (Schelotto 84min), Stephens 6.5, Propper 7, IZQUIERDO 7.5 (March 74, 6); Gross 7 (Brown 84), Murray 6. Subs not used: Krul, Hemed, Goldson, Suttner. Scorers: Gross 44, Izquierdo 60. Booked: Murray. Manager: Chris Hughton 6.5. STOKE (3-4-2-1): Grant 6.5; Zouma 7, Shawcross 6.5, Wimmer 7; Diouf 6.5, Fletcher 7, Allen 6.5, Pieters 6.5; Shaqiri 7 (Crouch 73, 6), Ramadan 6; Choupo-Moting 7. Subs not used: Haugaard, Berahino, Jese, Afellay, Martins Indi, Adam. Scorers: Choupo-Moting 28, Zouma 45. Booked: None. Manager: Mark Hughes 6.5. Referee: Lee Mason 5. Attendance: 29,676.