West Brom 1-1 Stoke Player Ratings: Crouch key

West Brom 1-1 Stoke – skysports.com

A substitution-inspired Stoke resurgence saw the Potters draw 1-1 with West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns. How did players on both teams fare? Here’s our ratings.

West Bromwich Albion

Ben Foster – tipped over Zouma’s deflected effort, one of two shots on target. A moment of miscommunication with Hegazi meant the other cost West Brom two points. 4

Allan Nyom – whenever Stoke broke, his pace allowed him to get back quicker than the two centre-backs to make blocks or usher the ball out. Dominated any forward who moved to his side and assisted the opener with an excellent cross. 7
Craig Dawson – made some timely interceptions for much of the game, but was unable to impose himself as much in the air once Crouch came on. 7
Ahmed Hegazi – made some important headers in a commanding performance. At least it was, until his failure to clear gifted Crouch the equalizer. 6
Chris Brunt – put in one or two inviting deliveries but struggled against Sobhi in the latter stages. 6

Jake Livermore – reasonably solid out of possession but lacks mobility and was guilty of over-hitting simple balls. Not England material on this evidence. 4
Gareth Barry – surprisingly mobile at the age of 36. He impressed with an intelligent, disciplined display. 7

Matt Phillips – covered Nyom well, stopping Pieters playing balls to Stoke’s left-sided forwards. Did not offer much in an attacking sense. 5
James Morrison – did not provide enough creativity, but his replacement should have been someone who filled his position, rather than another defensive midfielder. 4
Jay Rodriguez – worked hard and showed good movement for his goal. Struggled with the physical side of the game at times which explains why he isn’t given a chance to play up top. 6

Salomon Rondon – chased Stoke’s defenders and won free-kicks, but the instructions for him to play selflessly has perhaps impeded on his goalscoring mind-set. May pose more of an individual threat in a different structure – but what he was asked to do, he did well. 6

Claudio Yacob (on 70) – with Livermore and Barry already doing similar jobs, this was an unnecessary addition that saw West Brom drop too deep. 3
James McClean (on 74) – gets some unfair stick off the field, but on it he looked a downgrade on Phillips. 4
Oliver Burke (on 88) – should have been given more than two minutes of normal time. 5

Stoke City

Jack Butland – turned Hegazi’s second half header over the bar. Considering how rarely he was tested though, he may be a little disappointed not to keep a clean sheet. 4

Kurt Zouma – excellent for much of the game in his positional play and use of the ball. Had two of Stoke’s better efforts, one of which was deflected to force a save from Foster, but was partly at fault for the goal. 7
Ryan Shawcross – put in a good performance, amid speculation that he might make way for the reportedly incoming Kevin Wimmer. 7
Bruno Martins Indi – in the first half he was guilty of looking sideways too often rather than a forward pass, but swept up all the loose balls that came his way. 6

Geoff Cameron – didn’t give Stoke enough width, considering much of their first half required it. The team fared better without him. 3
Darren Fletcher – played a few nice Crossfield passes and similarly to Barry, his advancing age didn’t show. Controlled the midfield in spells. 7
Joe Allen – didn’t offer enough in a creative sense and was booked late on for a foul on Rodriguez. 4
Erik Pieters – showed gritty defensive qualities, but his range of strengths were too narrow for him to play as a wing-back in a possession side. One ill-disciplined challenge on Nyom. 4

Xherdan Shaqiri – called the shots at times, but looked unlikely to make third man runs and therefore needed runners ahead of him. He got that in the latter stages. 6
Jese – struggled to get any change out of Nyom early on. On the rare occasions he was given space on the break, he didn’t use it as effectively as he did last week. 2
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting – always looked capable of a burst of pace. For much of the game there was no substance to his bursts and he lacked the strength to hold onto the ball, but the winger grew in influence in the latter stages. 5

Peter Crouch (on 62) – not only did he score the equalizer, a simple header, he improved Stoke’s overall play. He offered them the focal point that they didn’t have for much of the game. 9
Ramadan Sobhi (on 69) – looked direct and fearlessly took his opponents on. Like Crouch, he provided unique qualities that Stoke didn’t show beforehand. 8