Stoke City vs Manchester City final score.
Stoke City 1-0 Manchester City ( James Beattie ’45)
Manchester City’s poor away form continued as they were beaten 1-0 at the Britannia Stadium by 10 man Stoke City. Mark Hughes chose to play the same side that beat Newcastle United 2-1 on Wednesday, but his players were insipid and struggled to break Stoke down. The win takes the Potters out of the relegation zone, albeit temporarily.
City had plenty of possession early in the game, but it was always Stoke who looked like scoring first. Rory Delap’s powerful throw ins were excellent as usual, and Ryan Shawcross came close twice to putting the Potters ahead.
Stoke received a major setback in the 36th minute as Delap was given the marching orders by referee Martin Atkinson. Delap, who seemed to be incensed at the fact that Wright Phillips had got away with a challenge on Matthew Etherington, first slid in on Wright Phillips and then kicked the ball back onto the City winger. Wright Phillips retaliated with a swipe of his leg, but was lucky not to get any punishment.
The noisy Stoke fans then got into the act, and booed Wright Phillips and Atkinson. And just on the stroke of half time, the hard working Matthew Etherington crossed from the left, and James Beattie headed home at the far post after Wayne Bridge’s feeble attempt at intercepting the ball had failed.
Seeing that his central midfield pairing of De Jong and Zabaleta had not worked, Hughes took off the Argentinian and brought on Brazilian playmaker Elano. The former Shakhtar player got booked within 45 seconds of coming on, but he did provide City with some penetrating passes.
Robinho and Bellamy failed to find the target with volleyed attempts, and Hughes then brought on the powerful Felipe Caicedo. His introduction however failed to give City an equaliser, as Stoke defended with great determination at the back.
Bellamy probably came closest with a shot that was just inches over the bar, but Stoke held on to claim a famous victory at home.
Stoke City lineup: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Pugh, Delap, Whelan, Amdy Faye (Griffin 78), Etherington (Sonko 86), Beattie, Fuller (Cresswell 46).
Sent Off: Delap (38).
Booked: Wilkinson.
Goals: Beattie ’45.
Man City line up: Hart, Richards, Kompany, Onuoha, Bridge, Wright-Phillips, De Jong (Caicedo 72), Zabaleta (Elano 55), Ireland, Bellamy, Robinho.
Booked: Elano.