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  • Higginbotham (19 pen), Delap (53)
  • Bent (25)
  • Date:2008-10-19
  • Kick-off:16:00
  • Venue:Britannia Stadium
  • Attendance:27500
  • Referee:Mason, L

Live Commentary

90mins

It's finally finished after an unbelievable game which Stoke win 2-1 thanks to Delap and Higginbotham's goals. Spurs had equalised through Bent but had Bale and then Dawson sent off late on.

90mins

Fuller slams a shot off the bar with 11 minutes of the allocated 11 played

90mins

Dawson is sent off for a lunge on Sidibe, he's furious but it looked a poor challenge

90mins

Eight minutes of the 11 are up following that amazing penalty miss that bounced off one post and then onto the other

90mins

Woodgate fouls Soares for Stoke's second penalty of the game but Fuller's spot-kick hits both posts before Delap's follow up clips the top of the bar

90mins

Dawson deflects a cross behind for a Stoke corner as four minutes of stoppage time are completed

90mins

Lennon is penalised for a foul - two minutes of the 11 played

90mins

Woodgate is booked for a high challenge as we approach stoppage time - of which there will be 11 minutes!

89mins

Soares creates some space well before firing just over the bar

88mins

Another Jenas' free-kick is again off target

87mins

Dawson hacks the ball clear as Stoke look for a decisive third goal

86mins

Fuller twists and turns in the box before eventually losing the ball

85mins

It will be interesting to see how many minutes the referee adds on after several lengthy delays in the second half - it could even be 10 minutes

83mins

Ryan Shawcross is on as Sonko can't continue

82mins

Soares' corner is cleared as Sonko goes down with a knock now

80mins

Jenas wastes a free-kick for Spurs

78mins

Michael Dawson comes on in Corluka's place

76mins

Corluka has been given oxygen and looks like he could be taken straight to hospital after being stretchered off. There's going to be at least eight minutes of injury time added

73mins

The game has been delayed for three minutes now as Corluka receives treatment, it looks like it could be a serious injury

70mins

Soares' free-kick is palmed clear by Gomes as Corluka again goes down injured and this time he won't be able to continue

68mins

Corluka is down after being caught by his own keeper Gomes and needs treatment

66mins

Sorensen has a cut under his eye and has been forced off, Steve Simonsen is the sub keeper who is on in his place

64mins

Hutton chases Bent's ball but Sorensen comes out well to claim it. However, the Stoke keeper is caught by Hutton and then his own player Sonko and will need treatment

62mins

Sidibe is forced off temporarily after picking up a knock but he's back on now

60mins

Sonko makes a mistake and Modric strikes a rising shot just over the bar

59mins

Roman Pavlyuchenko comes on for Bentley for the visitors

59mins

Sidibe's header from the corner is off target

58mins

Stoke had begun the second half well and their second goal was just reward as Gomes misses another Delap long throw and Stoke win a corner

56mins

Kitson is replaced by Ricardo Fuller for Stoke

53mins

Stoke are back in front after Delap turns home Sidibe's brilliant right-wing cross from close range

53mins

Stoke have began the second half better than they ended the first and have pushed Spurs onto the back foot

51mins

Delap's long-throw causes havoc again but Gomes manages to punch it behind for a corner that Stoke waste

48mins

Bentley catches Higginbotham late after the Stoke defender does well to clear

47mins

Woodgate manages to get his head to a Stoke cross

45mins

Spurs get the second 45 underway after an action-packed first half

45mins

It's level at the break after Bent's strike cancelled out Higginbotham's earlier penalty. Spurs have been impressive since losing Bale, who was sent off for a foul on Soares for the penalty.

45mins

Gomes has taken a knock at the end of the half and looks in some pain

43mins

Andy Griffin is caught late by Lennon but he escapes a booking

40mins

Lennon runs at the Potters defence again before forcing Sorensen into a low save. It's still the visitors who are dominating

38mins

Hutton wins a corner for Spurs as the ball painfully canons off Higginbotham

36mins

Modric gets past his man before dragging a shot wide

35mins

David Bentley's shot flies over the bar, never troubling Sorensen

33mins

Dave Kitson can't keep the ball in down the left as Spurs continue to have more possession despite being a man down

30mins

The equaliser has visibly lifted Tottenham and they look the better side now

28mins

Aaron Lennon does brilliantly down the left to get past two men before the ball ends up with Modric, but the Croat's shot is awful and screws wide

26mins

Spurs have hit back almost immediately just as it looked like it was going to be another miserable day for Juande Ramos

25mins

Spurs are level as Bent slots home after Hutton's shot deflects off a Stoke defender. The Spurs striker appeared to be offside when the initial ball was played though

21mins

Spurs have it all to do again now down to 10 men but full credit to Higginbotham for scoring the pen as the ball had to be replaced several times on the spot as it kept getting blown away by the wind

19mins

Danny Higginbotham keeps his cool and slots the penalty home well to put Stoke one up

18mins

Bale is sent off for the challenge as well - it's a nightmare start for Spurs

18mins

Soares is caught by Gareth Bale and that's a penalty

17mins

Bent's header is straight at Sorensen and easily claimed by the Stoke keeper

16mins

Hutton completely overhits a cross from the right to end a promising break from the visitors

13mins

Abdoulaye Faye manages to shield the ball well under pressure from Bent and it runs out of play for a Stoke goal-kick

