Monday December 26, 2011 Day 18 Finished Britannia Stadium

  1. Villa stand firm to deny Stoke

    Villa stand firm to deny Stoke

    A dreary 0-0 draw between Stoke and Aston Villa was only briefly enlightened when both sides hit the woodwork at the Britannia Stadium. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • Stoke City
    • Aston Villa
    • - Don't forget you can watch highlights of this match, along with every Premier League game, from 00:01 on Tuesday morning (UK only).
    • 90+3' FULL TIME. Heskey and Wilson both struck the woodwork but in truth it was a very poor match at the Britannia Stadium.
    • 90+3' N’Zogbia looks to have won a corner for Villa but a goal-kick is awarded. That could be that.
    • 90+2' Ha! Delap penalised for a foul throw!
    • 90+1' We will have three minutes of added time.
    • 90' Now Guzan comes and flaps at a corner but Collins heads clear. Villa will be put under real pressure in what remains of this contest.
    • 89' Delap hurls in a wicked throw and Petrov gets to the ball, almost flicking it into his own net. That was an absolutely vicious delivery from Delap.
    • 88' N’Zogbia smacks the ball into the box but Delfouneso fails to get in front of Sorensen to get a touch on the ball. The chance goes wasted for Villa.
    • 86' Stoke win a free-kick when Collins fouls but Etherington strikes the wall.
    • 84' Delfouneso is winded after colliding with Huth. Wouldn’t we all be?
    • 82' Petrov lines up a shot from range but gets his effort all wrong as it soars over the bar.
    • 80' Rory Delap has been booked for pulling back Clark.
    • 79' Poor from N’Zogbia as he flashes an effort well off target.
    • 75' N’Zogbia bounces in a free-kick and Sorensen fumbles, only for Stoke to clear. That was unconvincing from the keeper.
    • 73' It didn’t strike Agbonahor’s arm, definitely his chest, and on balance it looked as though the entirety of the ball had not crossed the line. That was close though.
    • 71' Woodgate replaced by Jermaine Pennant as Stoke show their intent to win this match.
    • 70' See, I told you you would be rewarded for sticking with me.
    • 70' Stoke hit the bar! Here we go! Marc Wilson produces a firm header from a corner from the left and thunders his volley against the underside of the bar. Agbonlahor stops the ball from crossing the line, though replays suggest it may have snuck over, and he may have handballed. Controversy.
    • 69' If you are still following this dreary match and haven’t resorted to Boxing Day TV (is Downton Abbey on?) then I applaud you and hope you are rewarded with some action.
    • 68' Change for Stoke as Palacios is replaced by Rory Delap. Palacios was a bit of a liability.
    • 67' Chance for Villa! Petrov spreads the ball wide to N’Zogbia, who jinks inside Woodgate and thumps an effort wide of the near post.
    • 66' Stat from Infostrada: "Stoke have won only one of their last eight top flight matches on a Monday."
    • 65' Albrighton curls in a cross from the right but it soars harmlessly away from a Villa shirt.
    • 65' Rio Ferdinand, guest commentator (well, on Twitter anyway) has this to say: "Stoke vs villa....high balls galore so far...villa starting to try + play a bit now."
    • 63' Huth, who is so often the target for Stoke, battles with Dunne to get on the end of an Etherington corner and the Villa man does just enough as the ball flies over.
    • 61' Excellent from Agbonlahor as he races back 30 yards to dispossess Palacios in the centre circle and then wins a throw on the right wing after advancing into the final third.
    • 60' Agbonlahor raises his arm in apology after producing a sloppy pass that gifts possession to Stoke, but luckily for the forward Villa are not punished.
    • 58' Stat from Infostrada: "Stoke have won all three PL games refereed by Mark Clattenburg at the Britannia Stadium."
    • 57' Whitehead commits a foul and is the second Stoke man to go into the book.
    • 55' Well that was a minor eruption of action there. The volume appears to have increased inside the Britannia Stadium as a result.
