Source: SKY_Sports
Stoke v Newcastle live!
93 Fuller does well to round Edgar and force a throw-in. Delap takes it and it falls to Whelan on the edge of the area. He volleys high and wide.[LNB]92 Gutierrez threads the ball through for Butt but he's unable to control it and concedes a goal-kick.[LNB]91 Stoke pour forward in waves as they look for the winner. They're in danger of being caught on the break.[LNB]90 The corner comes in and seems to catch Faye unawares as the ball bounces off the back of his neck and out for a goal-kick.[LNB]90 Andy Wilkinson makes way for Steven Kelly.[LNB]89 Fuller skips past two defenders and eventually wins a corner.[LNB]88 Taylor sends a free-kick into the area but straight down Sorensen's throat.[LNB]87 Lawrence is booked for a challenge from behind on Duff.[LNB]85 Gutierrez is caught late by Whelan and Newcastle have another chance to get the ball in the box. They pour men forward but the delivery is headed straight out.[LNB]84 Danny Pugh shoots across the face of goal from a tight angle and claims a corner. The referee doesn't agree.[LNB]83 The action moves to the other end with a Delap throw that Harper punches clear.[LNB]82 The Magpies are piling on the pressure now, with most of their attacks going down the left flank through Duff, who looks like he's happy to knock crosses into the box all day..[LNB]81 Duff and Carrol almost combine again but this time the Newcastle striker is adjudged to have fouled Sorenson.[LNB] GOAL: CARROLL: Taylor's long throw-in is headed out to Duff. He lobs the ball forward to Carroll whose powerful, looping header has the beating of Sorensen.[LNB]78 Newcastle make their way to the edge of the Stoke area through Butt and Gutierrez before Owen misplaces a pass and gifts Stoke possession.[LNB]75 Andy Carroll rises well to meet a cross and heads inches wide with Sorensen well-beaten. A glimmer of hope for the Toon fans there.[LNB]75 Butt picks out Owen inside the penalty area. He tries to turn Faye but is summarily dispossessed.[LNB]74 Fuller clashes with Taylor. It looks accidental but the Newcastle defender makes a complete meal of it. The referee buys his performance and books Fuller.[LNB]73 delap has another chance to send the ball into the box. The ball is headed away from goal as far as Fuller who rises well but heads it straight at Taylor.[LNB]72 The heavily bandaged James Beattie makes way for Richard Cresswell.[LNB]71 Sorensen attempts to pick out Beattie from a goal-kick but sends the ball straight into touch.[LNB]70 On the counter Fuller holds the ball up before sending Whelan on his way. He picks out Etherington who fires wide under pressure from Beye.[LNB]69 Owen sends the ball wide to the right for Taylor. He has four players aim for but overhits his cross badly.[LNB]68 Lawrence crosses from the right but Edgar is on hand to head the ball clear.[LNB]67 Alan Shearer is pacing the touchline looking very unhappy.[LNB]66 Gutierrez tries a bycicle kick from the corner but misses and Stoke break upfield.[LNB]65 Gutierrez threads the ball through the defence for Ameobi but Shawcross makes a great covering tackle. Taylor takes the throw-in and the ball breaks to Gutierrez who wins a corner.[LNB]63 Taylor knocks the ball forward for Gutierrez but his first touch is poor. He wins a corner nonetheless. The delivery leads to open play before Duff sends it forward to Ameobi who heads over the crossbar.[LNB]62 Jonas Gutierrez makes his way onto the pitch. I'm not quite sure who he's replacing.[LNB]61 Delap repeats the throw-in, this time from the other side. The ball is knocked down for Etherington but his cross is intercepted by Owen.[LNB]60 Delap steps up for a throw-in and sends it perfectly into the area where Edgar has no choice but to knock it behind.[LNB]58 Incredibly that is Newcastle's first corner of the game. They immediately win their second but waste it completely with a poor delivery from Duff.[LNB]57 Duff runs at Wilkinson and is brought down. Newcastle win a promising free-kick. Taylor hits the first defender and is lucky that the ball goes out for a corner.[LNB]55 Habib Beye rounds Etherington on the right flank but skews his cross badly.[LNB]54 Whelan shoots from distance but fails to find the target.[LNB]53 Wilkinson catches Guthrie with a lunging challenge and all hell breaks loose as players from both sides square up. The referee defuses the situation and books Wilkinson.[LNB]52 Duff cuts inside from the left and passes to Ameobi who touches it on for Taylor. The defender scuffs his shot wide of goal.[LNB]51 Taylor's diagonal ball to Duff is overhit and sails into touch. That just about sums up Newcastle's game so far.[LNB]50 The pressure stays on and this time Fuller heads over the bar from close range.