As the Britannia celebrated their heroes homecoming following last weekend’s FA Cup Semi Final win, Stoke steamrollered a pitiful Wolves to climb into the top half of the table and virtually seal their top-flight survival. Over in Schalke meanwhile, Man United won at a canter, controlling the match from the first whistle to last in a game that could have been embarrassing for the hosts but for the efforts of Manuel Neuer in goal. Here’s the notes from last night’s action…
Kenwyne Jones
The Stoke hitman is peaking just at the right time for Tony Pulis’ side; Jones scored for the third league game in succession, a remarkable upsurge in form considering he had managed one goal in his previous sixteen. With his goal at Wembley factored into the equation, Jones is proving his importance for Stoke ahead of the remaining games of the season, and a trip to Blackpool this weekend will certainly offer more chances to keep up the scoring run. There follows (ARS, mcy) before a home tie with Wigan sees out the season.
Matthew Etherington
As last night’s post reported, Etherington pulled up on the half hour mark with what appeared to be a hamstring injury and was immediately replaced by Dean Whitehead. For Stoke, Etherington has been second-best only to Robert Huth for Fantasy Premier League (FPL) points and his absence-if confirmed- will come as a big loss to the Potters. After the match, Tony Pulis only had this to say:
“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.”
We’ll be sure to keep you informed when, or if, any news transpires today. With Etherington sidelined, Pulis is likely to turn to Whitehead to come into central midfield with Rory Delap shifting to the left flank. Danny Pugh is another option available here.
Pulis is at least getting a big contribution from the opposite flank; Jermaine Pennant grabbed a goal, an assist and picked up all 3 Bonus Points for a Fantasy haul of 14 FPL points.
Wolves Stay Grounded
A win would’ve propelled them out the drop zone but Wolves never look likely to take anything from this game. That six-match run from gameweek 26-30 which saw Mick McCarthy’s side plunder 11 points has been followed by just 1 point from the next four fixtures. Big Mick could only admit post-match:
“We were well beaten. It was very surprising we weren’t at it tonight. If it wasn’t for Wayne Hennessey the scoreline would have been more embarrassing.”
With all four remaining games against sides in the bottom half of the table (bir, WBA, sun, BLA) Wolves can at least take solace in the fact that the other four teams in the bottom five are playing just as poorly.
United on Easy Street
Six away Champions League game have produced six clean sheets but none could have been more straightforward than last night’s. With Rio Ferdinand alongside Nemanja Vidic in the heart of defence, Alex Ferguson’s side coasted through the game and would have ran out far more convincing winners if not for Schalke’s outstanding keeper, Manuel Neuer.
Perhaps with this Sunday’s game at Arsenal in mind, rotation came into play; Fabio started at right-back, Ryan Giggs and Michael Carrick began in central midfield and Nani was benched, with Antonio Valencia and Ji-Sung Park the preferred wide men for the visitors. Having assisted his side’s three previous goals in the competition, Giggs once again proved his class on the big stage, grabbing the opener after a superb Wayne Rooney through ball. Rooney then bagged the second shortly afterwards and United saw out a victory that means they practically have one foot in the final.
After the match, the United manager did confirm Giggs will be rested for the trip to the Emirates, an indication of his thinking ahead of the crucial showdown with Arsene Wenger’s side. Given the fact that United do not need to go for three points against either Arsenal or Chelsea, we could see the 4-5-1 formation make a return against the Gunners. That could either see Javier Hernandez dropped to the bench or starting up front with Rooney patrolling a flank. One thing looks certain, Ferguson’s future rotation is likely to be tempered by the fact that United go into their second-leg with Schalke with a comfortable lead.
While Ferguson beamed with satisfaction after the commanding victory, Pep Guardiola lost the plot in a foul-mouthed rant aimed at Jose Mourinho ahead of the other semi final tomorrow evening. Clearly, squeaky bum time has found its way to the Nou Camp.
