Top start for Surridge as Stoke City beat Reading 3-2

Stoke (2) 3 Reading (1) 2 – 7/8/21 3pm

Three points for Stoke but they made hard work of it. Sub Sam Surridge scored 12 minutes into his debut to win this 3-2. Here’s how the game unfolded in real time:
The first league game in front of fans at the bet365 since March 7 2020 when Stoke beat Hull 5-1. A fair turnout, despite the chill in the wind. It’s August and it feels like October already!! Stoke unchanged – Vrancic & Wilmot making league debuts, but others being seen by Stoke fans in the flesh for the first time! More handsome? Hardly! Joe Allen is club captain…apparently. Good crowd, got a bit of volume too. Football is back!
0.00 Players take the knee, and get a round of applause (& only one or two deny-ers booing, surprisingly).
11.04 Ben Wilmot scares the hell out of Stoke fans by slicing a clearance over the bar. City looking brightest, but Reading biding their time. Reading fans seem to have exhausted their repertoire of songs already.
12.42 Bursik is forced to make a save from Liam Moore, but he looks like he did it out of sympathy rather than with any conviction that it was necessary.
21.05 Morgan Fox somehow misses a clear header at the far post from a corner from the right. The West-Stand (whatever we’re called) thought he’d scored, much to the merriment of the away contingent.
23.15 Shirt pulling on Jacob Brown by Capt Liam Moore earns him a yellow card.
24.25 1-0 !! Nick Powell slots home from the subsequent free kick (by Tommy Cracker Smith) at the far post. Too easy. Reading players still moaning that it wasn’t a free kick.
25.40 1-1 !! Mix up at the back and John Swift equalises. Linesman put up his flag briefly, but ref not interested. Batth looked particularly complicit.
27.25 2-1 !! Jacob Brown blasts home, casually set up by Nick Powell. Reading just fell away like Stoke did after their goal.
44.01 Everyone having a shot after Tommy Smith’s cross. Vrancic’s is deflected away.
HT Stoke 2 Reading 1
47.50 Batth’s header from a corner is over, but Rinomhota’s protest over the awarding of the corner is comical.
49.20 Another slice from Ben Wilmot, and I don’t mean cake!
Attendance given as 19,068, which seems about right, understandably disappointing, but not a disaster.
54.22 Stephen Fletcher goes down, then leaps up on the ground like a salmon! But he’s not getting a free kick!! Fletch The Salmon!
59.00 For some reason the game is stopped for a drinks break!!! Nobody knows why!!! One of the 4th officials is doing a funny exercise dance on the sidelines like he’s a sub. What is this weirdness?? it seems that one of the linesmen is being subbed!!
59.58 2-2 !! Somehow Stoke are beaten by a corner from their left side, and Captain Moore heads home. Crazy.
71.03 Sam Clucas and Sam Surridge being readied on the touchline. Stoke need a shakeup, that’s for sure. Nick Powell and Steven Fletcher give way. Concerns about Josh Tymon who got a bang on the head.
74.35 Surridge almost scores with his first touch, a header from Smith’s cross.
78.01 Alfie on for Josh.
80.20 Alfie down, landing badly, but he’s OK. Ref making a meal of all this, and time is wasted. If anyone gets a winner now…
84.55 3-2 !!! Sam Surridge scores from a low cross from Smith, dummied by Vrancic! Crowd go mad! Reading fans looking glum – they ran out of new songs over an hour ago!
87.30 Vrancic replaced by Thompson.
90+7 Stoke 3 Reading 2. That was hard work.
Dave Lee
Dave Lee
Sports Reporter - Stoke City

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