[LNB]49 Lawrence delivers to the far post where Faye slides in and hits the post from close range.[LNB]48 Etherington is down after a crunching tackle by Taylor. Stoke have a dangerous free-kick.[LNB]47 Stoke almost double their lead immediately but Ryan Taylor clears Whelan's header off the line.[LNB]46 Newcastle get the second half underway. Can they find the inspiration to dig themselves out ogf this hole?[LNB] M Morton has given up hope entirely: "thats it the season over now, we wont come back to win this game. really bad defending again, midfield just happy passing the ball around with no hope of a killer pass for a goal. game been boring and aint really had one clear chance for the toon and when will any manager learn that ameobi is a championship player, well it looks like he's going to get the chance to prove it to me next season now ! hope ashley sells asap at a loss. stoke to go on and win this game 4-0 now. can i say now bye bye premier league now."[LNB] Some half-time messages: "Hi there ken from wetwang i am a huge newcastle fan and its now or never for newcastle if they dont win this one then they will be relegated and i wont be very happy. if alan shearer stays at newcastle next year then newcastle will finish in the top ten."[LNB] With the score as it stands Stoke's odds have dropped to 2/5 while Newcastle are 15/2 to win this clash. But we'll see after half-time whether Alan Shearer can galvanize his side so why not bet on Michael Owen to score next at 13/2? All these markets and plenty more are on www.skybet.com.[LNB]47 The half-time whistle goes with the home side firmly in control.[LNB]46 Harper plays the ball to Nicky Butt but his pass is misdirected and Newcastle lose the ball in midfield again.[LNB]45 Stoke win a free-kick inside the Toon half. The ball is played to Etherington who lobs it forward but Nolan heads it clear.[LNB]44 Stoke have the upper hand as the half draws to a close and there's a definite element of desperation about Newcastle's defending.[LNB]43 Stoke win another corner. Ricardo Fuller heads the ball on target and Harper makes a great reflex save. There are calls for a penalty in the aftermath with Fuller claiming Bassong handled the ball but the referee isn't interested.[LNB]42 Harper's goal-kick is flicked towards Owen by Ameobi but Shawcross sticks out a boot and clears the ball.[LNB]41 Beattie is back on the pitch with his head heavily bandaged,[LNB]40 From the resulting free-kick Etherington sends the ball into the penalty area but it is headed straight back out.[LNB]39 Beattie is spitting in rage, blood pouring down his face after he was hit in the face by Bassong as they contested a header. The Newcastle defender is booked.[LNB]37 There's a period of incredibly scrappy play as the ball bobs about in the middle of the park with players heading it back and forth aimlessly.[LNB]36 Owen sends another pass straight into touch, showing his rustiness after not playing for most of the season.[LNB]35 Delap sends a throw into the Newcastle area and Harper does well to fist it away under pressure from Beattie.[LNB]34 Stoke have their tails up and almost hit again on the counter, but Delap's cross is headed out by Bassong.[LNB]33 GOAL FAYE: Stoke win a corner and Shawcross' delivery is headed emphatically home by a completely unmarked Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye. The former Newcastle player didn't even have to jump as there wasn't a defender near him.[LNB]31 Delap sends a long throw forward from his own half but the ball comes straight back at him.[LNB]30 Beattie tries to thread the ball through the Toon defence for Shawcross who is in an offside position and decides not to chase it.[LNB]28 Newcastle are still passing the ball around with confidence but most iof their moves break down in the final third.[LNB]27 Harper takes his time over a free-kick outside the penalty area.[LNB]26 Duff crosses from the right to Owen who is umarked in the penalty area but he heads straight at Sorensen.[LNB]24 Ameobi steals the ball from Shawcross and takes a shot that deflects into the path of Owen on the right. His cross is headed out by Delap, only for the referee to award Stoke a goal-kick.[LNB]23 Duff sends a speculative ball forward from his own half for Ameobi to chase but the delivery is too deep and Thomas Sorensen claims it.[LNB]22 Beattie goes down under a challenge from Beye and Stoke take the resulting free-kick quickly, only to lose possession almost immediately.[LNB]21 Habib Beye makes a telling tackle on the right at the expense of a throw-in in Delap territory. The delivery is easily cleraed by Kevin Nolan on this occasion.[LNB]20 The two teams take turns lobbing the ball into each other's half of the field.