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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 6:57:06 GMT
Telegraph
Liam Lawrence's late penalty lifts Stoke City By Trevor Haylett Last Updated: 1:51am GMT 09/03/2008
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Stoke City (0) 1 Burnley (1) 1
The local paper in Stoke ran a feature yesterday morning on the unhappy staging posts in their club's unfulfilled pursuit of promotion to the top flight over the past 19 years. It seemed grimly portentous, as if they feared another anti-climax in May after successive defeats as February turned into March. For 89 minutes at the Britannia Stadium the pessimism looked justified.
Football fans' forumadvertisement Burnley led from the third minute and all Stoke's hard running and unstinting effort to retrieve the deficit appeared to be in vain. In future years this contest might have been the latest in the list of 'Dark days in the quest for promotion', as the Stoke Sentinel headlined their cheery column. Talk about putting supporters in a good frame of mind before another crucial fixture.
The dark mood prevailed as another Championship defeat loomed. Then, in time added on, Liam Lawrence's penalty rescued a point - enough to hoist Stoke back into the automatic promotion places. It may prove a vital crossroads on the way to joining the Premiership gravy train, especially as four of City's final six fixtures are against sides struggling at the wrong end of the table.
If they get over the finishing line, manager Tony Pulis would be justified in aiming a swift and pointed retort at those who have not always made him feel welcome in the Potteries. This is his second spell in charge and when his first term was bizarrely cut short, soon after signing a new long-term contract, by the previous owners - an Icelandic consortium who won few friends among a succession of managers - many queued up to open the exit door.
When he returned at the start of last season it was after finding success in keeping Plymouth up. It was at the request of chairman Peter Coates, who had himself been hounded out by angry fans before retrieving his club from the Icelanders. Coates now came equipped with the millions he had accrued from the gambling phenomenon Bet365 and was assured of a warm welcome. But the Pulis dissenters only began to quieten down this season with the advent of a run of 18 games with only one defeat. The momentum was with Stoke as they stormed to the head of the field last month. Then, just as quickly, they fell. Successive defeats at Preston and QPR -the manager described them as "two bad results and one bad performance" - seriously checked their progress.
In came another couple of loan players, goalkeeper Carlo Nash and central defender Chris Riggott and they were immediately installed yesterday. Stoke needed their big-game experience to settle nerves, but they found themselves behind before they had even got mud on their boots.
A blustery wind served as a warning to defenders to be decisive. When Danny Pugh failed to put any purpose behind his header Burnley were away, James O'Connor squaring to Kyle Lafferty who shot beneath Nash. Stoke's task suddenly became much more complicated.
On his 650th game in management Pulis initially remained calm on the touchline. By the second half he was as agitated as every home fan as Clarke Carlisle and Stanislav Varga remained immovable at the heart of the visiting defence. In front of them O'Connor lent more security and behind Gabor Kiraly enjoyed one of those afternoons when his eccentricities proved only to his team's benefit.
As the rain lashed down, Stoke's prospects remained bleak. Ricardo Fuller had a penalty claim denied and then slipped his shot wide. Then, in the final minute, Fuller guided Richard Cresswell through and Jon Harley brought him down. Lawrence converted via the right-hand upright and the back of Kiraly's head. For Stoke it may yet prove an inadvertent nod towards the promised land.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:00:15 GMT
Sentinel
08/03/2008 - Stoke City 1, Burnley 1
Martin Spinks reports from the Britannia Stadium
Stoke City 1 (Lawrence 90)
Burnley 1 (Lafferty 3)
LIAM Lawrence coolly sank a 91st-minute penalty to save Stoke's necks at the end of a distinctly nervy 1-1 draw here at a rain-sodden Britannia Stadium this afternoon.
City were nosediving towards a costly home defeat - despite a much-improved second half - when Richard Cresswell was tripped by Jon Harley to win a last-gasp penalty.
