Sam Howell Jersey Here are my thoughts on the game that could ultimately be the one we say kept us up.A ma sive winFrom these two home games in the last week against Newcastle and Blackburn, I, like most, said that four points should be enough to effectively seal our survival. With fifteen minutes to go, it seemed we were heading for a dull 0-0 draw, that would mean we had taken only two points from the two games and kept the pre sure right on us. It was extra good to get the goal and the win then yesterday, as it means we can really enjoy our remaining games, safe in the knowledge that we are very, very unlikely to go down.An awful gameParticularly first half, it really was a dreadful game. Blackburn didnt have a shot on target all match, and we were little better. In the second half we did kick on a bit, and Im just glad we got the goal. In the position were in, three points is more important that the performance any day.Learning from our mistakes?Last week, 1-0 up against Newcastle in the closing stages of the game, we sat back far too much, inviting pre sure onto us and paying the price as they scored an equaliser. This week, we sadly did the same, inviting pre sure onto us and making defensive substitutions after we took the lead. Its lucky that Blackburns attacking players were off form on the day, or we may well have been punished again. I know its unreasonable to expect us to attack vigourously with a one goal lead in the final minutes of a game, but its very frustrating to watch eleven men behind the ball inviting pre sure onto them when all too many times we have seen goals conceded in this way. When Manchester United came to Stoke, theytook the leadwith ten minutes left, and did they sit back on the lead and invite pre sure onto them? No, they kept po se sion of the ball well and barely gave us a sniff. Though I hate to say it, we could learn a lot from them. The Players Pa sionIt was fantastic to see the pa sion of our players at the final whistle. Abdoulaye Faye, who seems to have made the right choice in wishing to stay at Stoke despite interest from Blackburn in January, charged all the way round the pitch with a look of absolute glee on his face, while Thomas Sorensen executed his usual jumping up behind various people and then hugging them routine. While we dont Joe Theismann Jersey have the most technically gifted squad in the league, their togetherne s and pa sion has contributed a lot to what we have achieved this season.Who said Premier League footballers only care about the money?Drunk on his own sense of Poward Webb?I was happy when I heard that the referee for yesterdays game was to be Howard Webb, the referee generally accepted as the best we have and usually chosen by the FA to take control of the most important games. I was though, very disappointed by his performance. He was very inconsistent, one minute giving a foul for a challenge, the next waving play on, playing bizarre advantages, and turning down what looked like a good shout for a penalty for Stoke. I used to rate him highly as a referee, butI nowthink all the limelight hes been getting may have got to his head a bit. No-ones bigger than the game, especially not the referee.The oppositionBlackburn defended well throughout almost all of the game, its a pity for them they were nothing like so good at the other end of the pitch. With a bluntne s in attack at the Britannia Stadium only rivalled this season by Manchester City, theres little doubt in my mind why they are in the trouble they are if they attack like this regularly. I expected far more from the likes of Morten Gamst Pedersen, El Hadji Diouf and Benni McCarthy, butI thought all were poor.It looks like trouble for Big SamPlayer RatingsThomas Sorensen (gk): Despite Blackburn nt having a shot on target, Washington Commanders Hoodies Sweatshirts Sorensen had a pretty good game, dealing well with an aerial bombardment. He opted to punch more than claim ball in the air, and while no fan likes to see this in a goalkeeper, all his punches were very good ones, so Im happy Kyle Shurmur Jersey for him to do it. He did make a smart stop early on when Fayes back header looked like looping over him for an embarra sing own goal. 7Andy Wilkinson (rb): Before he was taken off with a recurrence of his back problem early in the second half, Wilko had a solid if not eye catching game, dealing pretty well with all he faced. He was, however, once again booked for a reckle s tackle on El Hadji Diouf. While I appreciate that Diouf is the kind of player you just want to launch into a challenge on, and Wilkinsons commitmentnt and physicality is the cornerstone of his game, it seems that every gamehe does a tackle like this, and it is an aspectof hisplay he should try to curb. 6Ryan Shawcro s (cb): Another solid performance from Shawcro s saw him earn a deserved clean sheet. He was strong in the air and positionally good all game. 7Abdoulaye Faye (cb): Stokes on-pitch captain was once again superb. He won almost everything in the air, was a sured with the ball at his feet and made some good tackles. If he doesnt win player of the season, something has gone very wrong. 8Danny Higginbotham (lb): Higginbotham had quite a quiet game, though he didnt do anything particularly wrong. He did put in a decent ball that led to our goal. 6Liam Lawrence (rm):Another good game for the improving Lawrence, which was capped by his very well taken goal. As his fitne s returns I am hopeful that he can become as important to the team in the Premier League as he was in the Championship last season. 7Glenn Whelan (cm): Whelan had a reasonably good game in the centre of midfield. He tends to drift in and out of games so at times he looked dangerous, at others he was anonymous. 6Rory Delap (cm): Delap had a sound game defensively, but didnt really offer a great deal going forward. Blackburn lacked pace in defence and I wish we had got the midfield forward more often to exploit this. His long throws werent on great form either, with none of them causing problems. Still, its the one thing Match of the Day want to talk about. 6Matthew Etherington (lm): I though Etherington had Sean Taylor Jersey his worst game yet for Stoke. He got very little change out of Blackburns Andre Ooijer throughout a game he struggled to make his mark on. For the third game in a row he mi sed a good scoring chance when he put a second half header wide, but i am enthused that our wingers are getting in to positions to score goals. Hopefully Etherington will be able to break his Stoke duck soon. 5Jame