Stoke ensured their European adventure continued as local lad Ryan Shotton helped seal the victory at the death on a hot and hostile evening in Split.

Delirium... © Action Images/Daily Mail

Whilst Shotton didn’t quite get the touch himself, I’d dare anyone to take the goal off him as he wrote his part in the latest chapter of Stoke’s fairytale. I’m not sure it gets much better than that for Ryan, but the fact he was once again brought on to play up front, in such an important tie, further illustrates how utterly threadbare the squad is.

There was a bit of a re-jig for this match with Woodgate making his full competitive debut, meaning Huth played over on the right in Wilko’s place, who apparently has a broken toe. Delap also didn’t feature, suffering from an injury of his own so Whitehead came in, his energy on the night vital to our success.

The main talking points are as follows;

Team Selection

The side pretty much picked itself, I was hoping and praying that Woody lasted the distance as our options off the bench defensively were enough to make a grown man weep. I was happy enough with Whitehead coming in for Rory, though we had so many long throw opportunities that I’m certain we’d have got that goal much earlier had Delap figured, there was at least five in the first half an hour alone.

The Defence

There were some pretty significant changes at the back as well as some strong words from Pulis about his intention to include Woodgate as much as possible if he was fit, words that may not resonate well in Huth’s ears as he was slotted in to his less favoured right back slot to accommodate him. I know that Huth grew tired of playing out there last season and it almost became an issue and whilst Pulis’ words after the match seemed to confirm that, I’m still at a loss as to what the plan is going forward in this area, especially as he is still trying to bring in yet another centre back! I would personally like to see Woody tried out at right back, with his experience and better distribution he seems a more natural fit, it just seems ludicrous to break up a brilliant partnership in the middle and risk losing one of them to accommodate an injury prone player at the end of his career. Despite being out of position though, Huth was brilliant throughout and was my Man of the Match.

The Future? © Action Images/Daily Mail

Fitness

This was always going to be an issue, we’ve not had a full pre season and the heat and humidity over there was intense, though despite the players tiring once more, we seemed to pace ourselves that little bit better and now we’re through, will be so much fitter for our next game. I’m not sure if it’s me but both the wingers seemed to struggle more than most, I guess they have a comparatively high work rate so would always be exposed sooner than the rest, though to be fair, both were also carrying injuries. I think the players were also tiring mentally as well as physically and with this game now under our belts and the first Premier League match just over a week away, our sharpness will be much improved before too long.

New Players

We are desperate for some signings, and incredibly short all over the pitch which is a big concern with the league campaign almost upon us. I know Pulis likes to do his business late but the end of the window is a long time away and I’m hoping and praying that he gets two or three brought in over the next fortnight, though realistically we need double that before the window closes. This transfer window will define our season, I’ve said that since the last ball was kicked against Wigan in May and it rings truer than ever now.

FC Thun

The draw has been made and the team find themselves in familiar surroundings as they make their way back to Switzerland to play FC Thun. Thun play in the Swiss Superleague in front of a modest 10,000 or so capacity crowd and they find themselves in the 4th Round having seen off Palermo on the away goals rule. We did well to avoid Hannover 96 and also to avoid tricky trips to Georgia and Cyprus so I’ll imagine Pulis and the players will be happy enough with Thun and be confident of getting through to the Group Stages of the Europa League and wouldn’t that be something!

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