Rapport från Dave, vår man på plats
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Aye up duck,
Stoke came within a referees whistle of repeating last seasons heroics which was to beat Man City with only 10 men. Sadly, Mr Alan Wiley made sure that he received all the headlines instead by disallowing the goal for something that he only saw. It was a real shame as that moment would of lived in the memory for a long time.
What I found strange was that it was easier for him to allow the goal. For instance, Stoke were down to 10 men , it was against the Boothen and deep into injury time,. Also because Wiley had also messed up earlier in the game by allowing Vieira to remain on the pitch for kicking Whelan in the bollocks. What Im trying to say that it was harder for him to disallow the goal!!!!!!!!
Shawcross was clearly one of the tallest players on the pitch. Given is one of the smallest goalkeepers around. Therefore, Shawcross didn't foul him because he didn't need too. Instead he concentrated solely on the ball and timed his jump too perfection. What also annoys me is that Wiley was in a perfect position to see all that.
Before the game I would of probably settled for a point. After they had equalised I would of definitely settled for a point. So if I look at it that way then I should be happy...but I'm not.
Great atmosphere and performance particularly in the first half. Stoke fans taunted Man City for not selling their allocation by singing "You stayed at home...to watch Man U"......"You stayed at home...to watch Man U"
Also Bridge, Adebayor, Wright-Phillips and in particular Vieira came in for attention from the Stoke fans. Oh yeh...so did a certain Mr Wiley.
Sorro.....Didn't have much to do.
Huth......Solid performance from the German.
Shawx...Good game and cheated out of that goal at the end.
Higgy.....Did well first half but taken off at half time with an injury.
Faye......Did well but should of dealt with the ball that led to the sending off. Its as if all the good publicity that he rightly received last season has gone to his head and he is playing to the crowd. Still an awesome player though.
Delap...........Great game. None stop work rate.
Whitehead....Great game. None stop work rate.
Lawrence......Worked hard but little, if any, creativity.
Whelan.......Had a good game against Vieira. Great strike for the goal.
Fuller........Terrorised the Man City defence for the second time in 4 days. He looks really motivated at the moment.
Mama.......Linked up well with Fuller and won most of the aerial battles. Missed a great opportunity after 4 minutes though.
Collins....Replaced Higgy at half time. Did OK.
Diao.......Brought on to replace Lawrence to preserve the 1-0 lead. However, his deep positional play only succeeded in inviting Man City to attack us.
B.T........Brought on to replace the tired Fuller. However, he's just not the type of player to play up front alone and chase the ball. Maybe, Tuncay could of done this instead?
Ah well.......we're still unbeaten in 2010.
I'm just so proud of the team at the moment. They are putting in great performances and everyone is playing their part.
.....Dave
