- Beattie (78 pen), Beattie (80)
- Kranjcar (75), Shawcross (90 og)
- Date:2009-02-21
- Kick-off:15:00
- Venue:Britannia Stadium
- Attendance:26354
- Referee:Jones, M
Live Commentary
90mins
Full Time: STOKE 2-2 PORTSMOUTH: A poor game is brought to life by a three-goal burst in five second-half minutes and ends with late drama as Pompey snatch a point.
90mins
STOKE 2-2 PORTSMOUTH: Would you believe it.....a hopeful shot by Hreidarsson deflects of SHAWCROSS and into the net.
86mins
Nugent and Kranjcar make way for Kanu and Belhadj.
84mins
Johnson swings over a dangerous cross. It looked like Sorensen was going to get caught out but Faye cleared.
82mins
Sidibe makes way for Cresswell.
80mins
STOKE 2-1 PORTSMOUTH: Great comeback by Stoke. It's BEATTIE again who finishes after good work by Pugh.
79mins
Davis is also booked for arguing about the penalty.
79mins
Johnson is booked for the handball that led to the penalty. It looked a harsh decision.
78mins
STOKE 1-1 PORTSMOUTH: What a comeback. BEATTIE fires home a penalty following Johnson's handball.
75mins
STOKE 0-1 PORTSMOUTH:: A goal! KRANJCAR beats the offside trap and strokes the ball past Sorensen.
72mins
It's a defensive change by Portsmouth as midfielder Mullins comes on for striker Basinas.
70mins
Beattie strokes the ball home but the linesman correctly flagged him offside.
68mins
Higginbotham blazes his shot well wide of the target.
66mins
Tony Pulis does make a chnage as Tonge comes on for Lawrence.
64mins
Crouch heads high over the bar. It was a decent ball in from Johnson and the England man should have done better.
62mins
A low driven cross by Pugh is sliced out for a corner by Hreidarsson.
60mins
Pennant and Crouch combine well with Kranjcar but the move breaks down and Amady Faye brings the ball out of defence for Stoke.
58mins
Hreidarsson is also booked.
58mins
Could so easily have been red. It's Lawrence who goes into Mike Jones' notebook. It looked like the midfielder lashed out at Hreidarsson.
56mins
Pugh chests the ball down for Higginbothom but his cross is too close to James and the Pompey stopper falls on it.
54mins
Kitson and Tonge are warming up for Stoke. Could Tony Pulis be ready to make a change and liven this game up?
52mins
Good cross by Johnson almost gets through to Nugent but Abdoulaye Faye heads clear. First chance for Portsmoth in this second half.
50mins
Great chance for Beattie but a poor first touch sees the ball dribble through to James.
48mins
Three minutes in and another Stoke cross goes into the Portsmouth box. Beattie didn't read it though and James collects easily.
46mins
No changes for either side as we get back under way in the second half. Both managers will be looking for more from their sides following a dour first 45 minutes.
45mins
A scrappy first half ends all square. Stoke had most of the ball but failed to create a clear cut chance.
42mins
Distin clears yet another cross from Lawrence.
40mins
Five minutes of the first half to go and you get the feeling this one could be 0-0 at full time. There's plenty of aerial threat from Stoke but Portsmouth have dealt with it easily.
38mins
Sidibe is involved in everything Stoke are doing. It was Lawrence who crossed this time but Hreidarsson eased the Stoke striker off the ball.
36mins
Another cross into the Portsmouth box but Sidibe heads straight at James.
34mins
Great defending by Campbell as Beattie looked to release Sidibe. The former Arsenal man just managed to slide in to deny the giant Stoke striker.
31mins
Portsmouth mount a quick break away but for some reason Crouch decided to head the ball back rather then directing Pennant's cross on target.
28mins
Another deep cross into the Portsmouth box is collected by James.
26mins
It's all Stoke as Beattie and Sidibe continue to terrorise the Portsmouth defence. It's Distin who comes to the rescue this time.
24mins
Panic in the Portsmouth box but Beattie and Sidibe both fail to get a touch on the ball and Campbell clears.
22mins
Pennant's starting to look dangerous on the wing. He sends over another good cross for Crouch but Shawcross just manages to head clear.
20mins
Lawrence lets fly from 30 yards but the ball arrows just wide of the target.
18mins
Shawcross and Sorensen make a mess of Pennant's cross but Crouch heads straight at the Stoke keeper.
17mins
James comes racing out of his goal to snatch the ball off Beattie's head.
16mins
Wilkinson bombs down the wing for Stoke but runs out of steam and Johnson clears.
14mins
Nugent does well to beat his man and get in a dangerous cross but Basinas lashes it wide of the target.
12mins
Beattie flicks the ball on for Sidibe but Distin matches him stride for stride and the balls goes out for a goal kick.
10mins
First real chance of the game as Kranjcar volleys high over the bar from Crouch's knock down.
8mins
Pugh floats the ball forward looking for Beattie but Campbell steps in and brings the ball out of defence.
8mins
It's quite a scrappy start. Both sides are struggling to get going.
6mins
Shawcross hits a cross field pass looking for Sidibe but Hreidarsson just manages to intercept it.
