Match Reports

[BoothenenderGaz]

Yorkshire Post

Full time: Stoke City 1 Hull City 1

Full time report from Stoke v Hull City on New Year's Day

Former Hull defender Leon Cort glanced home his fourth goal of the season in the 33rd minute to give in-form Stoke a narrow half-time lead after a dominant opening spell by the visitors.

The Potters nearly doubled their advantage five minutes later but visiting goalkeeper Boaz Myhill pulled off a stunning save to deny Jon Parkin, another ex-Tiger, from 12 yards.

On the stroke of half-time, Windass forced Simonsen into another smart save to keep the home side in front.

But Hull had a chance to equalise five minutes after the restart. Sam Ricketts whipped over a cross but Hughes just failed to divert his 12-yard header on target.

However, they were back on level terms in the 61st minute. Windass crossed for strike partner Folan to head home from six yards.

[BoothenenderGaz]

SportingLife.com


Cort glances home a header for Stoke.

Stoke and Hull had to settle for a point each following a 1-1 draw at the Britannia Stadium.

Former Hull defender Leon Cort gave in-form Stoke a narrow half-time lead.

Cort glanced home his fourth goal of the season in the 33rd minute from Rory Delap's delivery.

However, Hull were back on level terms in the 61st minute, veteran Dean Windass - who later hit the crossbar - crossing for strike partner Caleb Folan to head home from six yards.

Stoke stay fourth after extending their unbeaten streak to 10 games while Hull remain on the brink of the play-offs and they are now without a defeat in five games.

Hull, who have won three and drawn one of their last four games, made the brighter start.

It took until the 21st minute for the first attempt at goal, Windass - the match-winner in Sunday's 1-0 victory over struggling Sheffield Wednesday at the KC Stadium - curling a free-kick wide from the edge of the box.

The visitors came close to opening the scoring six minutes later. Bryan Hughes produced a fantastic overhead kick but his effort was saved by Stoke goalkeeper Steve Simonsen, restored to the side in the absence of the suspended Russell Hoult.

Stoke, without leading goalscorer Ricardo Fuller due to family reasons, had struggled to create any opportunities until Cort struck.

The Potters nearly doubled their advantage five minutes later but visiting goalkeeper Boaz Myhill pulled off a stunning save to deny Jon Parkin, another ex-Tiger, from 12 yards.

Myhill had to be at his best again moments later, tipping a speculative Liam Lawrence drive over the crossbar.

On the stroke of half-time, Windass forced Simonsen into another smart save to keep the home side in front.

Parkin produced a spectacular 35-yard lob which went over the crossbar early in the second half

But Hull had a chance to equalise five minutes after the restart. Sam Ricketts whipped over a cross but Hughes just failed to divert his 12-yard header on target.

However, they were back on level terms in the 61st minute. Windass crossed for strike partner Folan to head home from six yards.

Buoyed by the goal, the Tigers went close to taking the lead four minutes later when Windass headed a Hughes cross against the crossbar from close range.

Back came Stoke and Parkin should have done better with a header he put wide 20 minutes from time

Nick Barmby, on as a substitute for Windass, fired a shot over but neither side could find a winner.


Teams


Stoke Simonsen, Wright (Zakuani 83), Shawcross, Cort, Pugh,Lawrence, Delap, Eustace, Cresswell, Sidibe (Dickinson 66),Parkin (Pericard 77).


Subs Not Used: Pulis, Phillips.


Goals: Cort 33.


Hull Myhill, Ricketts, Turner, Brown, Dawson, Garcia, Ashbee,Livermore, Hughes (Elliott 82), Folan, Windass (Barmby 73).


Subs Not Used: Duke, Delaney, Marney.


Booked: Turner.


Goals: Folan 61.


Att: 15,788


Ref: Neil Swarbrick (Lancashire).

[BoothenenderGaz]

I did post the ESPN match report but it was identical to SportingLife.com

[BoothenenderGaz]

SportHull.co.uk

STOKE 1 v 1 HULL CITY

Manager Tony Pulis admitted Stoke missed star performer Ricardo Fuller after they hung on for a 1-1 draw against impressive Hull.


The Jamaica international, Stoke's top scorer with 11 goals, had to fly home to attend the funeral of his grandmother.


Pulis said: ``We missed Ric badly, but family is much more important than football and I'm sure everyone understands the situation.


``We don't know if he will be back for our cup game against Newcastle on Sunday and he will ring me later in the week.


``Hull played really well, but it was a funny game because our goalkeeper has not really had a save to make.


``Their goalkeeper had made two fantastic saves in the first half. I thought his first one from John Parkin was a wonder save.''

