Stoke 1 Manchester City 1: Etherington lands late blow to stun sour Mancini

27 November 2010 22:27
'What game was he watching?' asked asmiling Stoke boss Tony Pulis after hearing that Roberto Mancini hadinsisted Manchester City deserved all three points. [LNB]'No, he has to say what he has to say.' [LNB]And City manager Mancini saidplenty. He claimed that 'after 100 long balls and 100 throw-ins, it'sdifficult to play football.' [LNB] Floored: On the day that Carlos Tevez's former club Manchester United went top, City's title charge was pegged back at Stoke[LNB] [LNB]No matter that the most exquisite combinations came from the Potteries side.[LNB]He praised Micah Richards for whatlooked for all the world to be a spectacular winner after 81 minutes.But he declined to praise one of the finest back-heels the PremierLeague has ever seen, from Tuncay in added time.[LNB] It was a piece of magic that eventhe masterful Mancini would have been proud of in his prime, andallowed Matthew Etherington the chance to smack Stoke's late equaliser.[LNB]No matter. The Italian felt robbed, and he was not about to compliment his hosts. [LNB]One can only assume Mancini wouldalso have been reluctant to compliment referee Peter Walton had hereached him at half time, either. [LNB]'I didn't agree with two or three ofhis decisions in their box,' Mancini said when asked to explain hisdetermination to confront the official.[LNB] 'But I was very far from the box, so...' [LNB] Festive mood: Matthew Etherington celebrates his leveller[LNB]City's players did not seem to share Mancini's sense of injustice when James Milner and Mario Balotelli went down in the area.[LNB] Luckily for the Italian boss, he was restrained by assistant Brian Kidd, and was unable to make a scene. [LNB]STAT ATTACKMatt Etherington's 90th-minute equaliser maintained Stoke's amazing record of second-half goals 17 of the 19 goals scored by Tony Pulis's men have come after the interval.[LNB]Yet Mancini did not have to be sucha bad sport having been denied two points at the death, while rivalsArsenal and Manchester United won convincingly. [LNB]There were encouraging signs withregard to his team's character, for they outplayed Stoke for longperiods of the second-half and dampened that famous Stoke passion. [LNB]'We fought for every ball and playedfantastic football in the second half, but I'm disappointed with theresult because I felt we deserved to win the game,' added Mancini. [LNB]Pulis was incredulous because the best chances were created by Stoke. [LNB]Abeautiful pass from Kenwyne Jonesput Ricardo Fuller through in the 16th minute, but he fired wide. Bythen Joe Hart had already saved twice from excellent Etherington. [LNB] So close: City's James Milner (right) clears a shot off the line[LNB] [LNB] [LNB]TEAMSSTOKE (4-4-2): Begovic; Wilkinson (Wilson 63min), Shawcross, Huth, Collins; Pennant (Tuncay 46), Whitehead, Delap, Etherington; Fuller (Walters 75), Jones. Subs (not used): Sorensen, Higginbotham, Whelan, Gudjohnsen. Booked: Delap, Wilson.[LNB]MAN CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart; Richards, Kompany, K Toure, Koloarov; De Jong, Barry; Silva, Milner (A Johnson 82), Balotelli (Jo 90); Tevez. Subs (not used): Given, Wright-Phillips,Boateng, Lescott, Vieira. Booked: Tevez, Richards.[LNB]Referee: P Walton (Northants).[LNB]Ryan Shawcross should also haveheaded in Etherington's slice, while Robert Huth had an even betterchance from a Etherington set-piece in the last minute of normal time. [LNB]And in the 78th minute Jones thought he had scored, only for Milner's desperate goal-line clearance to be deemed legal. [LNB]Yet City broke the deadlock after some superior midfield play.[LNB]When Milner passed to Richards, the powerful full-back produced a turn of ballet-like grace before drilling his opener past Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. [LNB]But in the final seconds Tuncay's brilliant diagonal back-heel invited Etherington's equaliser, prompting a sour reaction from Mancini. [LNB]Pulis said: 'He has his view and he's free to express it,' before adding: 'You can have all the money in the word - top players - but a team that goes out there as one takes a lot of beating.'[LNB] By the time Mancini stops complaining about opponents and finds a winning consistency, rival title-chasers might be out of reach. That is the City boss's real problem.[LNB] [LNB] Balotelli 'can be better than Rooney': Mancini stands by special treatmentAleksandar Kolarov warns Stoke: We City slickers won't roll over if you hit us hardMANCHESTER CITY FC

Source: Daily_Mail