Wolves 1-2 Stoke

 Wolves were today defeated 2-1 by their Staffordshire rivals. Wolves took the lead through a Stephen Hunt penalty before a deflected Robert Huth free kick and a far post Peter Crouch header took the points back up the M6. 

• I don't think anyone will have been surprised by the line-up. The injured Jamie O'Hara and Dave Edwards were replaced by Stephen Hunt and Nenad Milijas. The only thought I did have was how close George Elokobi was to a start? Given his aerial ability, and the fact Jermaine Pennant is out of favour for Stoke, Mick McCarthy must have been tempted to bring in him.

• Everyone is well aware of Stoke's set piece prowess, and so we were reluctant to just chuck the ball into the box. A clever free kick saw Milijas sky his shot, while Matt Jarvis and Hunt took every corner short. None of them, however, were really effective enough to trouble Stoke's team of giants.

• I used to love watching the Peter Schmeichel/Ryan Giggs combination in the mid-90s. Schmeichel would claim a cross before bowling it out to Giggs, instantly putting the opposition on the defensive. It was a combination like this that led to the opening goal, Wayne Hennessey finding Jarvis, who then twisted and turned Jonathan Woodgate before being flattened.

• Talking of Jarvis, I don't think I've ever seen him playing as well as he is at the moment. It says a lot about Stoke, that a player like Woodgate who, for me, is the classiest England defender of his generation is stuck out at right back. He will never have had a tougher 20 minutes than he did today. Jarvis absolutely ripped him to shreds, beating him with ease. Firstly Woodgate brought him down, earning himself a caution, and was then perhaps fortunate not to see a second yellow when bringing down Jarvis inside the area. It was of no surprise that he was withdrawn.

• It could be argued that it was on that substitution that the match hinged. After Pennant was introduced, Ryan Shotton moved to right back - a very attacking minded right hand side. As a result, McCarthy switched Jarvis and Hunt, presumably to add a little more defensive stability on that flank. Jarvis has never appeared to be as comfortable on the right as the left, and although he was still a threat, he did not influence the match as much as was previously.

• Stoke's equaliser was lucky, but the winner was preventable. Karl Henry found himself in the right back spot, with a high ball angled towards him. Inexplicably, there was not a Wolves player anywhere near him, but he was surrounded by 5 or 6 Stoke players, with no-one between him and Wayne Hennessey. Perhaps he had the space to bring the ball down and clear it up field, but given the position, it would have taken balls of steel to do this. Henry tried to head it out, but couldn't get the required distance on his header. It was then almost a formality for Stoke to work the ball down the left before crossing to Peter Crouch at the far post.

• I'm not sure why it took so long for Adam Hammill to be introduced for Hunt. Hunt took the penalty well, but aside from one other shot when he perhaps should have crossed, he offered little going forward. Hammill may be infuriating as hell at times, but he always looks to attack and take the initiative to the opposition.

• 4-4-2 is arguably a more defensive formation than a 4-5-1. Yes, there's the extra striker, but the wingers tend to tuck in more with the central midfielders sitting deeper. This was an issue today, with Kevin Doyle and Steven Fletcher given little support from the centre of midfield. Having said that, neither played particularly well, far too often the ball was played in to them with their backs to goal only to be lost too easily. It has to be said that Robert Huth and Ryan Shawcross played well, and aside from a couple of Hunt shots, Thomas Sorenson had a very easy game.