And Stoke will glady grasp that point after spending most of the afternoon toiling in vain for an equaliser after newcomer Carlo Nash was beaten by Kyle Lafferty less than three minutes into his debut.
Now City take to the road for tough trips to Norwich on Tuesday and Watford next Saturday desperately hoping to recover their lost stride after three games and only one point.
The guessing game over the line-up was solved by the sight of both Carlo Nash and central defender Chris Riggott making their City debuts at the expense of Steve Simonsen and Ryan Shawcross respectively.
Rory Delap returned from a one-match ban for the suspended Glenn Whelan, as widely anticipated, while Salif Diao retained the faith of his manager to line up alongside him in the Stoke engine room.
The Clarets, meanwhile, demoted a less-than-fully-fit Andy Cole to the bench and recalled Hungarian keeper Gabor Kiraly as two of five changes in a starting 11 including former Stoke favourites James O'Connor and Ade Akinbiyi.
The game kicked off in blustering conditions to a chorus of approval from both sets of fans on a day crucial to their respective prospects in the upper reaches of the Championship.
And it was City quickly on the offensive as Graham Alexander was forced to clear in front of a vacant Burnley goal after Ricardo Fuller had nodded on for Lawrence to cross beyond the keeper from the right channel.
But it was the visitors storming into a shock lead from their very first attack in the third minute - and both Akinbiyi and O'Connor were instrumental in their old club's early downfall.
It was Akinbiyi back-heeling for O'Connor and then the Irishman, instantly spotting an overlap to his left, rolled the ball out for Lafferty to control before drilling under Nash for 1-0.
Stoke were soon winning a right-wing corner from which the ball was trundled back for Andy Griffin to beat his man and fire a potentially goalbound effort against the head of Mark Randall.
But Stoke were counting their blessings in the eighth minute when Akinbiyi - momentarily donning red and white stripes again - totally mis-kicked in front of a virtually open goal after the home side had failed miserably to cope with a left-wing corner.
Another left-wing corner had Stoke back-tracking once more before they unconvincingly won a goal-kick after again failing to win a high ball in and around their back post.
Tony Pulis was anxiously cajoling his troops from the sidelines as the hosts struggled to control the play and generate any meaningful momentum against their perky visitors.
And Mama Sidibe was a little hopeful in trying to beat Kiraly from an unfavourable angle with a shot that whistled comfortably by the near post after fine build-up play involving Lawrence.
Stoke were able to throw bodies into the Burnley box after Stan Varga's shove on Fuller some 25 yards from goal, but Lawrence's in-swinger from the right landed in an area vacated by every City player on hand.
Varga caught Fuller for a second time barely a minute later to leave Lawrence standing over a second free-kick wide right, but his delivery was met by a steepling header from the off-balance Leon Cort that Kiraly collected from beneath his bar.
And Cort's lusty swing at a ball from Griffin lacked the power to trouble Kiraly from outside the box a couple of minutes later.
A third foul by Varga on Fuller - after Burnley had insisted there was an earlier tug by Fuller on Jon Harley - handed Lawrence yet another right-wing free-kick from which Kiraly pawed the ball clear off at least three heads close to his goal.
But at least City were beginning to exert some concerted pressure - albeit from set pieces - in search of a first-half equaliser approaching the half-hour juncture.
Lawrence's failure to find Fuller with a blind flick, plus the subsequent hands-in-the-air gesture that followed, was a worrying indication of the frustration threatening to seep into the Stoke ranks.
A quick break by Harley accounted for the trailing Lawrence, but Diao checked his progress with a foul to earn his side's first caution.
Fuller was toiling gamely if fruitlessly at the other end, meanwhile, as he frequently gathered and ran at retreating defenders, but with little end product to show against some pretty sensible work at Burnley's rear.
And Burnley's attacking play could be far more incisive in the kind of space they were enjoying on the break when Wade Elliott centred at pace for Cort to head acrobatically over his own goal on 40 minutes.