[LNB]19 Both sides have looked rather nervous thus far and aren't committing too many men forward.[LNB]17 Ameobi collects the ball inside the penalty area and turns expertly, but the referee quite rightly awards Stoke a free-kick as he handled the ball.[LNB]16 Duff turns Lawrence on the left after being played through by Shola Ameobi. Danny Higginbotham intercepts a pass though and Etherington goes loping upfield.[LNB]15 Harper thumps a goal-kick upfield but Stoke come away with it.[LNB]14 Ryan Taylor's weak backwards pass puts Edgar under intense pressure but he manages to get the ball clear.[LNB]13 Stoke win a throw-in a few feet inside the Newcastle half. Liam Lawrence collects but is dispossessed by Bassong, who ends up winning a throw for his side.[LNB]11 Delap sends a rocket-throw into the penalty area that results in a Stoke corner. Beattie's flick towards goal is stabbed away by Harper.[LNB]10 The ball is played all the way back to Steve Harper from the centre circle as Stoke harry their opponents. Newcastle have seen more of the ball but haven't created much.[LNB]8 The Magpies pass the ball around confidently in midfield before Owen tries a quick lay-off that goes straight into touch.[LNB]7 Matthew Etherington goes on a run down the left and is caught late by David Edgar. The referee is content with giving the young Canadian a warning.[LNB]6 Newcastle's tactics are clear. Slow the game down and prevent Stoke from coming at them in their usual high-tempo way.[LNB]5 Bassong does well to play his way out of danger before lofting the ball upfield.[LNB]4 Newcastle win an attacking throw-in followed by a promising free-kick. Ryan Taylor's delivery is good and Michael Owen meets it but sends his header wide of goal.[LNB]3 Stoke win an early corner after a Rory Delap throw-in is clipped behind by Damien Duff. The ball in is sent out by Danny Guthrie for another corner. This time Ryan Shawcross heads wide.[LNB]1 There's early drama as Ryan Taylor gets caught in the face by James Beattie's trailing arm as the contest a header, but the Newcastle man seems OK.[LNB]1 And we're off. This is a do or die clash for both sides so I'm expecting a compelling encounter.[LNB] Regular contributer Shaunvir Samra makes a valid point: "Stoke's home form has been fantastic with only 3 losses all season , and with Newcastle having only won 2 of their last 15 away games and playing against this physical Stoke side on a narrow Britannia playing surface .. my prediction is 2 - 0 to Stoke."[LNB] Michael Ewart is slightly less optimistic: "Shearer has made a great decision in dropping Coloccini as he has cost us so many points this season but still cannot see the Toon get 3 points today- I hope I'm so wrong."[LNB] And here's our first e-mail of the day: "NUFC have enough talent to come away with all 3 pts today, especially with the new driver. Stoke will suffer complacency after taking 6/6. Pulis' Disciples 1 - 4 Shearer's Messiahs. Cheers, Ralph (a real-life Stokie since 1963)"[LNB]Pre-match: Alan Shearer makes five changes to the side that faced Chelsea.[LNB]Sebastien Bassong returns from a groin injury to shore up the defence, while Shearer also brings in David Edgar, Damien Duff, Danny Guthrie and Shola Ameobi.[LNB]Two of the changes are enforced due to Peter Lovenkrands and Jose Enrique being out through injury and illness respectively, with Fabricio Coloccini and Jonas Gutierrez benched, and Obafemi Martins dropped.[LNB]As for Stoke, on the back of last weekend's 2-0 win at West Brom, manager Tony Pulis names an unchanged side.[LNB] The teams are in:[LNB]Stoke: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Shawcross, Abdoulaye Faye, Higginbotham, Lawrence, Delap, Whelan, Etherington, Fuller, Beattie Subs: Simonsen, Olofinjana, Cresswell, Pugh, Kelly, Tonge, Sonko[LNB]Newcastle: Harper, Edgar, Bassong, Beye, Ryan Taylor, Guthrie, Nolan, Butt, Duff, Owen, Ameobi Subs: Krul, Coloccini, Smith, Gutierrez, Geremi, Carroll, Ranger[LNB] There's not much to choose from when it comes to a straight victory, with Stoke slight favourites at 11/8 and Newcastle an equally stingy 2/1. A better bet could be the draw at 9/4 or better yet, a 2-2 draw at a tantalising 18/1. For these and other bets make your way to www.skybet.com.[LNB] Newcastle fans have had to postpone the Shearer revolution after succumbing to a rampant Chelsea in the new manager's first game in charge, but will be expecting something special against fellow relegation candidates Stoke today. The Toon are second from bottom but a win will see them move out of the drop-zone at the expense of bitter rivals Sunderland. It's bound to end in tears then. E-mail justin.zehmke@teamtalkmedia.co.za with any and all comments on the game and I'll publish the best ones as we go along.[LNB]
