MX23RW : Saturday, December 28 05:52:29| >> :120:27352:27352:
[monks data]
Attendance: 30,039
Southampton logo
Premier League
Nov 21, 2015 at 3pm UK
 
Stoke logo

0-1

FT(HT: 0-1)
Bojan (10')

Stoke City hold on to edge past Southampton

Bojan scores in the first half as Stoke City win an end-to-end game with Southampton 1-0 at St Mary's.

Bojan's first-half strike has seen Stoke City secure a 1-0 victory over Southampton in the Premier League clash at St Mary's.

The match started in open fashion and both sides had an early chance, first when Dusan Tadic's effort fell wide of the post with Jack Butland beaten, before Marko Arnautovic's shot was blocked and Bojan fired a weak effort straight at Maarten Stekelenburg.

After that frantic start it took just 10 minutes for the deadlock to be broken and it was the visitors who found the opener through former Barcelona forward Bojan, when he finished clinically at the near post after Erik Pieters's deflected cross had found its way through.

Bojan Krkic of Stoke City scores his team's first goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Southampton and Stoke City at St Mary's Stadium on November 21, 2015© Getty Images

The goal did not do anything to alter the open flow of the match, and after both sides had threatened to break downfield quickly only a smart instinctive save from Stekelenburg to turn Xherdan Shaqiri's effort round the post prevented the hosts from falling further behind.

Jose Fonte should have done better for Southampton when he could only head over from six yards after he was found by Steven Davis's free kick, and Jonathan Walters shot wide from Bojan's cut-back as both teams continued to create chances as an end-to-end first half began to draw to a close.

Stoke should have doubled their lead just over a minute into the second half when Arnautovic found Shaqiri, but the Swiss midfielder sliced his finish well over from close range.

Tadic and Victor Wanyama came close with efforts from outside the box as Southampton pressed for an equaliser, and substitute Sadio Mane had a fine chance minutes after coming on when his low shot was kept out of the bottom corner by a diving Butland.

As the hosts pushed, however, they left themselves vulnerable to conceding a second, but Stoke were unable to take advantage as after Arnautovic had fired wide, Charlie Adam and Ibrahim Afellay also missed the target as they looked to kill the game off.

A fine fingertip save from Stekelenburg denied Afellay in a frantic finish but in the end Bojan's strike was all that separated the sides as the full-time whistle blew, to move Stoke up into the top half of the table.

ID:258456: cacheID:258456:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4891:
Written by
Tom Nightingale
No Data Analysis info
Restore Data
Share this article now:
Jonathan Walters of Stoke City in action during the Barclays Premier League match between Stoke City and Liverpool at Britannia Stadium on August 9, 2015 in Stoke on Trent, England
Read Next:
Jon Walters signs new Stoke City deal
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool17133140172342
2Arsenal18106235161936
3Chelsea18105338211735
4Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest1810442419534
5Newcastle UnitedNewcastle188553021929
6Bournemouth188552721629
7Manchester CityMan City188463026428
8Fulham187742623328
9Aston Villa188462629-328
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton186842726126
11Brentford187383232024
12Tottenham HotspurSpurs1872939261323
13West Ham UnitedWest Ham186572330-723
14Manchester UnitedMan Utd186482124-322
15Everton173861522-717
16Crystal Palace183871826-817
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1843112940-1115
18Leicester CityLeicester1835102240-1814
19Ipswich TownIpswich1826101633-1712
20Southampton1813141137-266


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!