MOSES IS HEAD BOY
VICTOR MOSES’ peach of a header came at just the right time in a dour first half .
And what a cracker it was, Moses rising to meet a Phil Bardsley cross from 12 yards out when there seemed little imminent danger.
But the on-loan Chelsea star had other ideas, making a perfect connection and powering the ball into the top far corner to give the home side the lead.
And with five minutes to go Mame Diouf sealed the win, tapping in the rebound after Marko Arnautovic’s shot had hit the post.
That heaped the pressure on an Everton side seemingly struggling to ward off the advances of the relegation zone.
Roberto Martinez’s men went into the game with just one win in their previous 11 in the league.
They might be in the last 16 of the Europa League but that is looking increasingly like a distraction they could well do without.
And their current struggle was hardly helped with the game barely underway when Gareth Barry picked up his 10th booking of the season for a foul and will now miss crucial games against Newcastle and QPR.
That was the only incident of note in the opening half-hour until Moses threatened to put his stamp on the game with a thumping 20-yard drive which keeper Tim Howard was forced to beat away.
But two minutes later he wasn’t to be denied when he gave Howard no chance with a header straight out of the top drawer.
Romelu Lukaku went close to levelling things up just after the break only to see his angled shot deflected wide for a corner. Aaron Lennon also forced Asmir Begovic to move smartly to save his well-drilled low shot.
On the hour, Martinez decided to shake things up and Barry was replaced by Leon Osman while Lennon was sacrificed for Arouna Kone. And it nearly paid off within two minutes when Kone almost scored with only his second touch. STOKE (4-2-3-1): Begovic; Bardsley, Wollscheid, Wilson, Pieters; N’Zonzi, Whelan; Walters, Adam, Moses; Crouch. Subs: Butland, Arnautovic, Diouf, Cameron, Sidwell, Teixeira, Shenton. EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Stones, Garbutt; Gibson, Barry; Lennon, McCarthy, Naismith, Lukaku. Subs: Robles, Kone, Mirallas, Besic, Barkley, Osman, Alcaraz. Referee: Mark Clattenburg.