No wonder many fans were already heading for the exits to cheer themselves up with something possessing more kick than Stoke's general attacking play.
They would have heard a roar of expectancy just before the break, but the noise soon subsided as both Fuller and Lawrence failed to reach Richard Cresswell's cross-shot from the left.
Some early penetration from Cresswell raised the hackles of the home crowd as City hinted at some early vibrancy soon after the restart.
Fuller then beat Harley twice out on the Stoke right en route to driving straight at Kiraly from a tight angle to test the Hungarian's handling.
The initiative remained with Stoke as both Sidibe and Cresswell failed to apply sufficient power to headers inside the Burnley area shortly afterwards.
The home crowd's support was faultless as they stood alongside their players to try and retrieve something, anything from their afternoon's endeavours.
Fuller then went down in a tangle appealing vainly for a penalty on the hour, but was back on his feet 30 seconds later to seize on Cresswell's flick and prod wide of both the advancing Kiraly and the right-hand post.
Stoke were certainly breathing fire compared to their first-half efforts, though Cresswell was well wide with a low effort from distance on 63.
Kiraly was called into making his first real save on 67 when beating out a short free-kick belted goalwards by Danny Pugh - and Harley acrobatically prevented Lawrence diving in to covert the rebound.
Fuller's attempt at a one-man demolition show left five defenders dispossessing him on the edge of the area at one stage after his brilliant dummy and goalwards run.
City were threatening to run out of steam as Paul Gallagher was thrown on for Sidibe, however, while Lawrence followed up a 10th booking of the season for dissent by crossing poorly into the Boothen End.
Burnley's time-wasting tactics were beginning to wear thin with the home fans as the clock ticked infuriatingly towards the final 10 minutes.
The driving rain was merely added to Stoke's mood as Lawrence forced a right-wing corner off Harley from which Riggott narrowly missed contact at the near post.
Stoke then threw on Jon Parkin for Salif Diao as they applied unproductive pressure from a couple of set pieces before Griffin lofted over with a snapshot as two Claret shirts bore down on the City skipper.
It was the visiting fans in full voice entering the closing minutes - and very nearly celebrating a second when subs John Spicer and Andy Cole combined on the break for the one-time England striker to blast against Nash's legs at the near post.
But salvation was at hand when Fuller flicked on for Cresswell to storm goalwards before being tripped by Harley for a 90th minute penalty.
Lawrence dummied his first attempt to draw attention to encroaching players, but sank his second just wide of Kiraly's full-length dive to his left for 1-1.
Lawrence wasn't finished there after winning a free-kick just outside the area deep into three minutes of stoppage time, but Gallagher's curling attempt brushed off the wall and behind for a left-wing corner.
Lawrence swung it over for a half-clearance to fall for Gallagher to fire goalwards and win yet another flag kick via a thick a deflection in the dying seconds.
Stoke City: 36 Nash, 2 Griffin, 14 Pugh, 5 Cort, 32 Riggott, 7 Lawrence, 18 Diao, 24 Delap, 9 Cresswell, 11 Sidibe, 10 Fuller. Subs: 19 Gallagher (for Sidibe, 70), 8 Parkin (for Diao, 85). Not used: 1 Simonsen, 17 Shawcross, 28 Wilkinson.
Burnley: 1 Kiraly, 2 Alexander, 3 Harley, 5 Carlisle, 24 Varga, 11 Elliott, 7 O'Connor, 10 Randall, 17 Lafferty, 20 Blake, 9 Akinbiyi. Subs: 18 Mahon (for Randall, 63), 15 Spicer (for Lafferty, 78), 27 Cole (for Akinbiyi, 82). Not used: 12 Jensen, 26 Unsworth.
Referee: H Webb.
Attendance: 18,432.
Bookings: Stoke - Diao (foul, 34), Lawrence (dissent, 69). Burnley - Lafferty (foul, 32), Harley (foul, 36).
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:02:11 GMT
Northampton Today!!!!!
