2) Charlie Adam – Stoke City. 58th Minute, 1-1

When perusing the matches for the weekend it might have been easy to assume Stoke City v. Crystal Palace would be the least likely to produce a top goal, but it turns out this match proved to be one of the more exciting. So with that in mind, we have Charlie Adam coming in at number two in the goals of the week.

Stoke here are set up against Crystal Palace and just looking to push the ball forward. Under new manager Mark Hughes, it’s expect that the long-ball style we’re so used to seeing will diminish. Here, we see the opportunity for a through ball on the left, possibly to plan for a cross. Matthew Etherington decides to play the ball a different route, getting the ball to his best scoring opportunity, Peter Crouch.

We see now that Stoke have opted for a shorter pass. Crystal Palace have closed down the open space well, but in doing so they’ve dragged their defenders away from key points of the attack. Steve N’Zonzi and Charlie Adam are now alone and not being tracked. The options for Stoke to both play a long pass or short are a great use here, as they drag the defenders away, but also set up a pass to Peter Crouch, who has position behind his man. He can sneak deeper into the box, and hope for a nice volley.

The pass was made and executed. Crouch’s aerial ability and height gives him the first shot at the ball, but most importantly allows him to continue the attack. The ball will get popped around a few times, but this works out perfect for Stoke. Crouch is a natural scorer, but instead looks to pass. This is impeccable hold up play and something a little different. So often we’ll see Crouch play the half-volley, turn and shoot. Here he finds Stoke’s plenty of options in the box. N’Zonzi and Adam are continuing to enter the box, and Jonathan Walters awaits a possible head-on. Stoke have turned a throw-in into a flatout opportunity here.

So far Stoke have done a fantastic job of finding their best scoring option, taking advantage of the defense, and now – utilizing their numbers. Crouch heads the ball on to Walters. Because of his positioning so deep in the box, Crystal Palace’s defense needs to immediately focus on the ball, rather than marking others. In this case, Charlie Adam has now made it all the way into the box, without being checked once. Finally, Walters recognizes Adam unmarked, and gets the ball to him.

All Adam has to do here is finish into the corner, and he does that easily. Notice how now four Crystal Palace defenders are chasing Adam and the space they left him. His positioning on this pay was smart and tidy, as well as the passing in the box from both Crouch and Walters.

If you’ve read all of my posts, you’ll find it no secret that I love hold up play. To me it is the best attacking move in the game. Seeing a striker have awareness and competence when all they want to do is score goals is something fantastic to me. Crouch, N’Zonzi, and Walters embody that play in this goal. Adam finishes calmly, and Stoke grab a great team goal.