Stoke get lost in the fog & settle for a Forest point

Stoke 1 Forest 1 – 29/12/20 8pm

Two own-goals resulted in an unsatisfactory game played out in such heavy fog that commentators were struggling to know what the hell was going on! Well, here’s what was actually going on in real time:

Everyone was predicting a win…and then Vokes was named to replace knee-wobbly Fletcher. Joe Allen finally returns to start instead of Jordan Cousins, who has been putting in solid performances and must feel aggrieved. Thankfully the subs bench has returning-from-injury Clucas and Mikel…but how fit are they? Vokes & Allen with a lot to prove…
12.15 Joe Allen making a nuisance of himself, kicking a few players over. The nuisance to commentators is that with his short haircut he has the same stature as Thompson, whom he shares midfield duties.
16.32 Vokes brings out a save from Samba, but it was never going in. This is Sam Vokes after all.
17.12 1-0 !!! Keeper Samba knocks the subsequent corner into his own net! So Vokes did alright after all! Corner from Thompson, Captain Grabban (with the worst beard in football) ducks his header, and Samba nudges it in. Ridiculous. But Jordan claims the goal as it was going directly in! [It really was Jordan, not Joe Allen.]
37.39 Vokes heads straight into Samba’ hands…AND he was offside! Normal service is resumed.
38.50 Knockeart knocks the ball out of the ground with the worst cross this side of Martins Indi.
HT Stoke 1 Forest 0
49.20 Bursik comes diving out, with a brave save as the mist rolls in like a Dracula movie set. Powell then gets clattered predictably.
60.36 Clucas on for Allen… I think; In this mist it could easily be Bela Legosa or Christopher Lee.
61.30 Tommy Smith slides off the pitch and into one of those blasted advertising hoarding. Touching to see defender & keeper going over to check he’s OK.
64..17 1-1 !! Chester heads a cross past Bursik!! What is going on? Hard to tell in this pea-souper. I’m expecting Jack The Ripper to appear from the mist.
67.20 Mikel on for Thompson…no honestly. Somewhere out there in the fog is a football game. Forest players who are playing in GREY have just blended in with the background. James Herbert’s story comes to mind. There’s a few NOW TV customers who’ll be wanting their money back as they paid to see a football game! It looks like someone’s set the Audi garage next door on fire!
78.30 When they look back at this game people will struggle to remember it saying it was all a bit of a blur…
81.20 Ince and Oakley-Boothe on for (deep in the dry ice) Cozy Powell and Ozzy Osbourne (or is it Powell and Brown?).
85.30 Bursik saves Mikel’s blushes after an awful back pass by John Obi sets up Cafu but Joe saves miraculously.
90+2 Vokes wastes his big chance. Not unexpected.
FT Stoke 1 Forest 1 – But the fog was the real winner!

 

 

Dave Lee
Dave Lee
Sports Reporter - Stoke City

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