Article continues

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The game burst into life when Stoke took the lead with their first effort of the match in the 33rd minute.


Visiting keeper Boaz Myhill flapped at a huge throw from Rory Delap and former Hull defender Leon Cort glanced in a near-post header.


However, an equaliser was overdue by the time it arrived in the 61st minute when Dean Windass produced a pinpoint cross for Caleb Folan to head home.


Hull boss Phil Brown said: ``We are very pleased to remain unbeaten over the Christmas period and we should have ended it with a win.


``I'm disappointed to come away with a point and I think Tony Pulis will be happy with a point.


``The stats showed we had 32 crosses to Stoke's nine and 14 shots to their seven. That's impressive for an away side.


``We should have defended the long throw better, but we took the game to Stoke for big parts of the game and it was a pleasing performance.''

[BoothenenderGaz]

Stoke Official Site



City entered the New Year and picked up a point after a low key affair against Hull City at the Britannia Stadium.

Leon Cort put the Potters ahead in the first half, but Caleb Folan's second half header ensured the Tigers went home with a share of the spoils.

Results elsewhere mean the Potters stay in fourth position, five points ahead of seventh place Plymouth Argyle.

Tony Pulis was forced in to three changes ahead of the match with leading scorer Ricardo Fuller (family reasons), Russell Hoult (suspension) and Andy Wilkinson (injury) all ruled out.

Jon Parkin was handed a start against his former club, partnering Mamady Sidibe up front, while Stephen Wright returned from injury to replace Wilkinson at right back.

Goalkeeper Hoult's sending off at Plymouth on Saturday paved the way for Steve Simonsen's return after being dropped for the clash in Devon.

The game started slowly, with neither side able to get a stranglehold on the game.

However it was the visitors who created the first real effort on goal after eight minutes.

Veteran striker Dean Windass should have done better from four yards, but he flicked the ball over the bar following great work on the flank from Richard Garcia.

Midfielder Bryan Hughes attempted a speculative bicycle kick on the half hour, which City keeper Simonsen comfortably gathered.

Somewhat against the run of play City took the lead on 32 minutes thanks to on loan Crystal Palace man Cort.

Rory Delap's long throw in caught the Hull defence napping and the powerful defender rose highest to flick the ball past Boaz Myhill and in to the back of the net.

The goal sparked life in to City, and a frantic five minutes could have seen the lead expanded.

Firstly Parkin burst through on to a Sidibe flick on, but Myhill brilliantly saved before Michael Turner hacked the ball off the line.

A clever corner routine a minute later resulted in Liam Lawrence firing in a 30-yard strike which the Tigers keeper expertly tipped over the bar.

From the resulting corner Cort almost grabbed his second goal of the afternoon, but he mistimed his header before the ball was scrambled away from danger.

Phil Brown's side desperately tried to claw their way back in to the game as the first half drew to a close, but they couldn't find a way through a resilient City backline.

The second half began with Parkin attempting to catch the visiting keeper out from the half way line. However his effort ended up well over the bar.

Hull looked refreshed following the break and they levelled the scoreline after an hour.

The evergreen Windass whipped in a dangerous ball and ex-Wigan striker Folan towered above Danny Pugh to power his header beyond Simonsen and in to the bottom left hand corner.

Delap launched a long range strike which tested the hands of Myhill, while Windass struck over following good work by Garcia.

Substitute Vincent Pericard, who replaced Parkin, was harshly denied a penalty in the 80th minute, after he appeared to have been tripped after latching on to a long ball forward.

The Frenchman had the last chance of the game with just a minute to go, but he failed to connect with the ball after it bobbled in to his path.

The draw extended City's unbeaten run to ten games.

[BoothenenderGaz]

Sentinel

MORE POINTS DROPPED BY LEAKY STOKE

Stoke City 1

Cort, 33

HULL CITY 1

Folan, 61


Martin Spinks reports from the Britannia Stadium

STOKE kicked off the New Year just as they had ended the old by claiming a point after Leon Cort's goal against his old club here at the Britannia this afternoon.

Cort glanced home a 33rd-minute header from Rory Delap's long throw to open up the possibility of a much-needed three points to keep pace with the Championship's leading lights.

But City were rarely at their best and could have no complaints with a third successive draw after Caleb Folan headed Hull level just after the hour to maintain their interest in the top six.

Stoke's pre-match preparations were thrown into turmoil before the midnight gong when Ricardo Fuller flew back to Jamaica following a family bereavement.

His departure left a gaping hole in attack for big Jon Parkin to fill against his old club, while at the back Stephen Wright won the nod over Gabriel Zakuani to replace the injured Andy Wilkinson at right-back.

