x

Stoke & Newcastle Lose, Norwich & Leicester Win

Saturday was a hugely busy day for our Premier League opponents with ten sides in action as well as us - we start our Saturday round up with news of Stoke, Newcastle, Norwich and Leicester.

FC Koln 2 Stoke City 1

STOKE CITY were cruelly beaten in the opening game of this weekend's Colonia Cup by hosts FC Koln.

A Yannick Gerhardt strike minutes before the final whistle sealed victory for the Germans after Peter Odemwingie had levelled matters just 10 minutes before.

It was the Nigerian's first goal for the Potters after recovering from a lengthy injury, as he cancelled out Anthony Modeste's goal just before half-time.

Mark Hughes: "From our point of view it was an okay game, no more or no less than that really, and we got more minutes into a lot of the guys.

"The tempo was a little bit slow and not that we are used to, it was probably a little too easy to allow the opposition to sit back and get behind the ball while hitting us on the counter attack.

"There are things to work on as always, but today was about giving some of the team some game time and the ones that play tomorrow will get the same."

Norwich 2 Brentford 1

NORWICH City wrapped up their 2015-16 Barclays Premier League preparations with a 2-1 win over Sky Bet Championship side Brentford at Carrow Road on Saturday.

Goals in either half from Wes Hoolahan and substitute Cameron Jerome proved enough to secure the win, after Andre Gray has initially levelled for the away side in an entertaining first half.

Alex Neil: "I thought we played really well at times and some of our link-up play was brilliant.

"In the second half we got into good areas, and the pleasing thing is we scored two goals. We created a lot of chances against a team we struggled against last year, which was the main reason for taking the game. "

Newcastle 0 Borussia Monchengladbach 1

Newcastle United completed their pre-season schedule with a 1-0 home defeat against Borussia Monchengladbach on Saturday.

Thorgan Hazard's second-half strike was enough to separate the sides at St. James' Park, although the result was slightly harsh on the Magpies, who arguably created the better chances of the friendly.

Birmingham 2 Leicester 3

The Foxes produced a bright start to the match but conceded twice in a minute halfway through the second half against the run of play. The first was an unstoppable free kick from David Cotterill that came just 60 seconds before Demarai Gray rattled another screamer into the same top corner.

City’s pressure eventually paid off just before the hour mark when Robert Huth arrived at the far post to convert a corner that was flicked on by Andy King and reduce the deficit.

The brilliance of Riyad Mahrez then created the equaliser for the Foxes, as his curling free kick struck the upright before falling kindly for Danny Drinkwater to slot home from close range.

Substitute Shinji Okazaki then completed the comeback in the 83rd minute as he met Mahrez’s cross with a brilliant diving header to round off an unbeaten pre-season for Claudio Ranieri’s side.

Claudio Ranieri: "It started very well. I think in the first 20 minutes were our best of pre-season. But suddenly we conceded two fantastic goals.

"When you watch the two goals you can only clap the two players who scored them. After this we slowed down our tempo like we didn’t believe it was possible for it to be 2-0 to our opponent. "

What to read next:

Swansea City : Darling edges closer to fitness ‘Exclusive quotes’
Swansea City fans will breath a sigh of relief with news that Harry Darling is recovering well from the knock he had against Middlesbrough last Saturday. Various sources confirm he is already making progress and is more than likely to appear this Saturday.
Watford 1 - 0 Swansea City - Player Ratings and Reports
If you saw the match, please give us your player ratings and a mini match report.
Swans in another giveaway at Watford
It wasn’t the best of performances at Vicarage Road,the Swans seemed unsure and overall unprepared for their second game this week. Their lack of pace as ever evident but also the passing in key areas was some of the worst we have seen in a long while. If it can be compared to that awful January the team had then it wasn’t much better than that.
Wales squad announced and four Swans players are included
Craig Bellamy has announced his squad for the first two games of World Cup Qualification. Despite not having star players like Harry Wilson and Ethan Ampadu available it still looks a selection that could get off to a great start next week.
Swansea City full of confidence for this evenings game at Watford
This evening Alan Sheehan takes charge of his fourth game as Swansea City interim head coach against Watford at Vicarage Road (7:45pm) Sheehan is undefeated in the role and is fresh off another home win on the weekend against Middlesbrough.
Bellamy names his first World Cup qualification squad & 1958 ?
Undefeated Wales manager, Craig Bellamy will announce his squad for the opening set of World Cup Qualifiers tomorrow at 10am. He will follow that up with a press conference scheduled for 11am UK time.
Swansea City : The reasons why Alan Sheehan can’t answer questions about his future
Alan Sheehan wanted to concentrate on tomorrow nights away fixture at Watford but in unusual fashion he was pressed on the Swansea City head coach job yesterday. Sheehan was reluctant to pin his colours to the mast and still remains somewhat evasive as to his feelings on the role.
Swansea City going for the sting this Wednesday at Watford
Swansea City head to Watford this week for a midweek fixture at Vicarage Road on Wednesday night (7:45pm) The Swans have behind them three games undefeated and things are on the up. Despite that it isn’t that long ago Swans fans were looking down in fear of relegation.
Swansea City : It’s almost as if the sun has been shining for a reason
The Swans may have not put their visitors away as clinically as they threatened yesterday afternoon at the Swansea com, but it was another victory at home and a huge sigh of relief for many.
Eom strike seals the win for Swansea City : Report, teams, stats & the game
It was another one of those desperate finishes at the Swansea. Com this afternoon as the Swans made it seven points from nine under interim head coach, Alan Sheehan. In a game which Swansea City really should have wrapped up in the first half it came down to resilience and character for the Swans to take all three points.