    • 53' Agbonlahor races down the left wing and Delfouneso stretches out a boot to turn the ball against Sorensen, who makes the save. That was a decent chance for Villa.
    • 51' Not a great start to the second half in all honesty. Let’s hope this game picks up, and soon.
    • 49' Stat from Infostrada: “Villa have not lost any of their last five away matches in the PL when level at half time, recording one win and four draws. They have also lost only one of their last 10 away matches in the division when level at the half (2 wins and 7 draws).”
    • 47' Villa have been forced into a change with Heskey being replaced by Nathan Delfouneso.
    • 46' KICK OFF!
    • - Paul Robertson has this to say on Twitter: "Pele has just retracted his comment about the beautiful game." Get in touch on Twitter
    • - If you want to let me know annoyed you are that you wasted 45 minutes of your life watching that first half, get in touch on Twitter. Follow @tomEurosport
    • 45+2' HALF-TIME. Mostly dismal stuff, but Heskey did hit the post.
    • 45+1' We will have a minimum of two added minutes. Let's keep it to that minimum, please.
    • 45' Agbonlahor runs into trouble just as it looks as though space may open up for him in front of goal. Disappointing.
    • 44' Stat from Infostrada: "Stoke have only scored seven first half PL goals this season. Only Everton (5) have fewer in the division in the first 45 minutes."
    • 42' Excellent goalkeeping from Guzan. Jones gets away from Collins after touching the ball on but the American races off his line to smother the ball just as Jones is ready to take a touch.
    • 41' Now Palacios hacks down N’Zogbia with a late challenge that is two-footed. Still he avoids a booking, remarkably. He must have some compromising photos of Mr Clattenburg.
    • 40' Suddenly Villa have numbers on the break though and Petrov absolutely thumps a shot wide of the post from a tight angle following the pass from Clark.
    • 39' Long throw arrives. Long throw headed out. The dastardly pattern continues. This time Collins clears from Shotton’s hurled effort.
    • 38' N’Zogbia is absolutely furious when being penalised for a foul on Huth but a free-kick it is. Sorensen labours over it.
    • 37' In fact, the ball has spent more time in the air than a BA air hostess.
    • 36' This has been rather disappointing match so far, though I don’t imagine you were expecting a contest between Brazil 1982 and Netherlands 1974, eh?
    • 34' Petrov has taken a knock following that poor challenge from Palacios that somehow was not punished with a booking. He gets gingerly to his feet and will require treatment.
    • 33' Shotton makes his way to the edge of the box before attempting to dink a ball into Jones. However, Guzan comes off his line to catch the ball.
    • 32' Petrov sneaks away from Wilson Palacios before the former Spurs midfielder brings him to ground with a filthy tackle from behind. Lucky to escape a booking for that.
    • 31' Stat from Infostrada: "Stilian Petrov has scored eight PL goals, but has never netted on the same day as Bulgarian compatriot Dimitar Berbatov, who scored a hat-trick earlier today."
    • 29' Ref Clattenburg slips over and trips Agbonalhor. Ho, ho. The crowd always love a bit of that, don’t they? And at Christmas as well. What a treat.
    • 27' Stoke are somewhat fortunate to win a free-kick when Warnock actually takes some of the ball but Huth heads over when rising above Collins at the back post to meet the free-kick from Whitehead.
    • 26' After a somewhat mixed start Villa have upped the ante a touch with that Heskey header against the post the closest either side has come to scoring.
    • 24' Huth goes into the book. The big German is penalised after Agbonlahor beats him in the air and then tumbles to ground. That is harsh as there was no real intent or contact.
    • 23' Stat from Infostrada: “Villa have not won on Boxing Day since beating Everton 4-0 in 2005. This is also their only win in their last 10 matches on December 26 (1-3-6).”
    • 22' The second corner does come in and Heskey gets in front of his man to direct a fine header against the outside of the post! Villa threatening from set-pieces eh?
    • 21' Villa win a corner but Dean Whitehead heads behind at the near post from N’Zogbia’s delivery. Now the Frenchman delivers again but ref Mark Clattenburg wants to have a word with Shawcross and Dunne, who were tussling in the box.