Hull's starting line-up was pretty much as anticipated as veteran Dean Windass retained his place after stepping off the bench for the injured Fraizer Campbell to score their winner against Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

The visitors began with plenty of zest, considering they had been in action only two days earlier, and a couple of Ryan Shawcross headers from inside a boxed area were an indication of Stoke's mild discomfort in the opening stages.

Of far greater concern was a Bryan Hughes cross shot which Windass met with a somewhat involuntary prod that sent the ball ballooning over and into the Boothen End.

The Yorkshire side continued to play with much the greater confidence and freedom against their rather reticent hosts during the opening quarter-of-an-hour.

Stoke's first incursion of any description came in the 16th minute after Danny Pugh's challenging through ball left David Livermore having to slide in to halt John Eustace's possible progress goalwards.

Windass took just 17 minutes to wind up the home fans after belting into the Boothen End long after the whistle had blown - and somehow escaping the requisite booking after motioning to supporters and ref alike that his hearing had momentarily deserted him.

The action returned to the other end of the field when Liam Lawrence slipped one into the near post, but Mama Sidibe failed to divert an awkward ball goalwards under pressure from behind.

Richard Cresswell's foul on Windass left the latter standing menacingly over a 20-yard free-kick in front of the Stoke goal shortly afterwards, but he failed to repeat his winner on Sunday by lofting flagrantly into the crowd amid predictable cheers.

Stoke were making the visitors work far harder by the midway stage of the first period as the likes of Lawrence, especially, were beginning to ask a few questions.

But it was Steve Simonsen making the first save of any note in the 27th minute when he held his position to safely pocket a Hughes overhead kick from 12 yards out.

A brief game of head tennis deep inside the Hull area brought the home crowd back to life - and the subsequent long throw from Delap on the right instigated Stoke's 33rd minute breakthrough.

Delap, who had earlier looked like leaving the action prematurely because of apparent ankle trouble, launched the ball into the box and towards the near post to tempt goalkeeper Boaz Myhill off his line.

But he was nowhere as the ball glanced off Cort's head to nestle nicely inside his old club's net for Stoke's 1-0 lead somewhat against the run of play.

Stoke went within inches of doubling their lead in the 39th minute when Eustace headed through to tee up Parkin for a clean strike that the keeper could only half-save, but Sam Ricketts was on hand to hook clear and prevent the ball creeping over the line.

A long Delap throw seconds later prompted more problems for Hull as a desperate clearance prevented Parkin pouncing from close range.

Stoke maintained this mini period of intense pressure as the ball was played out for Lawrence to let fly with a right-footer towards the top right-hand corner, but Myhill was equal to the shot by flinging himself full-length to palm clear superbly.

Delap's defensive contribution was in full evidence shortly before the break when he retreated some 60-odd yards to sweep behind a cross from the Hull left after the visitors broke upfield in threatening numbers.

Stoke were to suffer another scare right on half-time when Livermore's ball from the right was swept fiercely goalwards by Windass to leave the well-positioned Simonsen saving at the second attempt.

Parkin announced himself early in the second half by walloping an up and under goalwards from just inside the Hull half in a game attempt to land the ball between a stranded Myhill and his goal.

Hull responded with a break by Ricketts down the right which was followed by a lofted cross for Windass to head behind from beyond the far post.

Delap was up to his old tricks shortly after when a mammoth throw from the Stoke right was deflected narrowly wide of the near post as Cort lurked in search of his second.

Shawcross was remaining a rock at the back, but his efforts at the other end were not quite so impressive as he belted one well wide on the run in an ambitious attempt to double his side's lead.

Stoke were largely content to hold their positions approaching the hour mark, however, as they allowed Hull plenty of ball in the midfield third.

But players were fatally caught out of position in the 61st minute when Lawrence was bundled off the ball amid futile shouts for a foul inside the Hull half.

The visitors broke down their left where Windass was able to pick his man with a deep cross for Folan to comfortably out-jump Danny Pugh to head home inside the far post.

The Tigers were looking the fresher of the two outfits, but it was Stoke threatening next when Lawrence curved a beauty in from the right for Wright to narrowly fail to make contact with a header right in front of goal.

Hull's response was swift and very nearly deadly as Pugh was again found wanting aerially at the far post when Windass met a left-wing ball on this occasion to nod onto the top of the cross bar.

Stoke boss Tony Pulis acted instantly by throwing on Carl Dickinson at left-back, shoving Pugh to left midfield and shifting Cresswell up front to replace the substituted Sidibe.

