Stoke 3 Fulham 2: Two little too late as hosts are almost caught cold

06 January 2010 10:39
The frozen Britannia Stadium crowd was warmed by the best and worst of these two sides as the arctic conditions provided no barrier to good old- fashioned excitement. [LNB]Tony Pulis and Roy Hodgson experienced the entire spectrum of emotions throughout 90 minutes in which fortunes swirled around like the snow in the bitterly chill Staffordshire air. [LNB]It all looked to be heading towards a regulation victory for Stoke after three goals in a totally dominant first-half display had put them within sight of only their second Premier League triumph in as many months. [LNB] Ending the drought: Tuncay scored on 12 minutes to end three games without a goal for Stoke[LNB]But Fulham came within a whisker of claiming an unlikely draw as nerves took hold of the home side. [LNB]Damien Duff's deflected shot gave Fulham hope and Clint Dempsey'smagnificent 35-yard effort seven minutes from time only increased theanxiety. Indeed, had referee Mark Clattenburg penalised Ryan Shawcrossfor a handball deep into added time, Hodgson would have claimed a moralvictory. [LNB] Hodgson expects bids for Zamora but insists his striker is staying at FulhamStoke slap £20m price tag on 'not for sale' defender Ryan ShawcrossStoke City v Fulham: The drama as it unfurled from the BritanniaSTOKE CITY FC

Source: Daily_Mail