Gary Rowett only plans to use Peter Crouch sparingly this season - 7M sport

Gary Rowett only plans to use Peter Crouch sparingly this season



Posted Sunday, August 19, 2018 by PA

Gary Rowett only plans to use Peter Crouch sparingly this season

Gary Rowett says he does not want to rely on Peter Crouch this season despite the 37-year-old digging Stoke out of a deep hole with the equaliser in a 2-2 draw at Preston.

The former England striker headed home his 200th goal in English football to deny Preston the points after Rowett chucked him on in a desperate attempt to change the game.

Plan A, involving Saido Berahino and a more pass-and-move style of play, was not working for Stoke and it was only when they lumped it long to Crouch that they got their rewards.

Preston were twice pegged back at Deepdale, with Erik Pieters cancelling out Paul Gallagher’s penalty before Graham Burke lashed them ahead on the stroke of half time.

But Crouch, a 59th-minute replacement, did what he does best and made the difference from the bench.

“We don’t really want to go as direct as that, we don’t really want to have to rely on Crouchy but what you would say is every time he’s come on the pitch, he’s been excellent,” said Rowett, who is still waiting for his first win as Stoke boss.

“He’s shown a little bit of fight and he’s shown a little bit of quality at times too, he brought other players in and certainly second half our fight was better, our commitment was better, our quality still was a little bit lacking but we showed a little bit of something to take a point.”

Preston took the lead in the 40th minute when Tom Edwards handled in the box and Gallagher smashed the penalty high into the net.

But Stoke levelled in style a few minutes later, when Pieters hammered home a volley from the left-hand side of the box following Edwards’ deep right-wing cross.

However, Preston regained the advantage in the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time as Callum Robinson’s attempted shot fell perfectly for Burke at the back post to volley home emphatically.

Stoke regained their composure after the break and the introduction of Crouch made all the difference.

His baulk and size was too much for Preston to handle and his backward header from Joe Allen’s free-kick sealed a point.

“I think when you take the lead twice in the game, you’re always frustrated you didn’t win, particularly against a team that’s just come down from the Premier League and have arguably got a Premier League squad,” said Preston boss Alex Neil.

“I thought throughout the 90 minutes we were the better side. We conceded two disappointing goals from our point of view.

“I think the second goal’s a bit fortunate. The ball comes into Peter Crouch, he turns his back, it hits his back and it ends up in the back of the net.

“I thought we played well in spells. We scored the goal, and then right after that we went to sleep for a couple of minutes, they equalised, and then the response from the lads was good.

“The disappointing thing was it was really basic defending, just matching your man into the box, make sure you clear your header, and that ends up costing us a goal.

“The second one as well, Crouch comes on, he’s the biggest player on the pitch, you can’t miss him.”

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