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Why Tom Cannon ran to the dugout as Stoke City grant Narcis Pelach his wish
Stoke City were made to settle for a point on Saturday at basement club Queens Park Rangers on an entertaining afternoon at Loftus Road during which the game truly might've edged either way. Stoke opened the scoring through Tom Cannon, who fired in a wonderful strike from just inside the penalty area, but they were pegged back when a corner bounced off Ben Gibson and past Viktor Johansson.
Both Cannon and Alfie Lloyd, the QPR forward, hit the post at either end in a frantic second half and both goalkeepers made superb saves, before the really contentious moment - Bae Junho struck an emphatic effort beyond Paul Nardi in the Hoops goal having dribbled past a couple of players - only for referee Gavin Ward to pull the play back.
Stoke have now lost just one of their last nine games since they beat Portsmouth 6-1, and are nestled in mid-table and looking up ahead of the welcoming of Preston North End to the Potteries this week. Here are the talking points from west London...
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Touching moment
Cannon tore away to the away dug-out after opening the scoring to celebrate with the club's coaching staff, specifically Joel Dawson, the fitness coach, who lost his father recently. It was the plan of the Stoke squad that, if anyone scored, they'd celebrate in such a unified way as Cannon did, paying tribute and showing the togetherness Narcis Pelach has been eager to hammer home.
"It shows we are together," Pelach explained. "We care about each other, we are a team. These are words which are very easy to say but can be difficult to get. We have to create and protect togetherness, with the players who are starting and those who aren't.
"We had some bad news week - our fitness coach lost his father. We wanted to pay tribute to Joel and his family. We said if anyone in the team scores, it would be nice to be with him. It's just to show that we care about each other and that, at the end, family is much more important than a football game. It was nice from Tom that we got everybody together."
Sidibe chance
As mentioned, it was a young side put out by Pelach, who himself is among the very youngest head coaches in the Championship. None were younger than Sol Sidibe, who made his first start since the Spaniard's appointment.
It's important to remember that Sidibe is still only 17 years old, yet he settled into the game well enough and, although he tired in the second half, this was a heartening enough display and further evidence of Pelach's willingness to place trust in the club's younger stars - both academy products and players borrowed from Premier League clubs.
"I told the players from the first day I will be fair," Pelach reflected. "I have been very demanding of him these past weeks. He's taken it very well, good attitude and body language, maybe more mature than the age he is. I thought today was a good day to play him. He gave a positive answer. It wasn't perfect but all the young players tried and we will improve."
Referee decision
Gavin Ward wasn't exactly flavour of the month with Stoke supporters before Saturday afternoon, but he left the pitch with their chants directed at him ringing in his ears. The boos on the final whistle weren't necessarily for the players, but for the officiating which had dramatically cut short the delirium unfolding in the away end after Junho had planted his shot into the bottom corner.
That was a real pity. Pelach wasn't being drawn into a moan and groan after the game, refusing to blame the referee for the reason the Potters didn't win, despite scoring what appeared to be in real time a legitimate winner. He wants a no excuses culture - win the game on your terms, which can leave no room for doubt.
That, for the no doubt disgruntled 1,700 who left the Loftus Road away end on Saturday evening, will have been scant consolation. The outcome was probably a fair one on the balance of play - indeed otherwise it was QPR who may have felt as though they deserved victory - but that would've been another precious away win, denied by a contentious call.
Hard to beat
It cannot be ignored that Stoke are becoming more difficult to beat, as Pelach has demanded since being introduced. After those meetings against Hull and Middlesbrough, they've only surrendered the points to Sheffield United - no disgrace there, against a side in the automatic promotion picture.
Pelach acknowledges that his side are far from perfect, and the process undertaken since his arrival is a lengthy one. Indeed they lived dangerously against QPR, who are rallying for their own manager despite the position they find themselves in the table, but you can't fluke the run they're on right now - and which they'll seek to extend on Tuesday.
A return of 14 points from the last possible 27 is neither alarming or spectacular, but it is a healthy enough tally which perhaps reflects where Stoke find themselves in the table right now. Importantly, though, it's a platform to build on and gives Pelach encouragement that his roll-out is being heeded.
