Potters silence Spurs title talk

FEW grounds have provided a better benchmark for a team’s title credentials than the Britannia Stadium this season.

Manchester United and Chelsea have been held, while Liverpool and now Tottenham have succumbed to defeat against Tony Pulis’ spirited side, who made it three consecutive Premier League victories here.

Spurs, in contrast, saw their own 11-game unbeaten record in the top flight ended and Chelsea now have the opportunity to climb above them into third with victory over Manchester City tonight.

Stoke were excellent and it was difficult to begrudge them this triumph, secured via a first-half brace from ex-Spurs player Matthew Etherington.

Yet the visitors, who had given themselves hope via Emmanuel Adebayor’s penalty before later losing Younes Kaboul to a red card, could count themselves highly unfortunate after being on the receiving end of a host of poor decisions by Chris Foy, which included the referee disallowing what appeared a legitimate goal and failing to spot a handball on the line by Ryan Shawcross.

If Spurs needed any reminder of what awaits at the Britannia, it took just 37 seconds for them to get one.

With Rory Delap on the bench, it was left to Ryan Shotton to wind up for one of those gargantuan long throws.

Benoit Assou-Ekotto’s attempted headed clearance fell straight to Etherington, whose stinging volley was palmed away by Brad Friedel and Jonathan Walters could only find the side netting.

Shotton’s long throws caused havoc in the Spurs penalty area and another huge delivery was headed on by Peter Crouch only for Kyle Walker to do just enough to deny Ryan Shawcross.

Harry Redknapp’s team could barely escape their own half and there was an air of inevitablity about Stoke’s 13th-minute opener.

Again Shotton was at the heart of it, as his deflected cross was flicked on by Jon Walters for Crouch, who evaded William Gallas before crossing for Etherington to rifle home.

Spurs were in for a game and they knew it.

Their first attempt on goal came in the 24th minute when Rafael van der Vaart tried his luck from 20 yards, however Thomas Sorensen saved comfortably.

The Dane was fully extended, though, by a swerving low strike by Luka Modric eight minutes later which the former Sunderland goalkeeper did well to turn around the post.

Already on a caution, ex-Tottenham defender Jonathan Woodgate will have been relieved his challenge on Scott Parker, which left the stand-in Spurs skipper in a heap, went unpunished by referee Foy.

It was a key moment, as two minutes before the interval, Pulis’s team doubled their advantage.

Once more Shotton was the creator as his long throw was nodded on by Walters and Etherington, having evaded marker Parker, bundled the ball beyond Friedel.

Redknapp responded by making two changes upon resumption, replacing Assou-Ekotto and Aaron Lennon with Sebastien Bassong and Jermain Defoe in a tactical reshuffle.

They came inches away from halving the deficit when Walker’s inviting cross deflected off Woodgate and agonisingly past the far post.

Yet they halved the deficit in the 62nd minute when Adebayor converted from the penalty after Foy adjudged Glenn Whelan’s outstretched leg toppled Modric inside the area despite Stoke’s claims the Croatian had dived.

By now the momentum had firmly shifted in the visitors’ favour and it took a fine save from Sorensen to tip a Parker drive over the crossbar, while Spurs’ calls for a second penalty when Kaboul fell under pressure from Shawcross were rejected.

Their luck had clearly run out.

Soon afterwards Kaboul was denied on the line by Shawcross’ arm before Adebayor slipped in the loose ball only for the goal to be wrongly ruled out for offside.

Their hopes of a comeback were all but extinguished when Kaboul received his second yellow card with eight minutes remaining for a clumsy foul on Walters and Stoke could have even pinched a third when Shawcross hit the bar late on.