FC Thun 0-1 Stoke City

Stoke City registered an impressive and crucial 1-0 victory against FC Thun in a fiery Europa League playoff first leg encounter in Switzerland through a fine goal from Danny Pugh.

The game also saw Matthew Upson make his first start for the Potters in a match that did little to spark the imagination and was marred by a late dismissal for Thun goalkeeper David da Costa.

Stoke made an impressive start to the game as the team imposed its will in the opening minutes, appearing at the forefront of the most of the game’s attacking opportunities despite earlier worries over the contest taking part on an artificial surface.

Kenwyne Jones became an obvious focus of Stoke’s progression and it was through the tall Trinidadian that Stoke registered the opener.

A free kick taken by Ryan Shawcross near the halfway line utilized the aerial prowess of the striker and his flick on found Danny Pugh on the edge of the area where he proceeded to crash the ball into the bottom right of the Thun goal and give Tony Pulis’ men a deserved lead.

FC Thun didn’t appear adverse to the physical element of the game as it produced several tough challenges of its own and created something of a fiery clash between their increasingly effective striker Dario Lezcano and his marker Huth.

The second half found much of the same from both teams with Matthew Etherington booked for dissent and the already cautioned Huth replaced by Andy Wilkinson as Lezcano continued to cause problems for Stoke’s back line.

Both sides continually struggled to carve out any clear-cut chances, however, as the game became a story of cynical fouls and wasted free kicks.

The tie drew to a close with the Potters having grabbed an important result through Pugh’s fine finish and saw them take a strong step towards the Europe League group stage.