Captain Shawcross saves the day as Potters hold the Champions

Manchester City and Roberto Mancini made it a 6^th successive game without victory at the Britannia Stadium as Stoke battled to deny the Italian victory in the Potteries again after a lively affair ended with a merited point for both teams.

Manchester City started the stronger of the two sides, keeping possession for the majority of the opening minutes however it was in fact Stoke who controversially went ahead on 15 minutes. The Citizens failed to clear a Charlie Adam corner and Jonathan Walters somehow clipped the ball to Peter Crouch who initially handled the ball when controlling it before bustling his way through a wall of defenders and placing the ball past England’s Joe Hart. Mario Balotelli then had a great chance to level the scoring five minutes later, but the enigmatic striker blazed over from just inside the area, much to the joy of the home crowd who were growing increasingly frustrated at his dramatic antics. Balotelli had found his match in Andy Wilkinson and took great pleasure in falling to the ground at the very hint of contact from the Stone-born full back. Manchester City did eventually level things up though when a Carlos Tevez free kick found £16 million signing Javi Garcia who powered an unstoppable header past Asmir Begovic to make it 1-1 on 34 minutes. The away team kept pressing throughout the first half but both teams settled on 1-1 at half time.

After the break, Stoke took the game to the Champions, Crouch the inevitable target of most long balls. Not even the introduction of Matthew Etherington changed the game an awful lot for Stoke, so the drama was left for the defenders to provide, which they certainly did in the final five minutes. Michael Owen entered the game at 89 minutes and just over a minute later, Manchester City had their second really telling chance of the game. David Silva’s corner was again driven at goal by Javi Garcia’s head, but Bosnian Begovic came to the rescue, tipping the ball on to the post before clutching it tightly. The drama wasn’t over yet though, and it looked like the away side had taken all 3 points when substitute Edin Dzeko deftly lobbed Begovic from 18 yards. Unfortunately for his fellow international teammate Dzeko though, there was someone running after his effort. Ryan Shawcross sped past the two players, getting to the ball literally just before it crossed the line, his emphatic clearance marking the end of the game. A world class clearance from a world class defender, and nothing less than Stoke deserved.

Steven N’Zonzi made a big impression on fans and walked away with the man of the match performance on his Potters debut. The Frenchman arrived at the club just over 2 weeks ago on deadline day, and has instantly become a hit with his forceful yet dainty nature capturing the crowd immediately. I’m personally very excited by N’Zonzi. He has always seemed to control the game in any fixture I’ve seen him in for Blackburn, and today he ran the Stoke midfield in an almost transparent nature, appearing from nowhere to mop up any loose balls at any given moment. It was an impressive game too for Irishman Glenn Whelan who is clearly ready to battle for a place in the squad with so much competition for places. Unfortunately, less can be said of his international teammate Walters who despite giving an astute account of himself, looks to of injured his hamstring. There is no official news on Walters as yet, but I’m sure the medical staff will evaluate him on Monday and see if he will be available for Saturday’s daunting trip to title hopefuls Chelsea.

It was a very good result for the Potters and a good performance to go with it is always a bonus. It might be a while until we see our first victory of the season, but I would be more than happy to leave Stamford Bridge with today’s result next weekend. Roll on Chelsea!