Brighton & Hove Albion 2-2 Stoke City
A sports betting thriller for the neutral.
As football games go, this may not have been the best quality offering; but on a cold evening, it warmed the heart, displaying the desire and genuineness of two clubs determined to succeed as they try and hold their own in the top flight against opponents on a different financial scale.
A close encounter was always in prospect on the south coast.
Stoke have rallied in recent weeks, Brighton have defied the betting odds and went into this one in the lofty heights of ninth place, where they stay.
This was shown as the Seagulls twice fought back to make it five top-flight games without defeat.
Collecting 16 points from their first 12 matches after winning promotion from the Championship last season is something manager Chris Hughton would have grabbed with both hands at the start of the campaign.
Ultimately, a share of the spoils was just about fair, although Stoke edged it.
The magician that is Shaqiri showed his class yet again to set up Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting who finished coolly for the opener.
A nutmeg led to the impressive Pascal Gross equalising, although Brighton showed their top-level naivety almost immediately to allow Kurt Zouma a free header as Stoke went in at the break a goal to the good.
On the hour, cue Jose Izquierdo who capitalised on Stoke’s failure to clear their lines and earn the hosts a point.
There was even time for Peter Crouch to come off the bench and set a new Premier League record – a 143rd substitute appearance!
If there was frustration for either club at the final whistle as they failed to claim all three points, today was a timely reminder of why both are doing just fine.
The sacking of Tony Pulis at West Brom, a former Stoke favourite, was a reminder that clubs panic when the going gets tough – these two deserved credit for persevering with Mark Hughes and Hughton.
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