Sleepy Stoke plead ref justice

REFEREES are often criticised, but rarely do they have to defend their sleeping habits. After being rounded-on by Stoke boss Tony Pulis, match official Mike Pike found himself doing just that.

Pulis, angry after his Championship leaders failed to take a significant step towards the Premier League by dozing their way to a draw, partly blamed his side’s lethargic display on the delayed kick-off caused by Pike’s late arrival at the Britannia stadium and claimed the referee, snarled up in motorway congestion, should have travelled to Stoke overnight from his base 150 miles away in Cumbria.

As excuses go, it was an original one, but Pike remained unrepentant: “I don’t do overnight stays, it’s an easy journey for me. I’ve been to Stoke on many occasions and I’ve always come down on a Saturday morning.

“This was an unfortunate set of circumstances because of an accident on the motorway, and it’s nobody’s fault.

“It happens, and no-one from Stoke said anything when I arrived. I wouldn’t want to comment on what Tony Pulis said, but did it affect the result of the game?”

Blackpool also arrived late after being caught up in the motorway jam and their players gobbled down a hastily-arranged pre-match snack of chicken and toast in the dressing room. They appeared unconcerned by all the fuss and stunned Stoke by taking a 36th-minute lead through Ben Burgess.

Stoke, desperately missing leading scorers Ricardo Fuller and Liam Lawrence — both suspended — equalised a minute after half-time through Leon Cort, but wasted a chance to move clear at the top on a weekend when only one of the five contenders for automatic promotion, Hull City, won.

“We feel we were punished by other people’s preparation,” Pulis said. “It was a serious lack of professionalism by the referee.

“I’m amazed. He chose to travel down the busiest road in the country on the day of the game during a holiday period. It is astonishing.”

STOKE (4-4-2): Nash 6, Griffin 7, Cort 6 (Zakuani 55, 6), Riggott 6, Pugh 8, Delap 6, Whelan 6, Diao 5 (Wilkinson 8, 6 (Bothroyd 65, 6)), Gallagher 6, Cresswell 6, Sidibe 7.

Subs Not Used: Simonsen, Parkin.

BLACKPOOL (4-4-2): Rachubka 6, Crainey 7, Gorkss 6, Evatt 7, Barker 7, Hoolahan 6, Flynn 7, Jorgensen 7, Taylor-Fletcher 6 (Holt 86, 5), Burgess 7, McPhee 7.

Subs Not Used: Coid, Morrell, Fox, Welsh.

REFEREE: Mike Pike (Cumbria) 7: Will not be losing too much sleep after this steady performance.

MATCH RATING: *** Neither side really got going, although Blackpool’s lack of a proper pre-match meal didn’t seem to harm their appetite for the game.