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Southampton 2 -
(1-0)
Walcott (17')
Belmadi (90')		 0 Stoke
HT
Stoke
Southampton
Niemi


Delap Lundekvam Svensson  Higginbotham



Belmadi    Wise Quashie   Mccann



Walcott     Fuller
Simonsen


Halls  Wilkinson Hoefkens  Broomes



Russel   Mbuyi   Brammer  Gallagher



Sidibe   Sigurdsson
Match verdict: Southampton had just found their form, beating Milwall 2-0 the previous week and were expecting another victory against stoke. The match seemed to have started perfectly for Southampton. A pass was intertcepted by a Stoke hand but no foul was given and the ball came for Walcott. He took on 2 Stoke defenders and hit the ball into the top corner of the goal from the edge of the box. However the referee had eventually given handball against Stoke and instead of a goal Southampton had a free kick. After 17 minutes Stoke hadn't got the warning and a Quashie through pass saw Walcott shoot low to the right of the keeper and make the score 1-0. It was his 3rd consecutive goal in 3 starts for the 16 year old.

Saints threatened more and more, but didn't get the ball in the back of the net. Southampton were outplaying Stoke. Sigurdsson was Stoke's main hope and he had a few shots on goal. In the 43rd minute Marlon Brooms elbowed Theo Walcott in the face. Marlon Brooms and the Stoke manager Boskamp were sent off. Belmadi and Walcott almost scored before half time.

In the 2nd half the game becane stale. Stoke's plan was to defend deep and counter. It was almost working and 10 man Stoke had some chances to score. Walcott was the only bright spark for Southampton. Fuller and Mccann failed to increase Southampton's lead and showed poor shooting.

In the last 10 minutes Stoke became desperate and attacked more. This only saw Southampton finally score again with Belmadi coming in at the far post to finish. The final score was 2-0 to Southampton, although it should have been more.
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