Showing posts with label Begovic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Begovic. Show all posts
Premier League, Britannia Stadium - Stoke City 1 (Crouch, 15) Manchester City (Javi Garcia, 35).
Peter Crouch scored with the aid of his hand to help Stoke City hold Premier League champions Manchester City 1-1 at the Britannia Stadium.
The former England striker managed to give City central defenders Joleon Lescott and Vicent Kompany the slip on 15 minutes before planting the ball beyond Joe Hart for the opening goal.
Television replays showed Crouch had clearly handled the ball to control it with referee Mark Clattenburg apparently unsighted. It was a bit different from the stunning volley he hoisted into the City net last season that earned him a goal of the season nomination, but this one could prove every bit as significant.
“If you want to start with the first goal we should talk about the NBA not football,” Roberto Mancini told reporters after the match.
“I didn’t see from the bench but I saw all my players talk to the referee, the incredible thing is that the referee was behind Crouch.
“Sometimes it can happen when the handball is not voluntary but not today."
Crouch has now scored three times in his last six outings against City in the Premier League.
Mancini's side were the better side for long periods of the first half and deservedly equalised when debutant Javi Garcia popped up unmarked to head home from Carlos Tevez's free kick on 35 minutes. It was his first goal in a City shirt since his £18 million move from Benfica.
The midfielder almost won it in the dying seconds when he met substitute David Silva's corner kick with another powerful header, but this time Stoke goalkeeper Asmir Begovic dived to make the stop with the ball coming back off a post and into his arms.
Tony Pulis's Stoke were worthy of their point on energy alone after being outpassed for large swathes of the afternoon, but were almost undone in the final seconds of stoppage time when Begovic dashed crazily from his line to challenge Edin Dzeko, who had replaced Mario Balotelli only seconds earlier.
Dzeko managed to lift the ball over the dashing Begovic, but Ryan Shawcross produced a marvellous piece of defending to sprint back and hook the ball off his line as it looked set to nestle in his net.
It was a thrilling piece of defending with the Manchester City supporters behind the goal cutting bemused figures as they prepared to revel in three points.
Michael Owen made his debut for Stoke in the closing seconds as he replaced Crouch, who had done his work for the day by scoring with a goal that should have been disallowed.
Tevez enjoyed a decent outing for City before somewhat strangely being replaced by Gareth Barry on 64 minutes. He walloped a shot narrowly wide on four minutes with Balotelli doing likewise 17 minutes later.
Begovic swiped a shot by Maicon wide on 35 minutes before saving from Balotelli with another smart piece of handling skills.
Stoke managed to enjoy more meaningful moments in the second period, but the home side continued to rely on Begovic to protect their point as he came up with saves from Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri three minutes from time that were above average.
Manchester City have now failed to win in all five Premier League visits to Stoke, drawing each of their last four 1-1.
Stoke nor Crouch looked too embarrassed when the final whistle sounded.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Asmir Begovic (Stoke City) – Produced vital saves at vital times to earn Stoke a point from the contest. Was at fault in the dying seconds when he dashed from his line to confront Edin Dzeko, but that should not detract from a fine piece of all-round goalkeeping.
Ayegbeni Yakubu's 67th minute strike was enough for Everton to see off a resilient Stoke City side 1-0 in the Premier League at Goodison Park.
The ball fell to the Nigerian striker after a 20-yard Tim Cahill strike smacked the foot of Asmir Begovic's left post. Showing a good level of composure, Yakubu proceeded to cut inside before unleashing an unstoppable shot into the roof of the net from six yards out.
The game itself was a largely scrappy affair, with Stoke seeking to stifle the progress of their opponents at every given opportunity.
Robert Huth, Abdoulaye Faye and Ryan Shawcross were pillars at the back for Tony Pulis' men. So much so, in fact, that the relief around Goodison was clear for all to see following Yakubu's strike.
Up until then, The Toffees' midfield trio of Cahill, Steven Pienaar and Mikel Arteta had been restricted to tame long-range efforts at the Stoke goal. This, despite the fact that Leighton Baines and Phil Neville had been given license to roam and attack deep down both flanks, as Stoke looked to pack players into the middle of the pitch.
First, Pienaar striked from a central position in the 25th minute, which Asmir Begovic was able to gather cleanly while moving to his right. Then, eight minutes later, Cahill attempted something similar from around 35 yards out with his drive flying high and wide of goal.
It was testament to Stoke's resilience, as Tony Pulis' men - particularly in the first half - restricted The Toffees by congesting the midfield and getting, at times, nine men behind the ball with Kenwyne Jones positioned as the lone target man, designed to latch onto any long balls from the back.
As the frustration of Everton, and the Goodison Park faithful, began to grow, Stoke slowly gathered momentum and arguably had the better of the chances before half-time.
A mix-up in The Toffees defence inside the first ten minutes presented Jones with a turn and strike on goal. However, the Trinidad and Tobagan didn't catch the ball cleanly and sliced his effort beyond Tim Howard's posts.
Then, moments before half-time, a whipped Matthew Etherington delivery came through a host of Everton players to Abdoulaye Faye arriving at the back post. However, the Senegalese defender's surprise at being presented with the opportunity was clear for all to see as he dragged his shot wide of goal.
Into the second-half, and it was again Everton who looked the more nervous of the two teams, with Sanli Tuncay having a goal harshly disallowed on the hour-mark, after being accused of pushing Baines when converting a Huth knock-down.
That, however, seemed to spur Everton into life and, following Yakubu's moment of glory, David Moyes' men initially began to get into their stride.