    • 20' Heskey collects the ball 20 yards from goal and has Agbonlahor and Albrighton lurking with intent either side of him. However, his pass finds a Stoke shirt.
    • 19' A nice, neat 50-50 split in the possession so far. Sadly we haven’t had any decent chances yet though. Stoke look the better side on balance.
    • 18' Shawcross cranes his neck to deal with a ball over the top and although Agbonlahor is hovering over his shoulder, he gets enough on the ball to leave Thomas Sorensen comfortable.
    • 16' Collins heads clear from a Shotton long throw and for a second it looks as though Villa may catch Stoke on the hop. However, Petrov’s cross-field pass for Agbonlahor runs out of play.
    • 15' Stat from Infostrada: “Villa have not won back-to-back away matches in the Premier League since winning three in a row against Bolton (0-1), Portsmouth (1-2) and Hull City (0-2) in April 2010.”
    • 13' Walters pounces on the right wing but his cross is behind Kenwyne Jones and Villa are able to clear.
    • 12' Brad Guzan comes off his line to collect a ball over the top but Dunne detects a sliver of uncertainty and takes no chances when hoofing the ball clear. Guzan looks a touch perplexed, but better safe than sorry and all that.
    • 11' Villa win a corner and Albrighton goes short before receiving the ball back and failing to beat the first man. That’s perfectly fitting tonight’s likely narrative which dictates Stoke will win this by virtue of their set-piece mastery.
    • 10' Stat from Infostrada: “Stoke City have won their last two home games. The last time they won three in a row at Britannia Stadium was in January-February this year when they beat Everton (2-0), Bolton Wanderers (2-0) and Sunderland (3-2).”
    • 9' Dunne is already bleeding from the mouth. It’s always a bruising experience, playing away at Stoke, and Dunne is never shy in getting involved.
    • 7' Shotton hurls another throw into the box but Villa deal with it sufficiently as Ciaran Clark heads away. Villa attempt to launch a counter-attack but Marc Albrighton’s cross is lacking.
    • 6' James Collins steps out of defence and plays a purposeful ball forward to Gabrel Agbonlahor, who wins a free-kick from Huth. Collins goes short from the free-kick and suddenly Heskey finds space to the left of the box, but his cut-back is cleared.
    • 4' Kenwyne Jones spreads the ball wide to Ryan Shotton and he wins a throw. Shotton himself hurls it long, a la Delap, but Emile Heskey is fouled by Ryan Shawcross as he attempts to head away.
    • 3' Matt Etherington’s delivery comes back to the winger and his second cross into the box finds Robert Huth, who leaps to direct his header over the bar. Stoke already a threat from those set-pieces of theirs.
    • 2' Richard Dunne comes across to snuff out danger as Jonathan Walters threatens to break in behind and it is an early corner to villa. Stiliyan Petrov ushers it out for another.
    • 1' KICK OFF!
    • 19.43 The teams stream out of the tunnel and are greeted with a roar from an expectant home support. A prediction? Some post-Christmas cheer for the Potters and a 2-0 home win.
    • 19.40 Want to discuss tonight's game as it progresses? Get in contact with me on Twitter and I will try and use some of your comments here. Follow Tom Adams on Twitter
    • 19.35 Here’s an illuminating statistic courtesy of Opta: Stoke have scored the highest percentage of goals from set pieces this season (61 per cent), while Villa have conceded the highest percentage of goals from set pieces in the Premier League (57 per cent).
    • 19.30 Stoke have a strong reputation at home and a loss to Manchester City last time out ended a run of four consecutive league victories for the Potters. They have only lost once in eight league meetings with Aston Villa.