Championship: Pulis's praise as Stoke leave it late
« Previous « PreviousNext » Next » View GalleryStoke boss Tony Pulis praised the never-say-die attitude of his players after Liam Lawrence's last-gasp penalty rescued a potentially priceless point. Burnley looked set to record their sixth win in eight visits to the Britannia Stadium until Lawrence netted his 14th goal of the season in the first minute of stoppage time.
The point was enough to lift Stoke, who had lost their previous two games, back into second place, and Pulis said: "The players deserve enormous credit for the way they kept going, especially after recent results.
"We conceded an early goal and it would have been easy for them to crumble, but they showed tremendous character. I can't praise them enough.
"I thought we deserved at least a point because we had the majority of the possession and put them under a lot of pressure. But Burnley are a good side and there are no easy games in this league.
"There are likely to be a few twists and turns yet, but as long as we win our games we won't have to look over our shoulders. I don't like looking at or depending on other results. I much prefer to concentrate on what we are doing."
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:06:55 GMT
Lancashire Evening Telegraph
FULL-TIME: Stoke City 1, Burnley 1 Comment | Read Comments (18) A PENALTY in the first minute of stoppage time forced Burnley to settle for a point from high flying Stoke City.
Kyle Lafferty put the Clarets in front in the third minute with his first goal in three months.
Ade Akinbiyi missed a good chance to double their lead five minutes later.
advertisement Although Stoke City had some good spells of possession they lacked an end product, and Gabor Kiraly was never overly tested.
Andrew Cole brought a good save from Carlo Nash in the last minute of normal time following his 83rd minute introduction.
And within moments Stoke were back on level terms after Jon Harley felled Jon Parkin in the area.
Kiraly dived the right way, but Liam Lawrence tucked it into the bottom right corner.
5:01pm Saturday 8th March 2008
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:11:20 GMT
TEAMtalk
Spot-on Lawrence thwarts Clarets Liam Lawrence converted a last-minute penalty as Stoke drew 1-1 at home to Burnley to move back up to second in the Championship. Lawrence: Kept nerve from penalty spot Kyle Lafferty's first goal in 2008 had looked to be enough for the Clarets at the Britannia Stadium before Lawrence scored his 14th goal of the season late on to level in dramatic fashion.
Goalkeeper Gabor Kiraly had produced a string of fine saves to justify his recall to the Burnley team and frustrate the home side, but was powerless to keep out Lawrence's spot-kick.
The Potters, who topped the table a fortnight ago, are now second after recovering from back-to-back defeats at the hands of Preston and QPR. Burnley are 10th.
Experienced goalkeeper Carlo Nash only joined the Potters on loan from Wigan on Tuesday and endured a nightmare start as Lafferty broke the deadlock early on.
Mark Randall broke from midfield before former Stoke midfielder James O'Connor set up Lafferty to fire low past Nash from 18 yards to register his first goal since mid-December.
Another ex-City man on show, Ade Akinbiyi, then missed a gilt-edged chance to double Burnley's lead five minutes later.
Akinbiyi was guilty of missing an open goal in last Saturday's 2-2 draw with Watford, and was again left to rue his profligacy as he somehow fired Robbie Blake's left-wing corner straight at Nash from close range when it seemed easier to score.
Kiraly denied Salif Diao and Leon Cort before the interval as Stoke fought for an equaliser.
After the restart, Rory Delap steered Lawrence's right-wing corner over from just outside the penalty area before Kiraly, back in the Burnley side at the expense of Brian Jensen, twice denied Richard Cresswell.
The former Crystal Palace goalkeeper first kept out Cresswell's 18-yard volley before saving his weak header moments later.
Cresswell shot wide from 12 and 25 yards either side of the hour before Randall, on loan from Arsenal, departed injured and was replaced by Alan Mahon.
Burnley continued to soak up sustained pressure from the hosts as Danny Pugh curled a 25-yard free-kick straight at Kiraly after O'Connor had upended the lively Cresswell.
