Source: Daily_Mail
Stoke 1 Spurs 2: Gudjohnsen leaps off the bench to fire Spurs' charge
Eidur Gudjohnsen clambered off the bench to tighten Tottenham's hold on fourth place in the Barclays Premier League and settle frayed nerves at the Britannia Stadium.[LNB]Gudjohnsen polished off a delightful chip by Peter Crouch to put Spurs ahead just 18 seconds after the restart then his clever dummy set up Niko Kranjcar to blast the 77th-minute winner.[LNB]In between, team-mates Vedran Corluka and Benoit Assou-Ekotto engaged in a shoving match in the centre circle and were ticked off by referee Mike Dean.[LNB]Stoke had seen Dean Whitehead sent off for two bookable offences four minutes after Gudjohnsen's opener, but still fashioned a 64th-minute equaliser from Matthew Etherington's penalty.[LNB] Slide away: Niko Kranjcar is over the moon after netting the winner[LNB]Ricardo Fuller then missed a 70th-minute sitter which would havecapped a stunning Stoke recovery, and was made to pay when Kranjcarlashed home his right-footed shot from the edge of the box.[LNB]The second-half excitement provided a stark contrast to a dull firstperiod more notable for who was absent rather than any of those wholaboured on the pitch.[LNB]The much-touted comeback of Ryan Shawcross for the first time sincehis horror tackle on Aaron Ramsey did not happen as the Stoke mansuffered an ankle injury in training.[LNB]And Jermain Defoe's absence from the Spurs side with a hamstringinjury gave Crouch a rare chance to fashion a productive strikingpartnership with Roman Pavlyuchenko.[LNB]Despite having the considerable target of keeping hold of fourthplace, Harry Redknapp's men started sluggishly and it was the home sidewho provided the moreconsistent threat.[LNB]The visitors might nevertheless have grabbed a barely-deserved leadin the 18th minute when Kranjcar's long-range effort was spilled byThomas Sorensen and Crouch almost poked in the rebound.[LNB] Ice cool: Matthew Etherington equalises from the penalty spot[LNB]Stoke came close in the 22nd minute when Glenn Whelan's ball intothe box was flicked on by Dave Kitson into the path of Abdoulaye Faye,whose own header flashed wide of target.[LNB]Danny Higginbotham then took his turn to head just over from anotherWhelan set-piece while at the other end Pavlyuchenko sent a weak shotinto the arms of Sorensen.[LNB]Whitehead was handed his first booking by referee Dean before Stokecalled Spurs goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes into action for the first time,a Kitson header forcing the Brazilian to dive low to save.[LNB]The apparently injured Pavlyuchenko was replaced by Gudjohnsen justpast the half-hour mark but there were precious few other incidents ofnote in a first period which petered out.[LNB]All that changed after the break, with Gudjohnsen slotting away theopener seconds after the restart after Crouch had played him throughwith a delightful chip.[LNB]And things would get worse for the home side four minutes later whenWhitehead was sent off for his second bookable offence after clatteringinto Luka Modric in the centre circle.[LNB] Off the mark: Eidur Gudjohnsen opened his Spurs account[LNB]Spurs were seizing control of the game and using their extra manadvantage to surge forward, with Assou-Ekotto hitting a low shot whichdeflected narrowly wide - earning Corluka's wrath.[LNB]Possibly still seething at the incident, Assou-Ekotto hauled downKitson in the Spurs box four minutes later, earning the home side thespot-kick which Etherington converted to level.[LNB]Fuller should have completed a remarkable turnaround for the homeside in the 70th minute when the ball bobbled his way across goal buthis left-footed shot screwed hopelessly over the bar.[LNB]And Stoke were made to pay in the 77th minute when Assou-Ekotto'scross from the left was dummied by Gudjohnsen, allowing Kranjcar torace into the box and fire Spurs' second past Sorensen.[LNB]Stoke boss Tony Pulis rang the changes but his side left themselvesopen pushing for an equaliser and Gareth Bale lashed a shot across theface of goalfrom the left. [LNB] Now England fret over fitness of Defoe as hamstring injury sidelines strikerBeattie embroiled in grievance claim with Stoke over clash with boss PulisSTOKE CITY FC