10mins

Bent's shot is well blocked by Ibrahima Sonko at the other end

8mins

A signature Rory Delap long-throw is just about clawed clear by Gomes - Stoke on top at the minute

7mins

A long ball over the top is too heavy for Bent before Stoke launch a counter-attack and Soares wastes a great chance to put them ahead as Heurelho Gomes saves well to deny him

5mins

It's been a scrappy but feisty opening five minutes at the Britannia Stadium

3mins

Jonathan Woodgate just manages to stop Mamady Sidibe in the box. There was a hint of a penalty for a second but no great appeal from the Stoke forward

2mins

Luka Modric wastes a pass as he puts it out of play but Spurs have had most of the early possession

0mins

The action gets underway between the Premier League's bottom two sides with Spurs still desperately looking for their first win of the season

0mins

For bottom-of the-table Spurs, Alan Hutton comes in but Ledley King has not made it while Darren Bent looks like he'll play up front on his own. Roman Pavlyuchenko is surprisingly a substitute after making a quick recovery from an ankle injury.

0mins

Tom Soares makes his first Stoke start for but Ricardo Fuller only makes the bench.

Match Preview

Bottom club Tottenham Hotspur will be eyeing three points from Sunday's basement battle with Stoke City, but both sides recognise the importance of the televised game.

City defender Ibrahima Sonko has already stoked the fire ahead of the game, telling BBC Radio Stoke: "It is a good time to play them because they haven't yet found their feet.

"Every game is a six-pointer to us and the Spurs game is an opportunity to get our season started properly."

For Spurs, defender Vedran Corluka, a summer signing from Manchester City, has no doubts about the magnitude of the clash.

"Most important is to show character on Sunday against Stoke and to try to beat them," Corluka explained to Sky Sports News, before adding: "It will not be easy but we don't have a choice any more."

Midfielder David Bentley, one of many new Spurs players who have failed to ignite so far this term, told ZOO magazine this week that the weight of fan pressure continues to afflict the squad.

"Our next league game is at Stoke and playing away might feel a little easier for some of our team right now. At home, you feel the tension on the pitch and there are those who might prefer away games, where there's less expectation."

Nevertheless a number of club figures have used the international break as an opportunity to back the manager, Juande Ramos, including sporting director Damien Comolli, striker Darren Bent and even Ramos himself.

"This is my job, my work. It is the same whether we win or lose. The attitude of the players is very positive," the Spaniard said after the 1-0 loss to Hull City two weeks ago.

The news surrounding forward Roman Pavlyuchenko will do nothing to improve the mood in North London, as the Russian has suffered a partially torn ankle ligament.

The £14million summer signing was substituted 35 minutes into clash with Hull and, despite hopes of a swift return, will be out for the next three weeks.

Bent will replace him in attack, where he will join Fraizer Campbell, while Bentley and Giovani Dos Santos push for a starting role in midfield and Ledley King, as ever, will be given until the last minute to prove his fitness.


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Match Report

The pressure intensified on Juande Ramos after Tottenham, who ended a controversial game with nine men, caved in to a second-half battering from fellow strugglers Stoke.

This bottom of the table dogfight got off to a predictably scrappy start before Tom Soares, on his full debut, missed an outstanding chance to give City a seventh-minute lead.

Excellent work by Dave Kitson and Rory Delap carved the opening but Soares, ten yards out and with the goal at his mercy, allowed Heurelho Gomes to make a comfortable save.

A controversial game appeared to swing Stoke's way in the 19th minute when Gareth Bale was sent off for a professional foul on Soares and Danny Higginbotham put away the resulting penalty.

The strong winds moved the ball off the penalty spot on four occasions before Higginbotham held his nerve to drive a low shot just inside Gomes' left-hand post.

Alarm bells must have been ringing in Ramos' camp, but his side began to play considerably better with ten men.

Tottenham drew level in the 25th minute when Darren Bent fired in from close range after Alan Hutton's cross had been deflected into his path off a home defender.

And the visitors, with Aaron Lennon suddenly bursting to life, took the game by the scruff of the neck with Stoke looking like the team with reduced numbers.

Stoke's confidence looked shot, but they regrouped at half-time and applied steady pressure before scoring the winner in the 53rd minute.

Soares found Mamady Sidibe on the right and he curled a low cross to the far post where Delap slammed the ball into an empty net from three yards.

Stoke were forced to change their goalkeeper in the 65th minute when Thomas Sorensen suffered a cut head in a clash with Hutton, which earned the full-back a booking.

But there was soon serious concern at the other end of the field as Vedran Corluka took a knee in the jaw from his own keeper Gomes, rendering the defender unconscious.

Tottenham's medical staff and several ambulance personnel tended to the stricken Croatian for almost ten minutes before he was stretchered away and replaced by Michael Dawson.

It was scrappy and physical stuff now and Stoke were next to lose a player, with Ibrahima Sonko making way for Ryan Shawcross after he was helped off the pitch with a thigh injury.

Stoke were awarded a second penalty during 11 minutes of stoppage time when Jonathan Woodgate fouled Soares.

But Fuller's penalty struck both posts before Delap's follow-up attempt smashed against the bar.

Dawson was shown a straight red for a poor challenge on Sidibe shortly afterwards and there was still time for Fuller to waltz past Woodgate and fire against the bar during a dramatic finale.

Stoke City

Tottenham Hotspur

Corners

61

Fouls

1212

Goal attempts

1111

Shots off target

35

Offsides

21

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