Stoke City player ratings vs Cardiff as fightback after woeful defending in vain
Stoke City have been knocked out of the FA Cup after losing a penalty shoot-out to Cardiff.
Stoke came back from 2-0 down in opening stages scarred by some dreadful defending to lead 3-2 in normal time thanks to a double from Lewis Koumas and penalty from Lewis Baker. But more poor defending let Cardiff back in to level, with Rubin Colwill getting his second to add to one from Yousef Salech.
Extra-time brought few chances and more tired legs and a penalty shoot-out started to look inevitable. Salech hit the crossbar to give Stoke an advantage but Tatsuki Seko hit the post with the next kick and then Michael Rose had his well saved by Ethan Horvath.
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Stoke are out and now have to pick themselves up quickly for a mid-week Championship trip to Bristol City.
Stoke should have been ahead in the opening moments when Tezgel pulled back into space to take a pass, unmarked and central, eight yards from goal. He scuffed his moment and the ball span up for Koumas, who was flagged offside as he headed home. But they were behind in the 10th minute when Colwill drifted from the Cardiff right to the middle, finding space in front of Stoke’s centre-backs as he went unchallenged. He sent in a low shot to the bottom right corner and Bonham was too slow down to keep it out.
Cardiff did steal into a two-goal lead when Gibson and Bonham got into a horrendous mix-up. Joel Bagan had a punt up the pitch from left-back and Gibson tried to shepherd the bouncing ball back to Bonham while Salech nipped in between them and scooped it over the keeper and in.
But Stoke gave themselves a chance by pulling one back shortly before half-time. Burger had kept looking to slide a pass through the Cardiff defence for Koumas running in from the left and they got it right in the 42nd minute. It was a stellar through ball and sharp finish. And they started the second half like they ended the first – with Burger and Koumas combining again. Wilson-Esbrand took a throw-in by the left corner flag and Burger dummied for Koumas to run into the area across the touchline, take a touch onto his right foot and slide it under Ethan Horvath for the equaliser.
Stoke were soon ahead. Tezgel nicked in to steal the ball from Jesper Daland, who had only come on as a sub at the break, and dozy Daland carried on with the kick through for his intended clearance, booting Tezgel to concede a penalty and injuring himself in the process. Baker stepped up after Daland had limped off following physio treatment and fired it into the bottom left corner.
Stoke couldn’t hold onto the lead for long, however. Callum O’Dowda’s charge down the left ultimately forced a smart stop from Bonham but it bounced back for Colwill just outside the area to sidestep past Vidigal and pull far too easily into the net. It meant extra-time and then penalties in front of the Boothen End.
Ralls, Chambers, Willock and Colwill scored for Cardiff from the spot, only Tezgel and Burger for Stoke - and it's Cardiff who go into the hat for the last 16.
Here are the player ratings from the bet365 Stadium:
Bonham: Had time to get down and sit on Cardiff’s opener but saw it slide into the bottom corner. Mix-up with Gibson for second when he needed to take responsibility. 5
Tchamadeu: Frustrated with those around him at times but also needed to be better defensively and some poor passing. Shattered by extra-time. 5.5
Wilson-Esbrand: Struggled defensively in first half but chipped in usefully at times going forward. 5.5
Rose: Not a great day for Stoke’s centre-backs as they struggled to take command of long balls that were there for them to win. 5
Gibson: Too passive in his defending and horrible decision-making for Cardiff’s second when he was mugged too easily by Salech. 4.5
Burger: Excellent pass to set up Koumas goal just before half-time and great dummy for Koumas to equalise. Possibly best performance of season. 8
Baker: No impact defensively when needed and left open spaces in front of Stoke’s centre-backs. But buried penalty, which hasn’t been a given with Stoke. 5.5
Vidigal: First start since Carabao Cup in October. Got into a couple of decent shooting positions but looked rusty at times in and out of possession. 6
Junho: Gets through a lot of running but needs to find better positions to link through him from either ahead or behind. 6
Koumas: Sharp finish to pull Stoke back into game and dangerous with runs in from left. Took equaliser well too. 8
Tezgel: Should have buried in opening stages. Some good running, including to nick ball off Daland to win penalty. 7
Substitutes
Fawunmi (for Vidigal, 73): Senior debut for 18-year-old winger on day after signing for the club. Drew some fouls from Cardiff’s tired legs. 6.5
Pearson (for Baker, 73): First appearance since March last year. Moved around ok and was ready to get stuck in. 6
Stevens (for Wilson-Esbrand, 87): The whole team looks more assured when he’s on the pitch. 6
Lawal (for Junho, 87): Some welcome glimpses of power and energy in midfield and used up front in extra-time. 6.5
Seko (for Koumas, 90): Used as an attacking midfielder initially after introduction. 5.5
Not used: Fielding, Phillips, Dixon, Curley.
Referee: Thomas Kirk (Yorkshire) 4
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