16' Cameron receives the ball in the corner of the box and completely flops his cross. Looked like he meant to loft it in towards crouch.
21' Traore blows passed Cameron and forces Shawcross into a challenge that sees him earn a yellow. Hard to be harsh on Cam (other than overcommitting) because Traore is very fast.
24' Cameron with a absolutely huge block! Tracked his man back past Shawcross and slid in for a last minute play. Huge upgrade from Charlie Adam.
29' Whelan puts a long pass into a dangerous area of the box and Arnautovic takes a nice touch off a deflection then buries it. Stoke up 1 - 0.
38' Cameron completely misses Johnson's intention and sends a pass out of play. A few moments of rust have found there way in for Cameron as the half moves on.
42' Arnautovic scores off a corner that is not cleared out of the box after Crouch nods it back into play, 2 - 0 Stoke.
How bad must Guzan be at this point, to be sitting while this terrible, aging, slow version of Valdes plays?
Halftime, 2 - 0. Stoke look a level above Middlesborough throughout the first half. Match started off pretty scrappy and had its moments throughout. Cameron started really well with a lot of his normal qualities on display. As the half wore on, there were a few bad misplaced passes and twice where he was beat. However, I can honestly say his physicality and game management were much needed by Stoke IMO.
Good half by Cameron, Some rusty moments, 3-4 wayward passes going forward, and those 2 bad crosses. But I love watching him play when he is on. Showing his athleticism, great play to track the runner and block the dangerous shot. Him and Whelan may not be the best but they work so hard in protecting the back four. Stoke have dominated and Arne is on a mission.
Valdes has a completely different skillset than Guzan. It depends what Karankia was looking for. Also, Guzan is leaving at the end of the season, no reason to play him now.