SEE OFF IPSWICH
and decision-making let them down at vital moments when trying to load the gun, never mind pull the trigger, and Benik Afobe’s early chance was certainly a false dawn. He exposed a soft centre at the heart of the Ipswich defence - one Stoke should have tested far more frequently to force mistakes - when charging through and cashing in on a misunderstanding between goalkeeper and defender.
Sadly, Afobe slipped and fell over when clear of his opposition and with the ball begging to be rolled into an empty net. He needs those moments to go for him if his goal at Reading seven days previously is to prove any kind of turning point and no temporary blip in a barren run without scoring.
What was just as disappointing as Stoke’s first-half efforts was their timid start to the second half when they should have been killing Ipswich off instead of allowing them so much ball and territory.
The mood among the home fans - despite that 1-0 lead - was such that Erik Pieters was booed when playing a ball back to Butland just before the hour mark.
For those jeering, that moment epitomised Stoke’s cautious approach to events, against a team with one win in 20 all season.
Lambert may have been among those booing, to himself of course, considering Pieters was one of those causing him some grief during his tenure in the Potteries earlier this year.
And the sight of Saido Berahino chasing back into his own half - right in front of Lambert - so as to clear up a mess of his own doing in the second half must have had the Scotsman checking his pulse because he saw no such endeavour from Berahino while he was Stoke manager.
But Lambert’s incredulity then was nothing compared to his bewilderment less than a minute after Pieters was booed by some of his own support.
For the Dutchman found himself in the Ipswich half playing a one-two before whipping the ball in from the left for Joe Allen to sweep a first-time effort across the Ipswich keeper and inside his far post for 2-0.
After which the game died a predictable death, even with half-an-hour remaining, because for all their big heart, one no doubt inspired by their new manager, Ipswich were not about to breach the solid wall which was Ryan Shawcross and Ashley Williams at the centre of the home defence.
Only once, when Pieters fouled his man suspiciously close to being inside his own area and escaped with a free-kick just outside, were you fearful for Stoke’s clean sheet.
And that clean sheet was another reason to frown upon our frowns.
It was a day for statistics rather than performance and it is those statistics which will ultimately govern Stoke’s long-term fate.
Performances tend to determine statistics in the long run, however, and Stoke are better than this. Hopefully much better.