Source: Daily_Mail
Stoke 1 Manchester City 1: Etherington lands late blow to stun sour Mancini
'What game was he watching?' asked asmiling Stoke boss Tony Pulis after hearing that Roberto Mancini hadinsisted Manchester City deserved all three points. 'No, he has to say what he has to say.' And City manager Mancini saidplenty. He claimed that 'after 100 long balls and 100 throw-ins, it'sdifficult to play football.' Floored: On the day that Carlos Tevez's former club Manchester United went top, City's title charge was pegged back at Stoke No matter that the most exquisite combinations came from the Potteries side.He praised Micah Richards for whatlooked for all the world to be a spectacular winner after 81 minutes.But he declined to praise one of the finest back-heels the PremierLeague has ever seen, from Tuncay in added time. It was a piece of magic that eventhe masterful Mancini would have been proud of in his prime, andallowed Matthew Etherington the chance to smack Stoke's late equaliser.No matter. The Italian felt robbed, and he was not about to compliment his hosts. One can only assume Mancini wouldalso have been reluctant to compliment referee Peter Walton had hereached him at half time, either. 'I didn't agree with two or three ofhis decisions in their box,' Mancini said when asked to explain hisdetermination to confront the official. 'But I was very far from the box, so.' Festive mood: Matthew Etherington celebrates his levellerCity's players did not seem to share Mancini's sense of injustice when James Milner and Mario Balotelli went down in the area. Luckily for the Italian boss, he was restrained by assistant Brian Kidd, and was unable to make a scene. STAT ATTACKMatt Etherington's 90th-minute equaliser maintained Stoke's amazing record of second-half goals 17 of the 19 goals scored by Tony Pulis's men have come after the interval.Yet Mancini did not have to be sucha bad sport having been denied two points at the death, while rivalsArsenal and Manchester United won convincingly. There were encouraging signs withregard to his team's character, for they outplayed Stoke for longperiods of the second-half and dampened that famous Stoke passion. 'We fought for every ball and playedfantastic football in the second half, but I'm disappointed with theresult because I felt we deserved to win the game,' added Mancini. Pulis was incredulous because the best chances were created by Stoke. Abeautiful pass from Kenwyne Jonesput Ricardo Fuller through in the 16th minute, but he fired wide. Bythen Joe Hart had already saved twice from excellent Etherington. So close: City's James Milner (right) clears a shot off the line TEAMSSTOKE (4-4-2): Begovic; Wilkinson (Wilson 63min), Shawcross, Huth, Collins; Pennant (Tuncay 46), Whitehead, Delap, Etherington; Fuller (Walters 75), Jones. Subs (not used): Sorensen, Higginbotham, Whelan, Gudjohnsen. Booked: Delap, Wilson.MAN CITY (4-2-3-1): Hart; Richards, Kompany, K Toure, Koloarov; De Jong, Barry; Silva, Milner (A Johnson 82), Balotelli (Jo 90); Tevez. Subs (not used): Given, Wright-Phillips,Boateng, Lescott, Vieira. Booked: Tevez, Richards.Referee: P Walton (Northants).Ryan Shawcross should also haveheaded in Etherington's slice, while Robert Huth had an even betterchance from a Etherington set-piece in the last minute of normal time. And in the 78th minute Jones thought he had scored, only for Milner's desperate goal-line clearance to be deemed legal. Yet City broke the deadlock after some superior midfield play.When Milner passed to Richards, the powerful full-back produced a turn of ballet-like grace before drilling his opener past Stoke keeper Asmir Begovic. But in the final seconds Tuncay's brilliant diagonal back-heel invited Etherington's equaliser, prompting a sour reaction from Mancini. Pulis said: 'He has his view and he's free to express it,' before adding: 'You can have all the money in the word - top players - but a team that goes out there as one takes a lot of beating.' By the time Mancini stops complaining about opponents and finds a winning consistency, rival title-chasers might be out of reach. That is the City boss's real problem. Balotelli 'can be better than Rooney': Mancini stands by special treatmentAleksandar Kolarov warns Stoke: We City slickers won't roll over if you hit us hardMANCHESTER CITY FC