Walters sees red after his landmark goal saves Stoke
JON WALTERS wrote his name into the Stoke record books — but this was not a game he will look back on with any fondness.
Walters was the Potteries’ pin-up boy when he powered home a 73rd-minute penalty to level the scores, stepping up in the absence of the Charlie Adams, suspended after his stamp on Olivier Giroud was reviewed retrospectively.
But, within five minutes, Walters’ late, lunging tackle on Norwich midfielder Alex Tettey left referee Andre Marriner with little option but to show the striker a straight red card.
Walters’ goal was the eighth of the season and the 25th of his Stoke career, making him the highest Premier League scorer in the club’s history.
However, it was overshadowed by the first dismissal of his career and made him only the 13th man to score a penalty and be sent off in the same Premier League game.
Norwich had looked set to snatch a second successive 1-0 home win over Stoke after midfielder Bradley Johnson’s header from a Robert Snodgrass free-kick had given them 57th-minute advantage.
It was the same combination that had decided the corresponding game last season. But Norwich captain Seb Bassong then cleaned out Stoke substitute John Guidetti in the penalty area to give Walters the chance to claim a deserved share of the spoils with an emphatic spot kick.
Commenting on the sending-off, Stoke manager Mark Hughes said: ‘I’ve looked at the incident and there is contact and Jon has accepted that he caught him.
‘But both players had their feet high and I think the punishment was too harsh for the crime. Both players just intended to win the ball and Jon just caught him with his follow through.
‘As for the penalty, Guidetti was impeded and Jon, as always, took responsibility and dispatched it with aplomb. At that stage I thought we would go on and win the game but then the sending-off changed everything.’
Norwich manager Chris Hughton said : ‘I thought it was a very soft penalty but Bassong didn’t have to go for the ball. Another referee might not have given it.
‘It was disappointing because I thought we were comfortably in control of the game at that point.
‘Walters was certainly high and he certainly caught Tettey. So I think the red card is one that most referees would have given.’