A couple of forays from Lawrence down the right raised the home crowd's spirits, while Cresswell nodded wide of the far post with Stoke's first genuine attempt for some time.

Parkin left the pitch to cruel references about his waist size from his old Hull fans in the 77th minute as Pulis threw on Vincent Pericard for a final push.

But it was Hull remaining the more polished in possession as Stoke continued to seek quicker counter-attacks from any midfield scraps.

Nick Barmby's first contribution after replacing Windass on 73 minutes was to hook a volley over the bar as Hull remained the perkier-looking of the two sides in the final third.

Stoke were up in arms appealing for a penalty on 86 minutes when Shawcross lofted a long ball forward for Pericard to chase with Michael Turner in hot pursuit.

But the ball wouldn't drop quickly enough for Pericard to shoot early and, when he was finally able to steady himself to unload, he appeared to be dragged down by the chasing Turner.

Hull then exerted late pressure during three minutes of stoppage time in which Shawcross distinguished himself once more by preserving Stoke's unbeaten run.

And just seconds were remaining when Pericard very nearly beat Myhill to a loose ball inside a crowded Hull area.

MATCH VERDICT

STOKE only showed flashes of their best form as they predictably missed Ricardo Fuller's cutting edge during a fair share of the spoils at the Britannia.

[BoothenenderGaz]

The Mirror

Stoke 1-1 Hull City

Coca Cola CHAMPIONSHIP STOKE 1 HULL 1

Hull boss Phil Brown absolved keeper Boaz Myhill of blame as the Tigers were forced to come from behind to snatch a point.

Myhill came for a long Rory Delap throw in the 33rd minute and failed to get through a crowd of players.

As he floundered, Leon Cort got the slightest of touches on the ball to send it flying past the keeper.

Caleb Folan equalised with a second-half header to save Myhill's blushes and keep Hull just a point outside the play-off spots.

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Brown said: "Players got in the way of the keeper when it was his ball, and to concede a goal from a situation like that is not something I'm happy about.

"It is an injustice they have got a point. We should have won the game.

"If we had a little more quality and a little more patience in the final third we would have won the game comfortably."

Despite Brown's insistence, it was Stoke that carved out the better chances - especially when they were on top in the first half.

Jon Parkin burst through onto John Eustace's header and smacked a shot at goal that Myhill half-stopped before Sam Ricketts dashed back and hacked off the line.

The keeper was busy again moments later as he tipped Liam Lawrence's curling shot past the post.

But Hull dominated the second half and Dean Windass laid on the leveller in the 61st minute.

The striker floated over a deep cross and Folan pushed Danny Pugh out of the way to head home.

Windass then out-jumped Pugh at the far post only to see his header hit the top of the bar.

Stoke were denied a late penalty when sub Vincent Pericard was dragged down by Michael Turner as he prepared to shoot with five minutes left.

And City boss Tony Pulis said: "Vincent says his foot was taken away from him, but we don't get many penalties here."

Stoke missed star performer Ricardo Fuller after he flew back to Jamaica to be at his grandmother's funeral.

Pulis added: "We missed Ric badly but family is much more important than football."

[BoothenenderGaz]

Telegraph

Folan equals Cort effort as Stoke lose ground
By Peter Gardner

Stoke City (1) 1 Hull City (0) 1

Leon Cort'S fourth goal in nine games enabled Stoke to enhance their play-off ambitions in stretching an unbeaten run to 10 games, although Caleb Folan's second-half equaliser saw them lose ground on the three clubs above them.

Cort, a former Hull defender who is on loan from Crystal Palace, ignited a drab first half when heading in at the near post in the 32nd minute following a Rory Delap long throw.

Jon Parkin and Liam Lawrence also went close before Hull, now unbeaten in five, dominated the second half, with Folan heading in a Dean Windass cross for the 61st-minute equaliser. A Windass header later clipped the top of the home crossbar.

[vientianescfc]

Wish some fucker would take Vincents other foot away from him also . . . and not give'em back!

[BoothenenderGaz]

The Times

Stoke 1 Hull 1

Hull City dominated but had to settle for a point after Caleb Folan equalised Leon Cort’s headed goal for Stoke City. The host side had hardly threatened before Cort glanced in Rory Delap’s long throw with 32 minutes gone. Hull drew level after an hour when Folan headed in a cross from Dean Windass, who hit the bar with a header shortly afterwards.

Phil Brown, the Hull manager, who has agreed to sell Stephen McPhee to Blackpool, said: “If we’d had a little bit more quality and patience in the final third, we would have won.” Stoke were without Ricardo Fuller, the forward, who was attending his grandmother’s funeral.