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Aye up Duck,
Pete, Wils & myself made the trip down to London to watch The Mighty Potters take on Tottenham. Charlotte couldn't make it as she had gone to a family engagement with her boyfriend. The journey down was brightened up by the sight of a group of stokies who had travelled down in style in a white limo taking a piss on the grass verge of the M25.
After arriving close to London we parked the car at Cockfosters train station and had a quick pint of cold Guinness in the nearby Cock & Dragon pub. (ouch...London prices now).
We were the first ones in and got chatting to the friendly scouse guy (Everton fan) who runs it. The surrounding area is pretty slick and he told us that a fair number of football players frequent it. According to him, last week Robbie Keane was in there. I noticed that a few fellow Stokies had the same travel plans as us as they joined us in the pub.
Next on the agenda was a tube ride to Seven Sisters. However, Pete declared that this wasn't near enough to the ground for him so we then jumped on another train to take us to White Hart Lane station. Near to here we found The Haringey Irish Club for some more liquid refreshment. This social club welcomes both home & away fans.
Once inside we chatted to a couple of Stoke lads aswell as a little chat to some Tottenham fans. We also had a chance to check out Wils' new tattoo. It depicts Gordon Banks celebrating the 1972 semi-final league cup win over West Ham. He was going to have Denis Smith done on the other arm but it was cancelled due to a power cut.
Onto the ground. We were situated in the upper tier and the first thing that you notice is the police surveillance room that is attached to the roof right in front of you. The other thing that you notice is the steepness of the end and the close proximity of the home supporters on our right. You can see the whites of their eyes.
Onto the game.
Simmo..........Fantastic game. Don't think that he put a foot wrong.
Wilko...........Good solid performance. Rose to the challenge of playing against Lennon.
Collins..........Another good performance. Getting into his stride now.
Abdy Faye....Back to his best. I loved it when he twice shielded the ball from Keane to let it run out for a goal kick.
Shawx..........Another good game. Watched by Mr. Capello.
Delap...........Better than last week but still a little out of sorts.
Diao............Had a great game. His best in a Stoke shirt. He put some solid tackles late in the game to relieve the pressure. BBC's Match of the Day said that he should of had a penalty awarded against him at the end of the match but it clearly shows that he played the ball. They didn't mention the push on B.T. earlier in the game (Tossers)
Ethers.........Full of running and was busy around the pitch.
Whitehead.....This guy doesn't get much praise but he deserves some credit for putting in a great shift.
Fuller.........I admit that I was calling for him to make more of an effort at times in the second half when we were under pressure. However, like last week his sheer power and trickery won us the game. His balance was also in evidence when he made the goal. It's amazing how he didn't fall over.
B.T.......Good all round effort from B.T. Did fantastic to clear that Crouch effort off the line. Was wayward with his passes in the second half though.
Whelan.......Did well. Lovely finish for the winner.
Tuncay........Looked more part of it when he came on. Had an effort that he put wide when he came in on his left foot.
Higgy.........Late sub to secure the win
I've got to admit that I didn't realise that Tottenham were down to 10 men at the end. The 1,700 Stokies made themselves heard throughout and the mental to celebrate Whelans goal will never be forgotten.
We left dead on the final whistle as Pete had to race back for a wedding reception that evening. We ran down the Tottenham court road with big smiles on our faces.
The last time Stoke won at Tottenham was in 1975. The next home league game was against.....Wolverhampton Wanderers. (This Saturdays opponents) I remember this game because Stoke were losing 2-0. My Dad always liked to leave the matches with a few minutes to go to "miss the traffic" and this game was no exception. On the walk back to the car we heard 2 loud cheers. Stoke had pulled it back to 2-2.
Dave
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