Crouch snatches late Stoke win against Southampton

Stoke City secured their second league win of the season as substitute Peter Crouch netted the winner against a goal-shy Southampton.

Mame Biram Diouf's header put the hosts ahead and they should have doubled their lead a minute later.

Virgil van Dijk, making his first league start since January for Saints, brought down Saido Berahino in the box but his penalty was saved by Fraser Forster.
Southampton equalised through the unlikely source of Maya Yoshida but Crouch came off the bench to secure the three points.

Crouch was the difference as Stoke beat Southampton 1-0 at St Mary's in May - a game in which Saints enjoyed the majority of the possession but were poor in the final third.

And it was a similar story at the Bet365 Stadium where their chronic lack of confidence in front of goal showed.
Saints saved their best chances for the final 10 minutes, substitute Manolo Gabbiadini had two shots inside 60 seconds, but his side left empty-handed.

Berahino drought continues

Saido Berahino started only his second game of the season for Stoke, given the nod up front ahead of Jese as Mark Hughes's side looked to come back from a 4-0 defeat by Chelsea last weekend.

And the 24 year-old striker was afforded the perfect opportunity to net his first goal for the club after being clipped in the box by Van Dijk.

But he was denied from the spot by the out-stretched hand of England keeper Forster and he has now gone 30 Premier League games without scoring a goal - he last found the back of the net in February 2016 in West Brom's 3-2 win over Crystal Palace.

Berahino has not always been shy in front of the goal - the West Brom academy product netted 20 goals in 45 appearances for the club in 2014-15, before his relationship with Albion boss Tony Pulis broke down.

Having gone six months without playing, he was finally sold to Stoke City for £12m in January 2017, but has failed to re-find his goal-scoring form.

Hughes seems to be persevering with the talented forward, but his inspired substitution on 70 minutes saw veteran Crouch show Berahino how it is done.

Mixed return for Virgil van Dijk

This was a game in which two players had the opportunity to improve their relationship with both their managers and their fans.
The two in question, Berahino and Van Dijk, came together in the 43rd minute as Van Dijk flung a lazy leg at Berahino in the area.

The incident was a blow to both of their charm offensives, but aside from the needless penalty, defender Van Dijk was Saints' best player.

He had been restored to the Southampton bench in recent weeks but this was his first league start for the club since 22 January.

The 26-year-old, who missed the second-half of last season with a knee injury, endured a tumultuous summer on the south coast.
His relationship with the club broke down when he handed in a transfer request, was ordered to train alone, his club accused pursuers Liverpool of making an illegal approach and he ended up staying put.

But Van Dijk was commanding in defence with a first-minute block on Kurt Zouma's long-range shot and a vital deflection on Joe Allen's goal-bound effort.

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