Sticky Time Against Toffees...Stoke City FC 2 Everton 3

This second home game of the season was almost as exciting as the first.The only catch was that this time we lost in what was a competitive and entertaining match.Somewhat against the run of first half play Everton took the lead on 40 minutes through Yakubu.Stoke failed to clear from a goalmouth melee,and when the ball fell to the Everton striker he stroked it inside the left post beyond Sorensen's despairing dive.

Stoke looked lethargic at the beginning of the second half,and fell two goals behind from a rightside freekick which unmarked Anichebe flicked onward into the far corner of the Stoke net(51).

Stoke woke from their slumber and went looking for a goal.On 55 minutes a long Delap throw into the Everton penalty area was flapped away by keeper Howard.The ball reached midfielder Olofinjana,centrally placed in the penalty area.His fierce volley was on target,whistling unstoppably into the Everton net (55).Shortly after Ricardo Fuller was put through on goal.He rounded Yobo who fell to the ground.Fuller took the ball on,beat keeper Howard to his left,and put the ball into the net, only to find that Ref Wiley very generously in my opinion had chalked the goal off for a foul.

However the Potters were back on terms in the 63rd minute.Again it was a Delap long throw into the penalty area which caused sufficient pressure for Jagielka to head into his own net.

Everton should have had a penalty for hand ball against Leon Cort.Fortunately for Stoke the linesman advised Ref Wiley that the incident was outside the box.So just a free kick.

Everton took the lead once again in the 77th minute with a goal,which from Stoke's point of view was a poor one to concede.Cahill ran unmarked right to left across the Stoke box,managing to head the free kick from the right inside Stoke's left post.

Stoke continued to give it their all,mounting serious pressure on the Everton goal without being able to break through again.

It would be fair to say that this was a game that Stoke could easily have won,and would have if their defending had been up to normal Pulis high standards.