Rate it!

3 votes

Stoke City threw away a two-goal lead at half-time, as Jody Craddock bagged a brace for Wolves in the second-half to hand Mick McCarthy's battling side a deserved point.

The opening exchanges were scrappy with neither side able to take a firm grip on the match. Stoke, with Rory Delap and Matthew Etherington marshalling the wings, threatened from their set-pieces early on. Craddock and Christope Berra had to be alert to the aerial bombardment which was increasingly coming Wolves' way.

But the first major talking point involved with James Beattie. The Stoke striker lined up a free-kick on the edge of the penalty area, after Berra cynically brought down Dean Whitehead. Beattie's drive was straight at the wall, with Stoke appealing for a penalty after Karl Henry and Segundo Castillo rose high. Referee Chris Foy, however, quashed those appeals despite replays showing that Beattie and Stoke had a case.

If anything, though, that seemed to spur on Stoke and they duly took the lead in the 17th minute. Etherington, who was continuing to enjoy more freedom down the left-wing, whipped in a tidy ball which Beattie slid in to tuck home. The final touch was eventually awarded as an own-goal from George Elokobi, but Beattie's pressure was decisive in forcing the Wolves right-back into that mistake.

Wolves were clearly rattled, and resorted to route-one football following the goal, as their two strikers - Kevin Doyle and Chris Iwelumo - were becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of service.

Stoke, meanwhile, were now in the ascendency and they were indebted to their keeper Wayne Hennessy for not falling further behind in the 29th minute. Hennessy pulled off a fantastic reflex save to deny Beattie, following a looping Delap cross from the left-wing.

Although Thomas Sorensen had little to do in the Stoke goal, the Dane did make a hash of dealing with Hennessy's long free-kick, when under pressure from Iwelumo. But there was little else to trouble Stoke as they grew in confidence.

Etherington was the man who put Stoke in, what at the time seemed to be, complete control. The former West Ham winger rifling the ball into the top of the net, just five minutes before half-time, after Wolves failed to clear another Delap bombardment into the box. It was excellent technique from Etherington who calmly controlled his finish from just outside the penalty area.

The away fans feared the worst at half-time, but Wolves turned the game on its head at the start of the second. McCarthy brought on Nenad Milijas for Castillo, and the substitute had an immediate impact on the match. Kevin Doyle forced a free-kick down the Stoke left-flank after bursting forward with pace and endeavour. A clumsy foul by Danny Collins stopped the Irishman in his tracks. Milijas swung over the resulting free-kick, Berra flicked the ball on and, despite suspicions of offside, Craddock smartly tucked the ball in past a flailing Sorensen.

It served as a real blow for Stoke and one which they did not recover from as Wolves, now with their tails firmly between their legs, grabbed the equaliser just past the hour mark. Milijas was again the provider with a cross on the right; Craddock beating his man to thump home the header from close-range. Stoke's marking was all at sea, and Sorensen was helpless in seeing the ball travel in over his head.

From then on, however, the game fizzled out. Wolves failed to capitalise on their greater play during the second-half and Stoke lacked the necessary bite to regain the lead.

A late chance fell Stoke's way when Abdoulaye Faye planted his header firmly over the bar from an outswinging Etherington cross. The Senegalese defender was left completely unmarked in the Wolves area and his miss brought the expected sighs of frustration from Tony Pulis.

As the final whistle blew, 2-2 appeared to be a fair result which, on the face of it, is of little benefit to either team. Stoke blew the chance to cement their top-ten status, and Wolves' point is not enough to haul them out of the drop zone. However, the manner in which Wolves recovered will serve Mick McCarthy's men well when they next take to the road.

Liam Graf / Eurosport