Stoke dominant but unable to capitalise.
The Potters were clearly dominant for much of the match, however, were unable to generate consistent good chances that troubled Hennessey in goal. Stoke controlled the contest in terms of possession, holding 60% and also having more than double the shots of the opposition, with 26 compared to Palace’s 12. However, the hosts only converted roughly 20% of their chances, with only five shots actually troubling Hennessey.
Those stats alone show that it really was wasted opportunities that allowed Palace to get the points. The build-up play from the Potters was good, with Bojan and Xherdan Shaqiri able to try and create chances, however, the finishing was really missing. Bojan will defiantly feel that he should have done better with a chance from eight yards out, when he took a shot straight at Hennessey just before the penalty was given away. Marco van Ginkel also went close, deflecting a cross from Erik Pieters that hit the post, while Glen Johnson and Marko Arnautovic also had decent chances that Hennessey was able to save.
https://twitter.com/Footysays/status/678258295988207616
Palace ending goal droughts
The Eagles have won 11 of their last 16 away games in the Premier League and were once again able to beat a team that were completely dominant on the day. Another good thing that came out of the game was that finally a striker was able to score for them in the Premier League, albeit from the penalty spot it was something that they had failed to do in the previous 17 games this season.
Wickham not only ended that drought but also his own 14 game scoreless run that stretched back to last year when he was playing for Sunderland. Pardew will be hopeful that the injury that a suspected hip issue forced Wickham off is not serious. Another goal drought was also ended when Lee scored the winner, his first goal in the Premier League since April 2011 when he scored for Bolton Wanderers against West Ham.
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