Newcastle United 2-2 Stoke City
Abdoulaye Faye returned to haunt his former employers with a stoppage time equaliser as Stoke faught back from 2-0 down at half time to draw 2-2 on Tyneside.
Tony Pulis made a few suprise changes to the starting eleven with Ibrahima Sonko prefered to Leon Cort at centre back, Danny Pugh coming in for his first start of the season on the left wing, and perhaps most suprising of all, Richard Cresswell chosen ahead of Ricardo Fuller in attack.
The changes to the team however appeared to backfire as Newcastle dominated the opening exchanges, and deservadly took the lead on eight minutes when the lively Argentine winger Jonas Gutierrez played through Michael Owen who swept the ball past Thomas Sorensen for the opener.
It was just the kind of start we didnt need and we didn't have to wait long for things to get worse, as the Potters appeared to be continuing where they left off on Tuesday's following the hugely disappointing performance against Derby in the Carling Cup.
On 24 minutes Geremi played in Obafemi Martins who played the ball across Sorensen to provide Owen with a simple tap in to double the home sides' advantage. At this stage the wrist slashers were sharpening their knives as memories of last month's capitulation at Old Trafford came flooding back, with Newcastle threatning to run riot.
Just before the second goal Glenn Whelan had replaced the injured Salif Diao and his introduction gave the midfield some much needed balance as the Potters steadied the ship and held out to go in only two down at half time.
Fresh from an ear bashing from the manager, Stoke came out fired up for the second half and were dealt a stroke of luck when an injury to Newcastle midfielder Danny Guthrie appeared to unsettle the Magpies and forced them onto the defensive.
Fuller replaced the ineffective Rory Delap and was quickly into his stride as he skipped past Fabricio Collocini before squaring to Sidibe who reduced the deficit on the hour.
It was Stoke who now had the bit between their teeth as Newcastle, who had looked so dominant in the first half, lost their shape and seemed content to hold onto their lead rather than trying to increase it.
Fuller then tested Shay Given himself with a left foot volley before Abdoulaye Faye and Pugh missed further chances to bring the Potters level. Meanwhile Sonko was proving himself to be yet another long throw specialist in the Stoke armoury with several threatning launches into the box with Delap off the park.
It looked as though the Potters' valiant second half efforts were all going to be vain before Faye produced a dramatic equaliser a minute into stoppage time. Whelen delivered an inviting free kick into the Newcastle penalty area which saw Danny Higginbotham flick towards the back post where Faye was on hand to smash the ball past Given to complete a fabulous comeback, and send the travelling fans into raptures.
To compound a miserable second half for Newcastle, manager Joe Kinnear was sent to the stands by referee Mike Riley for complaining excessivly about Sebastien Bassong's foul on Fuller, which lead to the free kick in the run up to the equaliser.
After such a dismal first half performance this had been a superb effort from the Potters in what could turn out to be a crucial moment over the course of the season. This was more than a valuable point against a relegation rival, the comeback will give both players and fans alike the belief that Stoke can perform away from home, that they can compete when the going gets tough and that they can get those all important points needed for Premier League survival.
Man of the Match - Abdoulaye Faye - Produced vital blocks at crucial times and popped up with a deserved first goal for the club with that dramatic last minute equaliser. Again we ask, just what were Newcastle thinking when they let this man come to Stoke for just £2.25 million?
Attendance - 47,422
Newcastle: Given, Beye, Coloccini, Bassong, Jose Enrique, N'Zogbia, Geremi (Cacapa,82), Guthrie (Taylor,46), Gutierrez, Owen, Martins (Viduka,74)
Stoke: Sorensen, Griffin, Sonko, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Delap (Fuller,57), Amdy Faye (Tonge,78), Diao (Whelan,21), Pugh, Cresswell, Sidibe
3 comments:
that equaliser stopped me winning £35 so thanks for that, nice report though
nice report, and fair play to stoke, they could have rolled over after half-time, but their fighting spirit was exactly what i feared in the second half with our powerpuff midfield.
Spot on match report, a very good read. What was Pulis thinking not starting Fuller!
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