Sean Morrison goes from zero to hero as Cardiff beat Stoke at the Bet 365

Sean Morrison had a crazy night of ups and downs but helped his side come from behind to beat Stoke 2-1 at an ever-difficult Bet 365 Stadium to make it four straight wins for the visitors. 

It all started on the 25th minute when Tyrese Campbell worked the ball well down the right wing and crossed it in all for the Cardiff captain to score an own goal. There was nothing he could have done about it.  

Stoke 1-0 up at this point, took the lead into half time after a pretty dull first half. The Potters were in control and had a chance to double their lead shortly after the break with skipper James Chester rattling the crossbar from a corner. Morrison struggling to deal with Stoke’s pressure at this point.

After a close penalty call in the first half, the Bluebirds defender gave away a penalty after the break after a soft tackle on Nick Powell. Sam Vokes took the penalty, but Alex Smithies guessed the right way, and this changed the game.  

Former Burnley striker Vokes replaced Campbell just four minutes prior to the penalty as Stoke’s injury woes continued with their star man being forced off just after the break. The hosts certainly missed the 20-year-old’s creativity and found it hard after he went off. 

Cardiff now had the momentum, and brought on striker Robert Glatzel just after the penalty kick. Six minutes later the substitute finished calmly at the back post, after a Joe Ralls cross wasn’t cleared.  

The visitors were now enjoying themselves, and in the 76th minute, they went ahead through Morrison. From zero to hero, the Plymouth born centre half redeemed himself. 

The celebration showed what the club means to the skipper, with this being his seventh season at the club. Helping his side in the way he did shows great resilience. 

Cardiff manager Neil Harris said after the game: “It definitely wasn’t his best performance in a blue shirt, but Sean can get away with that every once in a while. 

“The conditions were absolutely awful with the wind and rain and the cold, so credit to my players for digging in and staying in it” 

Stoke’s injury struggles haunted them in the end with so many senior players out with injuries that it made it hard for the Potters to battle late on.  

Michael O’Neill talking after the game said “Ultimately its disappointing because we lose the game off two set pieces, and I suppose we couldn’t deal with their physicality in the end. With every substitution they seemed to add more physical presence into their team, this overpowered us in the end.” 

Next up for Cardiff it is a huge game against Swansea City at the Cardiff City Stadium. Whereas Stoke play Derby County, in what could be a miserable day again with more injuries added to the ever-growing list. 

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