Source: Daily_Mail
Stoke 3 York City 1: Potters survive early scare to end winless streak
York arrived with seconds to spare and, for a couple of minutes at least, sensed this could have been their finest hour. [LNB]Snow played such havoc with their journey that they barely made the extended deadline for showing up at the Britannia Stadium. But despite the disruption to their preparation, and a gap of 83 places, the non-league side took a shock lead. [LNB]Stoke stalled their momentum, however, and took control to end a six-match winless streak and avoid an early exit from the FA Cup for a second year running. [LNB] Matt gloss: Matthew Etherington sends his free kick over the York City wall to score his team's third goal[LNB]York's unexpected lead came when Neil Barrett headed in a free-kickby Alex Lawless in the 22nd minute. But they were soon deflated thanksto the trademark long throws of Rory Delap. [LNB]Daniel Parslow headed the ball into his own net trying to defend oneof Delap's throws in the 24th minute. Then, a minute later, Leon Cortheaded on another Delap throw to Ricardo Fuller, who put Stoke 2-1 up. [LNB]Matt on the back: Etherington (second left) is congratulated after scoring Stoke's third[LNB]Matthew Etherington gave them a two-goal buffer when his free-kick curled into the net just before the hour. [LNB]'In the Premiership we sometimes undervalue the competition becauseof the money in our league, but this shows the glamour of the FA Cupstill means a lot to many clubs,' said Stoke manager Tony Pulis, whopraised the 4,000 York fans who filled one end of the stadium. [LNB] Up down top Rankine: Robert Huth (top) sends York City's Michael Rankine flying[LNB]York manager Martin Foyle, who lives in the Stoke area and was atthe ground several hours before the game was scheduled to start at 3pm,blamed the defeat on his side's inability to deal with Delap's throws.'I'm not going to use our late arrival as an excuse,' he said.[LNB] 'Stoke were very good about it, and the referee (Mike Jones) was fantastic. [LNB]'It was a bit of a panic and the players had only 30 minutes to warmup, but on the positive side they did not have time to worry about thegame. 'We left York at 10.15, which should have given us ample time.But it was one of those days.'[LNB] STOKE CITY FC: All the latest news from across the webJANUARY TRANSFER WINDOW 2010: All the moves and gossip for every Premier League clubEverton 3 Carlisle 1: Cumbrians go down fighting at Goodison ParkBolton 4 Lincoln 0: It's all too easy in the cup for managerless TrottersTottenham 4 Peterborough 0: Kranjcar double for Spurs punishes PoshNottingham Forest 0 Birmingham City 0: Earnshaw pays the penalty[LNB] [LNB]