Pulis introduced Paul Gallagher at the expense of Mamady Sidibe with 20 minutes remaining in the hope of mustering a goal but neither side looked likely to score as the game petered out.
Burnley boss Owen Coyle had the luxury of bringing on veteran striker Andrew Cole late on in replace of Akinbiyi while Lafferty made way for John Spicer.
With six minutes remaining, Andy Griffin shot over the bar from 20 yards while at the other end Cole was denied by Nash from six yards.
Stoke were then gifted a lifeline in the last minute as Jon Harley bundled over Cresswell and Lawrence drilled home from the penalty spot with ease to earn a share of the spoils.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:14:28 GMT
Stoke City Mad
Match report of this afternoon's home draw in the clash against Burnley
Liam Lawrence tucked away a last minute penalty to rescue a point for Stoke City and deny Burnley a sixth win in eight visits to the Britannia Stadium.
Lawrence placed his shot inside Gabor Kiraly's left-hand post for his 14th goal of the season after Jon Harley had tripped Richard Cresswell.
Burnley got off to a cracking start with Kyle Lafferty giving them the lead from their first attack in the third minute.
A swift counter-attack involved former Stoke players Ade Akinbiyi and James O'Connor, before the unmarked Lafferty fired home from six yards.
Stoke looked momentarily stunned and Akinbiyi should have added a second when he mis-directed a close-range shot in the eighth minute.
A strong and swirling wind made conditions difficult and City struggled to build up a head of steam with a couple of wayward shots from Mamady Sidibe the best they could muster.
They finally threatened the Burnley goal a minute before the interval when Richard Cresswell's cross-cum-shot just evaded Lawrence's lunge at the far post.
Stoke had the elements more in their favour after the break and they attempted to up the ante as they attacked the Boothen End which was hosting their most vociferous fans.
Ricardo Fuller's shot was aimed too close to Kiraly and the Burnley defence did well to withstand a series of corners and the long throws of Rory Delap.
Stoke's assault continued and they finally created a real chance on the hour when Fuller latched onto Delap's pass only to guide his shot a foot wide of Kiraly's left-hand post.
Kiraly then did well to block a fierce free-kick from Danny Pugh and the visitors looked set to hold out until the late drama.
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 7:38:33 GMT
Sunday Mirror
A last-GASP penalty by Liam Lawrence salvaged a point for promotion-chasing Stoke and put a dent in Burnley's play-off hopes.
It also ensured Tony Pulis's team avoided a third successive defeat, but there was little to suggest in an off-colour display that their wobble is over.
Pulis gave debuts to loan signings, Wigan keeper Carlo Nash and Middlesbrough centre-back Chris Riggott, and the newcomers could not stop Burnley making a dream start.
The game was just three minutes old when Kyle Lafferty put the Clarets in front.
And, to make matters worse for Stoke, former players Ade Akinbiyi and James O'Connor played key roles in Burnley's swift counterattack.
Akinbiyi slipped the ball inside to O'Connor who set up Lafferty to ensure Nash's first touch was retrieving the ball from his net.
Akinbiyi should have doubled Burnley's advantage five minutes later as Lafferty turned provider. The wide man guided Robbie Blake's corner back across goal to Akinbiyi but the striker miscued his shot.
Stoke failed to overcome the shock of the early setback until two minutes before the break when they finally posed a threat.
Richard Cresswell drilled the ball across the six-yard box and, with Gabor Kiraly stranded, Lawrence just failed to make contact at the far post.
Buoyed by the near miss and, doubtless, some harsh words from Pulis at the interval, Stoke turned up the heat.
Strike pair Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller began to make their presence felt, not least when the latter was bundled over by Wade Elliott.
Referee Howard Webb turned down appeals for a penalty but Fuller had the chance to make the decision academic.
One-on-one with Kiraly, the Potters striker guided the ball wide of the advancing keeper but also his left-hand post.
