Comment by Simon Lowe

ONE of the great football clichés is ‘a game of two halves’. We certainly witnessed that Jekyll and Hyde nature to the full on Saturday.

As magnificent as Stoke were in a first half in which they should have netted three or four, once the second period got off to such a bad start, City produced a Halloween horror show of a display.

There were so many good things in that first half.

Stoke dominated midfield, Fuller and Beattie caused Wolves’ defence all sorts of problems and City’s rearguard seemed more comfortable than an MP
in their second home.

Danny Collins and Matthew Etherington formed a fabulous attacking partnership in the first-half. They created the first goal and consistently made overlaps and space with which to work.

Etherington slammed a cracking volley into Wayne Hennessey’s net and everything seemed rosy.

2-0 up at half-time – Job done.

Except that was what we all seemed to think – fans and players – and football doesn’t work like that.

This week it was Mick McCarthy’s substitutions which paid off, while TP’s changes brought confusion to Stoke’s stuttering attack. McCarthy’s introduction of the rather handy Nenad Milijas changed everything. His delivery from set pieces caused City no end of problems and that is proving to be such an Achilles heel this season.

So often old boys come back to haunt Stoke, but no one could have seriously considered the possibility that Jody Craddock would be the double goalscoring hero – not Chris Iwelumo or Karl Henry.

And if it was an unlikely scorer at one end of the pitch, then the culprit for miss of the day at the other end was equally surprising.
How often have we seen Abdy Faye plant a header into the net from a corner? Not this time. The Lord miscued and the ball flew into the Boothen End. It summed up Stoke’s day.

The left-wing partnership which had been so productive disappeared into a void, while Fuller and Beattie ran into a hail of boots, mostly worn by Christophe Berra.

But the most worrying aspect of an ultimately disappointing, but hardly disastrous, day was the stunned reception at the end of the game. OK, so we were all gutted after a pretty dire 45 minutes, but there really was no need for the chorus of boos at the which greeted the final whistle.

Perhaps it’s the huge expectation and excitement after which last week’s fantastic result has visited upon us that made the reaction so strong, but it is becoming a bit of a worry how the connection between the team and the fans, which was so strong, and ultimately the crucial factor in our success over the last two years, seems to be fracturing all too quickly when things go against Stoke.

As second comings go, Mamady Sidibe’s has been much anticipated. Just as Ben Foster became touted as England’s number one goalkeeper during his lengthy period out injured, while others dropped clangers left, right and centre, so Mama, during his 10-month absence from the Stoke side, has become this incredible striker who is going to change games simply by walking onto the pitch.

Much as I love the big man and what he has done for the club, that just isn’t true. Not least because he is still on the road back from a difficult injury to recover from and he needs to feel his way back into the team, alongside a lot of new players he hasn’t previously played with.

So, let’s keep some realism in view. Let’s get back to doing what we do so well as fans and on the pitch.

Yes, we would all dearly have loved not to have dropped two points on Saturday and a point each against Chelsea and Bolton. But at five to three last week we would all have taken four points from the games against Spurs and Wolves. And we’ve got them.

Yes, it probably should have been six points and the lack of focus and resilience in the second half was worrying, but it hardly heralds the beginning of an apocalypse.

It could be worse. We could be Liverpool fans.

So let the clichés fly if it instills that missing steel into City’s performance at Hull on Sunday.

TP will be ensuring the team take ‘each game as it comes’, but the lads will be ‘working ’ard’ and ‘keeping their feet on the ground.’
Onwards to Hull, then. That is indeed the important game now. We may lose the occasional skirmish, but Stoke are certainly winning the war.