Stoke fired for final day jitters

IT wasn’t just the warm spring sunshine that brought a sweat to the brows of Stoke players on Saturday. An agonisingly tight promotion race is enough to make even the coolest characters feel hot under the collar, but Rory Delap has no reason to fear a late collapse in the Potteries.

Tony Pulis’s side were five minutes away from achieving a return to the top flight when Hull’s Ian Ashbee headed in a winning goal against Crystal Palace to send the promotion race down to the final game of the season.

Until that point, Richard Cresswell’s 45th-minute goal looked to have earned Stoke their place to play among England’s elite for the first time in 23 years, not to mention £50m-worth of revenue.

While West Bromwich Albion can seal their place in the Premier League with victory over Southampton tonight, Stoke will have to wait until Sunday and the outcome of their game against Leicester, desperate for points at the less glamorous end of the table.

“It would have been nice to have gone up but we have to go and get a result against Leicester on Saturday,” he said.

“When the whistle went, it was a quiet applause so we knew something had gone wrong at the Hull game.

“Not many people outside the club gave us a chance of winning promotion, but it is all about getting that consistency.

“We have had a couple of bad patches but we have been a lot more consistent than other teams. For a mid-table side the last game of the season is usually a day for the fans and everyone can relax a little bit.

“But Leicester need a win, so they will be coming at us and we want to win too, so it’s going to be a great game.”

Pulis has built a team of six-footers who have powered their way up the Championship. There was evidence of their muscle in the early exchanges as Ryan Shawcross and then Ricardo Fuller went close but they had to wait until the 45th minute to take the lead when Liam Lawrence’s initial effort was well saved by Dean Gerken and Cresswell crunched in the rebound.

Colchester manager Geraint Williams brought on veteran striker Teddy Sheringham in the 62nd minute for the last home match of his career — and the last staged at this stadium — as the 42-year-old retires next weekend. His journey is coming to an end but Stoke’s is just beginning.

COLCHESTER (4-4-2): Gerken 7, Ifil 6, Virgo 6 (Balogh 42, 6), Coyne 6, White 5, Duguid 5 (Platt 87, 5), Jackson 6, Hammond 5, Elito 5, Lisbie 6, Vernon 4, (Sheringham 62, 5).

Subs Not Used: Izzet, Cousins.

STOKE (4-4-2): Nash 6, Riggott 6, Shawcross 6, Cort 6, Dickson 6, Lawrence 6, Delap 8, Whelan 7, Cresswell 7, Fuller 7, Sidibe 6, (Ameobi 78, 6).

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Wilkinson, Pugh, Pearson.

REFEREE: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire) 8: Kept the game flowing and was largely anonymous — the sign of a good official.

MATCH RATING: ** Stoke were forced to grind out this win, although Colchester never found their stride.