    • 19.25 I think it is fair to say that manager Alex McLeish still has some work to do to win over Villa fans following his controversial move from Birmingham, with a run of just three wins in 15 Premier League appearances leaving the Villa faithful in mutinous mood. However, opposite number Tony Pulis believes McLeish will be a success, given time. Pulis backs McLeish
    • 19.20 So Crouch and Whelan are missing for Stoke but Matt Etherington is back in the starting line-up after starting from the bench against Man City due to a hamstring problem. Villa are missing Shay Given and Darren Bent due to injury and Alan Hutton to suspension, but Gabriel Agbonlahor returns from his own ban to play off Emile Heskey in attack.
    • 19.15 TEAMS: Stoke: Sorensen, Woodgate, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Shotton, Palacios, Whitehead, Etherington, Jones, Walters. Subs: Begovic, Diao, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Wilkinson, Jerome. /// Villa: Guzan, Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, N’Zogbia, Petrov, Clark, Albrighton, Heskey, Agbonlahor. Subs: Marshall, Ireland, Delfouneso, Bannan, Weimman, Johnson, Gardner.
    • 19.10 Some early team news reaches us and Stoke are without record signing Peter Crouch as the striker has not recovered from some troublesome headaches. Glenn Whelan is also missing due to a calf strain.
    • 19.05 Stoke start tonight's game in eighth place, six points behind Newcastle who earlier defeated Bolton. Aston Villa, meanwhile, are down in 12th, though a win takes them level with West Brom in ninth place.
    • 19.00 Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the Boxing Day Premier League clash between Stoke City and Aston Villa at the Britannia Stadium.

  • Summary

    • 75' N’Zogbia bounces in a free-kick and Sorensen fumbles, only for Stoke to clear. That was unconvincing from the keeper.
    • 70' Stoke hit the bar! Here we go! Marc Wilson produces a firm header from a corner from the left and thunders his volley against the underside of the bar. Agbonlahor stops the ball from crossing the line, though replays suggest it may have snuck over, and he may have handballed. Controversy.
    • 67' Chance for Villa! Petrov spreads the ball wide to N’Zogbia, who jinks inside Woodgate and thumps an effort wide of the near post.
    • 53' Agbonlahor races down the left wing and Delfouneso stretches out a boot to turn the ball against Sorensen, who makes the save. That was a decent chance for Villa.
    • 42' Excellent goalkeeping from Guzan. Jones gets away from Collins after touching the ball on but the American races off his line to smother the ball just as Jones is ready to take a touch.
    • 40' Suddenly Villa have numbers on the break though and Petrov absolutely thumps a shot wide of the post from a tight angle following the pass from Clark.
    • 27' Stoke are somewhat fortunate to win a free-kick when Warnock actually takes some of the ball but Huth heads over when rising above Collins at the back post to meet the free-kick from Whitehead.
    • 22' The second corner does come in and Heskey gets in front of his man to direct a fine header against the outside of the post! Villa threatening from set-pieces eh?
    • 19.15 TEAMS: Stoke: Sorensen, Woodgate, Shawcross, Huth, Wilson, Shotton, Palacios, Whitehead, Etherington, Jones, Walters. Subs: Begovic, Diao, Pennant, Upson, Delap, Wilkinson, Jerome. /// Villa: Guzan, Cuellar, Dunne, Collins, Warnock, N’Zogbia, Petrov, Clark, Albrighton, Heskey, Agbonlahor. Subs: Marshall, Ireland, Delfouneso, Bannan, Weimman, Johnson, Gardner.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      7 6
      Defenders
      Substitution Out71′ 6.7 5
      Yellow Card 6.6 7
      6.3 6
      6 6
      Midfielders
      Substitution Out67′ 7 5
      Yellow Card 5.9 5
      5.9 6
      6.3 6
      Strikers
      5.5 5
      7.5 6
      Subs
      Substitution In71′ 7.9 6
      Substitution In67′ Yellow Card 6.2 6
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      4.2 6
      Defenders
      4.2 5
      5.2 8
      3.9 7
      4.6 6
      Midfielders
      4.7 6
      5.8 7
      4.5 6
      4.7 6
      Strikers
      4.8 6
      Substitution Out45′ 4.7 7
      Subs
      Substitution In45′ 5.3 6

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