Late Xherdan Shaqiri strike lights up dire affair as Stoke beat Newcastle

A late Xherdan Shaqiri strike proved enough for Stoke City to grab their third straight league win in a game of few chances at the Britannia Stadium and plunge Newcastle United deeper in trouble.

Shaqiri left Robert Elliot flat footed and beaten for pace as a poor affair looked headed for a draw with just nine minutes of normal time remaining.

Both sides created very little in the way of chances on a blustery night at the Britannia until Shaquiri unleashed an effort that Elliot bizarrely watched fly only a metre to his right.

Newcastle mustered only three shots on target on the night but almost snatched a dramatic equaliser when Seydou Doumbia saw his close range effort expertly clawed out of goal by Jack Butland.

Marko Arnautovic hit the bar with the final kick of the game as all the action happened in the final ten minutes for those who bothered to see it out on a cold evening.

Victory for Stoke means that they climb to seventh although Liverpool, in eighth, have a game in hand. For Newcastle, their relegation battle intensifies.

They lie one off bottom dwellers Aston Villa and level on points with Sunderland and Norwich above them.

Why didn’t Elliot move? Granted, the keeper may have been cold and not been kept overly busy but it seemed weird that he didn’t even attempt to move for Shaqiri’s shot. It was only a metre to his right and he just watched it sail past him with little movement on the ball.

Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City): Always looked like the player who was going to make the difference on the night. Whipped several crosses into the Newcastle goal in the opening half that Elliot gathered before opting for the more direct approach late on.

Stoke: Butland 7, Bardsley 6, Cameron 7, Wollschield 6, Pieters 6, Imbula 6, Whelan 6, Arnautovic 6, Shaqiri 8, Affelay 6, Walters 6. SUBS: Muniesa 6, Diouf 6, Crouch 6.

Newcastle: Elliot 6, Janmaat 7, Lascelles 6, Taylor 6, Dummett 7, Colback 6, Shelvey 6, Sissoko 6, Wijnaldum 7, Gouffran 6, Mitrovic 6. SUBS: Perez 6, Doumbia 6, Riviere 6.

81’ – GOAL! Stoke City 1-0 Newcastle United: Shaqiri gets a yard of space on the edge of the box and drills his left foot shot past Elliot. Weirdly, it was close to the keeper but he didn’t move.

90+3’ – GREAT SAVE! It’s a wonderful save from Butland to keep out Doumbia from Shelvey’s cross.

90+4’ – BAR! Arnautovic strikes the woodwork with the final kick of the match.

Peter Crouch makes his 400th Premier League appearance.

Stoke are unbeaten in the last five league meetings and win their third on the bounce (W3, D2).

They have won five of their last six home league games against the Magpies (L1).

Newcastle have lost 17 of their last 21 league away games (W2, D2), including the last six in a row.

Steve McClaren's side have kept just one clean sheet in their last 12 league matches.