Yet Stoke failed to exploit their possession.
The need to chase the game also left them vulnerable to the counter-attack and a near-post save by Nash prevented sub Andy Cole adding a second.
It proved a a key save when, with the game heading into stoppage time, Graham Alexander brought down Cresswell and Lawrence converted the spot-kick.
HOW THEY RATED
STOKE
Nash 6, Griffin 6, Riggott 6, Cort 6, Pugh 6, Lawrence 6, Diao 5 (Parkin 4), Delap 7, Cresswell 6, Sidibe 5 (Gallagher 5), Fuller 5.
Manager Pulis 6
BURNLEY
Kiraly 6, Alexander 6, Carlisle 8, Varga 7, Harley 7, Elliott 6, O'Connor 6, Randall 5 (Mahon 5), Lafferty 6 (Spicer 5), Blake 6, Akinbiyi 5 (Cole 5).
Manager Coyle 7
Referee H Webb 6
MAN OF THE MATCH
Clarke Carlisle Commanding display in central defence
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Post by Lakeland Potter on Mar 9, 2008 10:36:47 GMT
The Times
Liam Lawrence rescues Stoke Stoke 1 Burnley 1Paul Rowan at Britannia stadium AFTER being top of the Championship towards the end of last month, Stoke City were on the verge of crashing to their third defeat in a row until their midfielder Liam Lawrence rescued a point with a penalty in the 90th minute. It was an equaliser that the home side barely deserved as Burnley, thanks to Kyle Lafferty’s third-minute strike, looked set for a deserved win.
With both teams coming into the game on the back of poor results that had called into question their promotion pretensions, changes were inevitable. For Stoke, goalkeeper Carlo Nash, borrowed from Bolton, and on-loan Middlesbrough man Chris Riggott made their debuts, while Rory Delap came in for the suspended Glenn Whelan. Burnley’s Mark Randall made his first appearance since arriving on loan from Arsenal, while Robbie Blake replaced Andrew Cole.
Ade Akinbiyi, who was perhaps lucky not to have been dropped, made the most of his reprieve by moving forward with purpose against one of his old clubs. He found James O’Connor, another former Stoke player, on the right and the midfielder sent in an excellent low cross that was turned in at the far post by Lafferty.
Akinbiyi himself should have scored four minutes later when Lafferty knocked Blake’s corner across the box but he skewed his shot horribly. From then on Stoke pressed continuously but when they did threaten, the giant forward pairing of Mamady Sidibe and Ricardo Fuller were wasteful.
They were grateful for Lawrence’s composure from the spot therefore, although Burnley manager Owen Coyle complained afterwards that the referee, Howard Webb, had been duped by Richard Cresswell, who was the player fouled.
Stoke: Nash 6, Griffin 6, Riggott 6, Cort 7, Pugh 6, Lawrence 7, Diao 6 (Parkin 84min), Delap 6, Cresswell 6, Sidibe 5 (Gallagher 70min), Fuller 5
Burnley: Kiraly 7, Alexander 6, Carlisle 6, Varga 8, Harley 7, Elliott 6, J O’Connor 7, Randall 6 (Mahon 63min), Lafferty 6 (Spicer 78min), Blake 6, Akinbiyi 6 (Cole 81min)
Scorers: Stoke: Lawrence 90 pen Burnley: Lafferty 3 Star man: Stanislav Varga (Burnley) Referee: H Webb Attendance: 18,432
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Post by scfclifer on Mar 9, 2008 10:48:49 GMT
even though they don't make pretty reading karma coming your way fornie
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Post by daverichards on Mar 9, 2008 11:55:37 GMT
cheers Fornside i wasn't up and about to do them myself
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Post by boothenendboy on Mar 9, 2008 11:59:41 GMT
in the people it says tony pulis subbed ade akinbyi for paul gallagher haha
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Post by tazi on Mar 9, 2008 22:56:58 GMT
Thanks for those reports.
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