Filed under: Stoke City, Wolverhampton, Premier League, Football, Match Reports
Stoke took a substantial stride towards Premier League survival but their night was tainted by an injury to influential winger Matthew Etherington, who looks set to miss next month's FA Cup Final.Etherington was stretchered off with a suspected hamstring injury in the first half to put a dampener on a comfortable victory that virtually guaranteed the Potters' safety.
Kenwyne Jones' fourth goal in four games and strikes from Ryan Shawcross and Jermaine Pennant condemned Mick McCarthy to his 13th away defeat of the season and leaves Wolves stuck in the bottom three.
It will take a bizarre collapse from Stoke to be relegated themselves, but manager Tony Pulis will surely have to prepare for his Wembley date with Roberto Mancini's Manchester City without Etherington.
Mancini was at the Britannia Stadium with assistant David Platt on a spying mission and was given a stark reminder of the task he will face, despite the loss of Etherington.
Stoke skewered the early tedium after 16 minutes, when Pennant's exquisite cross found Jones and he rose above the Wolves defence to head past Wayne Hennessey.
The hosts suffered the hammer blow of losing Etherington on the half hour mark, and the winger clearly knew it was serious as he fell to the turf in agony. He was stretchered off with his hands covering his face and with the Final less than three weeks away, is facing Wembley heartbreak, along with Ricardo Fuller who will miss the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles.
But Stoke recovered from the loss of their influential winger to inch farther ahead on the stroke of half-time, with Shawcross converting from close range after Wolves failed to clear a Pennant corner.
Pennant, at the heart of absolutely everything for the Potters, collected the goal his outstanding performance deserved seven minutes into the second period when his deflected shot found the corner, sparking a walk-out from many of the travelling Wolves supporters.
And the visitors produced barely a snarl of defiance as they crashed to another away defeat to leave them a point adrift of safety with four games left to play.
REACTION
Pulis was refusing to give up on Etherington being fit for the FA Cup Final:
"We're worried about Matthew and what damage he's done to his hamstring. We're hoping and praying he'll be fit. He'll have a scan on Wednesday and he's got 17 days to get himself fit.
"We'll use the first week to get it sorted out and that week will will be the most important but he's got time after that to fully recover. We're doing our damnedest to make sure he's available. Having lost Ricardo and Danny Higginbotham [with injury] as well it's a massive blow for the football club because we haven't got the resources that Manchester City have got.
"It would have been tough enough with our best players available and we will need them for that Final."
On the result that virtually guarantees survival for a third successive season:
"That was a big game for us and the players' attitude and application was first class. The first half was as good as we've played since we've been in the Premier League. We really played well and created chance after chance.
"I would hope that 42 points guarantees us safety. To have Premier League football for a fourth season and an FA Cup Final represents a remarkable achievement for this club. I'm delighted for the chairman and the supporters."
On the performance of Pennant:
"Jermaine was fantastic tonight, as he was against Villa and at Wembley. He's got the bit between his teeth like the rest of them and it was great to see it from somebody who people told me was a lazy player. If you look at his stats he works just as hard as anyone."
Wolves manager McCarthy demanded an improvement for the final four games after this dreadful display:
"I don't fear the players have given up. It's a difficult time when you're in the bottom three. There's games to be played and we'll play better in those four games - we're going to have to if we want to survive.
"I feel bad now and it will probably be exacerbated in the morning. I've got to look at this and make sure we play better against Birmingham. We have to respond with more of a Mick McCarthy performance, that wasn't what I expect from my team. It was hugely disappointing so we'll rally them round and make sure the level of performance is far better than it was tonight."
On what he said to the players:
"I've had some words but not in terms of tongue-lashing. I did enough of that on Saturday but too much of that just wears a bit thin as well. That's as poor as we've played. They were better than us and we've been beaten by a far better team.
"There's nothing about the performance that can lift us. But we've won nine games this season and played far better. I think playing for Premier League survival should be enough to motivate. Why we've come from winning at Villa to what we've had in the last four games, I don't know."
On the withdrawal of Steven Fletcher late in the game:
"He's jarred his knee and we'll know more on Wednesday. I don't know if he will be out for the Birmingham game yet."
WHAT IT MEANS:
Stoke were stunning and any fears Pulis may have had about the FA Cup Final distracting his players have surely been erased. Pennant has never been better and Jones is playing his best football for the club, following a difficult three months. They are surely safe now, with 42 points taking them eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Where does McCarthy go from here? He wants three victories to stay up but it is difficult to see where they will come from on the evidence of this gutless performance. They barely created a single chance and the loss of Fletcher late in the game means he could be without all of his recognised strikers for the trip to Birmingham this Sunday. They were massive already, but the Midlands derbies with Blues and West Brom will prove pivotal in his survival mission.
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