Stoke go top of Championship after five-goal thriller
Soke City have won their last four Championship games, scoring 12 goals
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Friday, 15, Feb 2008 10:01
Stoke City came from two goals down to beat Scunthorpe United 3-2 in a thriller at the Britannia Stadium.
Tony Pulis' side trailed 2-0 at half-time after goals from Martin Paterson and Jack Hobbs.
But goals from Richard Cresswell and a brace from Liam Lawrence sealed victory for the home side to put them top of the Championship table.
The game began brightly with both sides carving out opportunities.
Ryan Shawcross's header was saved by the visitors' keeper Joe Murphy, while Jim Goodwin came close for Scunthorpe when his ambitious shot from a tight angle was saved by Steve Simonsen.
And it was the visitors who broke the deadlock on seven minutes when Paterson fired in a volley from six yards out after Matthew Sparrow's cross from the right.
The Potters responded well to going a goal down with Shawcross curling an effort from 12 yards narrowly over the bar on 21 minutes.
But Nigel Adkins' side stunned the hosts by making it 2-0 when Hobbs headed in Ian Morris' left-footed corner on 23 minutes.
Stoke were desperately unlucky not to reduce their deficit when Rory Delap's header was brilliantly parried by Murphy following a corner 13 minutes before half time.
The second half was a similarly entertaining affair with Scunthorpe coming close to grabbing their third when Martin Paterson's left-footed drive was saved by Simonsen on 46 minutes, while Marnady Sidibe blazed over a minute later.
Stoke's possession was rewarded when Delap's cross on 53 minutes was turned into the corner by Lawrence to make it 2-1.
That goal sparked an onslaught by the Potters with the dangerous Paterson testing Simonsen with a 25-yard piledriver.
Pulis' men made it 2-2 when Ricardo Fuller's cross from the right was tucked in from 12 yards by Cresswell on 66 minutes.
Four minutes later, the home side completed the comeback when Fuller again fired in another dangerous cross into the box which was converted by Lawrence.
Stoke continued to bombard the visitors' goal with Shawcross firing a shot inches wide of Simonsen's goal on 71 minutes.
Lawrence was denied his hat-trick ten minutes from time when his left-footed volley was blocked by Simonsen.
Scunthorpe came agonisingly close to equalising in the 89th minute when Andy Crosby's venomous shot flew inches wide, but Stoke hung for a memorable victory to continue their promotion push.