Jesus Christ how fickle we all are when Stoke equalised 
In all fairness, completely justified. We need to ensure that wonder goal doesnt mask our deficiencies. Firstly we need to start putting teams to the sword when on top. Secondly we need to cut out these shit second halves. Thirdly we need to stop regressing into our own box and trying to defend a one goal lead as 95% of the time we end up getting stung.
It does make it so much sweeeter when its completely out of the blue
agree 100%
After they way we had completely dominated the game, to not have got 3 points might well have killed us and sent us down. Lowton's goal of the season shouldnt mask that we were unable to put an abysmal Stoke side to the sword.
There were many positives in the win. Vlaar had his best game in a while. Bennett continues to improve. Guzan was decisive as always. Westwood and Delph were outstanding in midfield I thought. Gabby in the first half was excellent (pathetic dive aside) and Weimann was dangerous. We created a load of good chances and took the piss out of Stoke with good possession for long periods. You can see there is the bones of a good team there playing good football but with a ridiculously soft centre.
We seem to lack the self belief to put teams like Stoke to the sword. Stoke were atrocious, the worst Ive seen a Premier League side play probably ever. The style of football and just everything about them was vile. Not until Adam particularly but also Jermoe coming on gave them any hope. I guess we all knew one goal wouldnt be enough. Walters had started to get joy off Lowton before the goal and I felt it was coming. Our bottle had disappeared really. Defenders were no longer trying to find our midfield duo with the ball. Lambert's lack of action on the sideline didnt help matters. Sylla when he came on was a headless chicken. Nzogbia should have been on as a proactive change to get the second goal 20 mins before he did come on. Bent too should have been on for Benteke long before the end.
But then Lowton popped up.....surely to give us the impetus we need to see out the remaining games to safely avoid the drop.
Guzan 7 - gave great assurance to the defence in the air but modern goalkeepers need to be able to user their feet. Guzan hoofing balls into no mans land cost us possession all game. Really need to work on it during pre season.
Lowton 6 - how can a player who got goal of the season and a great assist only get a 6? But he simply cannot defend to save himself. A very good player on the ball as he showed throughout the game. But physically weak and positionally suspect especially when we under the cosh after Adam came on. A summer in the gym badly needed or else needs to be played on the right of midfield maybe.
Vlaar 7 - best game in a while. Strong in the air and easily bested Jones. Lucky enough to get away with handball. Should be doing more to force his defenders to keep the ball to feet.
Baker 6 - Solid enough game. Jerome got the better of him once but in general did fine. Stoke really should have had a penalty from his handball in the early minutes. Very naive to have your arms dangling like that but thankfully we got away with it. Gives his all as taking the ball in the face indicates but we badly need a better central defender than him long term. He was far too happy to pass everything back to Guzan instead of keeping the ball into the midfield. Ball playing centre half needed in the summer.
Bennett 7 - impressed with him and seems to be improving nicely now. Tidy on the ball but has improved out of recognition positionally. Not diving in as much and we are all the better for it. Have to say he is proving me wrong as had written him off not too long ago.
Bowery 6 - a good shift and was on the ball a lot. Great attitude and was involved in the opening goal and got 2 great chances himself. Dont think he has the ability to play at this level really but wasnt a bad outing at all from him. Ran out of steam pretty badly though and Lambert should have replaced him much earlier.
Westwood 9 - Hard to separate which of our midfield duo was better but will go for Westwood. For a lad coming in from Crewe this has been some season to be fair. To be honest he has far better midfield instincts than any of our recent midfield graduates from the academy. Developing into a fine deep lying playmaker and was all the better for having Delph's bite next to him.
Delph 8 - started superbly, daft decision from Lambert not to start him against Liverpool to be fair. Gives our midfield pace and presence that we desperately miss when he isnt there. He has improved out of all recognition in the second half of this season. Kept the head today too and still won his tackles. Maybe needed a bit more from him towards the end of the game. Westwood seemed more prominent then.
Gabby 8 - another player who has improved hugely in the second half of the season. Was excellent again today, really exploiting Cameron and Shotton. Kept drifting infield well, got a bit lucky with the goal but was at least in the right position for a tap in which is unlike Gabby. In recent games, Liverpool, QPR etc he is getting chances by drifting into the middle at times. His effort to make it 2-0 was fairly desperate, was wide open for a lob of the keeper and the dive was pathetic. Still though was our best forward today so hope his injury aint serious.
Benteke 5 - seems to have one of these games once in a while where his attitude stinks a bit. Danger of him believing his hype a bit I reckon. Then again was superb against Liverpool last time out so inconsistency for a young player is to be expected. If he had missed the chance at the end he would have deserved serious grief for not squaring for Bent. Forwards always tend to be selfish in those situations though.
Weimann 7 - full of running and took up great positions as always. If forwards keep getting into those positions then the goals will come. Unlucky to hit the post. Needs to work a bit on his technique over the summer. Seems to get the ball caught under his feet a bit at times. Still was disappointed to see him coming off at the time for Bent.
Sylla 4 - yikes this wasnt impressive at all and I think he is finding the pace at this level a bit much now. Havent been overly gone on him so far, seems to run around a lot but doesnt seem an attacking or defensive midfielder. We needed an experienced player to come in at the time of the first substitution, Sylla didnt help matters at all.
Nzogbia 7 - was only on a short time but was pretty impressive even in those 10 or so minutes he got. Direct, ran with the ball, good touch. Decent shot too which was deflected out for the corner that Lowton's goal came from. Should have been on much sooner. A better player away from Villa Park by a long way.
Bent - didnt have much time but a great option to have on the bench. Would have liked to have seen him tap home the third but Benteke thankfully didnt screw it up going it alone. Id have had him on much sooner.
Lambert - Delph coming back in was a no brainer and had a big impact. Guess he can say Bowery's selection was justified but that may ignore how desperate Stoke's full backs were today. Faith in Bennett continues to be justified and the trio of Gabby, Weimann and Benteke are a fearsome prospect away from home. We certainly play some really good football at times helped by two full backs who are comfortable on the ball. While Westwood and Delph have made great strides since Xmas.
However, his lack of action on the sideline continues to worry. Nzogbia coming on much earlier was a change crying out to be made. A positive subsitution like that would have shown the players we were going for the win. Sylla coming on for Gabby was a bad mistake and one I think Lambert knew after Stoke scored. If he learns from that, well and good. Managers like Ferguson are consistently good at making proactive substitutions, sensing when an opposition are weak and going for the jugular. We were anything but that and could well have paid the price.
Saw Reading v Southampton earlier. Southampton would have hammered Stoke today. They will be staying up for sure. Steven Davis was their best player by a long way. Reading were nearly as bad as Stoke and are as good as gone.
Win against Fulham next time out should see us safe.
