@Stephen Yea, I will Stephen, sorry. Give me one minute. Feverish pace to the match, gotta keep the blog updated as much as possible.
35 mins: Good work fron Nasri down the left flank, as the Frenchman earns Man City a corner, but its cleared away by Stoke again.
@Stephen To the best of my knowledge, yes, all those players are injured. If anyone out there knows anything, please contribute.
37 mins: City again with a great chance inside the Stoke area, as Zabaleta tries a cross from the left flank, but its well cut out by Etherington, who then gallops up the pitch before it rolls out of bounds for a City throw. Great run from the Stoke midfielder, but Man City really should've done better.
38 mins: Man City caution - yellow card - Barry for a foul on Jerome.
39 mins: Free kick is taken by Stoke in the Man City half, but its quickly headed out of the box, as the play breaks down.
41 mins: Stoke City win their first corner of the match, as Etherington takes with his left boot. Shawcross gets his head on the ball near post and it nearly crosses the line, but its cleared away, as City dodge a bullet. Zabaleta with the clearance.
43 mins: Balotelli with a great run, showing great balance, turn of pace and skill as he skips past Stoke defenders, has a shot, but its low to the ground and easily collected by Begovic.
44 mins: Etherington ready to take the free kick for Stoke inside the Man City area from the left. He tries to find Crouch at the far post, but its a wasted opportunity.
45 mins: Referee calls for three minutes of time added on at the end of the first half.
Stoke City 0 Manchester City 0.
45 + 2: Walters and Crouch look to put pressure on the Man City defence, but the referee calls for a foul on Stoke after a high boot in the area.
Referee blows the whistle for half time. Man City with the brunt of possession, but lacking the final touch in front of goal, as Stoke come closest to breaking the deadlock, but Zabaleta does well to clear off the line. Not much in front of goal, though.
Stoke City 0 Manchester City 0 after the first 45 minutes from the Britannia Stadium.
What are your thoughts after the first half?
@don.parker I agree Don. Stoke always a tough team to score against, very gritty defensive style, hard to penetrate.
Teams out of the tunnel and back on the pitch for the start of the second half. Still deadlocked at 0-0 from the Britannia Stadium.
City to get things underway for the second half. Attacking from left to right. Stoke defending from right to left. No changes for either side at the start of the second half.
Game on!
45 mins: City attack straight away, as Barry plays a superb ball through for Dzeko, who was one on one with Begovic, but the former Canadian goalkeeper does well to deny the Bosnian in close.
47 mins: Nasri works an angle and has a shot from the top of the box with his right foot. Begovic is there again to dive across and collect comfortably.
@smartbenjamin98 As of now, the game could go either way. One touch for either side could alter the outcome of the match, even if Man City are dominating possession, if they can't score, anything is possible for Stoke to grab a goal.
50 mins: Etherington wins a corner off Zabaleta as he tries to cross, but its blocked by the Argentine down the left flank. Whelan then gets his foot onto the ball and crosses to the far post, as Hart is there to keep the ball out of the Man City net. Good spell of pressure this from Stoke.
51 mins: Stoke substitution - Cameron Jerome off. Jermaine Pennant on.
A slight hum of boos rain down from the Stoke supporters after the swap.
53 mins: Clichy and Balotelli work a one-two down the left flank, as the Italian delivers a return through ball that finds the Frenchman near the byline, but Clichy can't get the ball into the box, as its blocked.
54 mins: Nasri wins a free kick for Man City on the left edge of the area. Balotelli standing over this...
55 mins: The Italian takes the free kick, and its disappointing at that, but it deflects off the Stoke wall for a corner kick for the visitors. The corner is taken, and the ball bounces around the box before the referee calls the play back due to a hand ball from Clichy.
@Santario No reason for Stoke to 'bottle' it. A win would see them level with Sunderland and Everton at 40 points.
59 mins: GOAL! Stoke 1-0! Crouch with possibly one of the goals of the season! Crouch does superbly well to control the ball and volley it from outside the area as it flies past Joe Hart and into the bottom right corner of the net. From one end to the other, the ball didn't touch the ground. Fabulous goal that!
Stoke City 1 Manchester City 0.
61 mins: City nearly hit back, but Silva's effort spins wide of the post. Close, but not close enough, as Crouch's wonder goal has turned the match on its head.
62 mins: Man City substitution - David Silva off. Adam Johnson on.
64 mins: City again pressuring Stoke with Balotelli and Nasri working the ball down into the final third, but again the cross from the left is cleared away by Stoke.
@icawoman Of the week?! I'd say goal of the season, for sure!
65 mins: Stoke City caution - yellow card - Wilson for a bad foul on Johnson.
66 mins: Johnson takes the free kick, as he swings it in with his left boot. Dzeko then flicks it on, but it fails to find a teammate, as Stoke clear again.
Stoke City 0-0 Manchester City. Let's see what the second half holds... #mcfc #scfcby rooQue_Mo via twitter 3/24/2012 6:25:03 PM
RT @premierleague: HALF-TIME: Stoke 0-0 Manchester City. #bpl #stoke #mcfcby jvmansfield via twitter 3/24/2012 6:32:02 PM