4mins
Higginbotham and Lawrence combine well but Distin heads clear. Good early pressure by Stoke.
2mins
It looks like caretaker Portsmouth boss Paul Hart is going for the points in this one. The visitors have started with a 4-3-3 formation.
0mins
Ref Mike Jones gets the game under way and Faye is immediately forced to shield the ball out for a goal kick.
0mins
The teams are out at the Britannia Stadium for this relegation tussle. A win for Stoke will boost their chances of survival but if Portsmouth prevail, then the home side could go bottom of the league.
0mins
Portsmouth: James, Johnson, Campbell, Distin, Hreidarsson, Pennant, Basinas, Davis, Kranjcar, Crouch, Nugent
0mins
Hreidarsson has shaken off a virus to take his place in the Portsmouth defence. Nugent continues up front with Crouch.
0mins
Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Diao, Amdy Faye, Pugh, Sidibe, Beattie
0mins
Stoke must do without the suspended Delap and Etherington, but striker Sidibe does return up front. Wilkinson comes in for the injured Kelly and fans favourite Lawrence also starts.
Match Preview
Stoke and Portsmouth face off at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday with both clubs in danger of falling closer to the relegation zone should they lose.
Stoke are one place and one point off the bottom three, while Pompey are three points above the Potters having recently won for the first time in ten league games.
Portsmouth, without a full-time manager, beat Manchester City 2-0 in their last Premier League outing two weeks ago to steer the club away from immediate trouble.
Meanwhile Tony Pulis' Stoke side were left frustrated by two late Sunderland goals two weeks ago, in a match Pulis described as "desperately disappointing."
That 2-0 defeat also featured a second red card in two games for Stoke, a situation Pulis has admitted he must address.
"We are shooting ourselves in the foot and it's costing us important points. It's affecting us and we certainly cannot have it," Pulis told The Sentinel.
The Potters are sweating on the fitness of three players who will be given until Saturday morning to prove their health.
Danny Higginbotham, Leon Cort and Mamady Sidibe are all fighting to be fit, with striker Sidibe the most likely to return and fill the void left by the injured Ricardo Fuller.
"Mama is back on the training field and looking fine so far," Pulis commented this week, as Sidibe looks to recover from a knee injury that has kept him sidelined for more than two months.
Pulis also has to fill gaps in midfield left by the suspensions to Matthew Etherington and Rory Delap. Richard Cresswell and Danny Pugh are the most likely replacements.
Richard Hughes and Armand Traore are Pompey's two injury worries, but caretaker manager Paul Hart is happy at their progress following groin and hip respectively.
"Richard (Hughes) got out and did a bit on Tuesday but isn't ready yet, while Armand (Traore) is getting better. Papa (Bouba Diop)'s still out, as is Jamie (Ashdown), but it's not too bad at all at the moment."
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Match Report
A stoppage-time own goal by Ryan Shawcross denied Stoke City a precious victory and earned Portsmouth a valuable point as this relegation scrap came to life in the final 15 minutes.
Stoke appeared to be closing in on three points when Hermann Hreidarsson's cross-cum-shot deflected off Shawcross's knee to leave Thomas Sorensen helpless.
The contest had been instantly forgettable until Portsmouth took a 75th-minute lead when Niko Kranjcar latched onto David Nugent's pass and slid a low shot past Sorensen.
But Stoke were level three minutes later from a controversial penalty after Glen Johnson was penalised for handball.
The Pompey full-back was booked for his heated protest as he insisted the ball had struck him on his shoulder.
James Beattie waited for the arguments to calm down before slamming his penalty kick into the top right-hand corner of David James' net, with the England goalkeeper diving in the opposite direction.
The noise from the Stoke fans was now close to deafening and the players responded with Beattie poaching his second, and fourth in five games, ten minutes from time.
Andy Wilkinson's far post cross was fired back across goal by Danny Pugh on the half-volley and Beattie was perfectly placed to nod home from point-blank range.
Tony Pulis' men then attempted to shut out the game and looked like doing so until Shawcross' misfortune in the first of four added minutes.
Neither goalkeeper had a shot to save during a low quality first 45 minutes, although Stoke's power game just about gave them the edge.
There were numerous scrambles in the Portsmouth penalty area, but Sol Campbell and Sylvan Distin, in particular, held firm.
Stoke's best attempt in the first period came through a speculative effort from Liam Lawrence which landed on the top of James' net.
And the visitors had to wait until stoppage time for their only threat when a fine challenge by Abdoulaye Faye denied Peter Crouch a clear strike on goal.
The action improved at the start of the second half and Beattie would have had a clear route to goal if he had managed to control Mamady Sidibe's 47th-minute pass.
But one goal was the most the vast majority of people inside the ground would have expected until the late drama unfolded.
Stoke City Team
Portsmouth Team
Stoke City | Portsmouth |
Corners
| 2 | 3 |
Fouls
| 6 | 10 |
Goal attempts
| 7 | 6 |
Shots off target
| 4 | 4 |
Offsides
| 1 | 0 |
86mins
Is there going to be late drama after a crazy couple of minutes?