New Years Day preview

North Staffs Football kicks off the New Year with a full fixture list.

Stoke City look to bounce back from their 2-0 defeat to Fulham with another match at the Britannia against Everton.

Britannia Stadium

Tony Pulis has called for Jermaine Pennant to keep focused after signing a two-and-a-half-year deal from Spanish side Real Zaragoza.

David Moyes’s side are the visitors and boast just two wins away from Goodison Park, but the Toffees could prove hard to break down, having drawn six on their travels.

In League Two, Port Vale will have to put aside worries over Micky Adams departure as they travel to Yorkshire side Rotherham.

Rotherham would leapfrog Vale with a win, as Adams’s men look to bounce back from a second successive defeat to Gillingham on Boxing Day.

Burton Albion welcome play-off contenders Shrewsbury Town to the Pirelli Stadium. The Brewers have slipped down to 14^th and are in need of a win to boost their own play-off chances.

The Shrews are poor travellers for their league position and have notched just three wins.

In the Blue Square North, Stafford Rangers face a tough test at AFC Telford as Tim Flowers searches for his first league win at the helm.

Rangers sit 20^th and are desperate for a win to lift themselves out of the relegation spots, but having netted only twice on their travels so far this campaign the odds are certainly stacked against them.

In the Evo Stik Division One South, Kidsgrove Athletic and Leek Town battle out a North Staffordshire derby at the Seddon Stadium.

Grove will be hoping to push home advantage as they look to challenge for a top two finish this season, whilst Leek’s prerogative is merely survival. The Blues haven’t kicked a ball in anger since November 23.

Elsewhere, Newcastle Town travel to Market Drayton Town.

NSF predictions

Stoke City 1 Everton 1

Burton Albion 1 Shrewsbury 2

Rotherham 2 Port Vale 2

AFC Telford 3 Stafford Rangers 0

Kidsgrove Athletic 2 Leek Town 1

Market Drayton 1 Newcastle Town 3

Let North Staffs Football know your score predictions!

Eidur Gudjohnsen ‘will feature’ in Wigan clash

Stoke City boss Tony Pulis has reiterated that striker Eidur Gudjohnsen will feature in their trip to Wigan on Saturday (December 4), writes Ted Woodward.

The Potters sit 8^th and will be hoping to extend their unbeaten run to five games when they take on a Wigan side that is staring down the barrel of relegation.

Pulis has revealed that Gudjohnson could feature despite the strike force of the side helping to net nine goals in their last four matches.

Eidur Gudjohnsen

He told Sky Sports: “He is good around the place and good with the other players, but Ricardo Fuller has done exceptionally well, so has Kenwyne Jones and Tuncay, and Jon Walters has done better than anyone else would have imagined.”

Jermaine Pennant is major doubt after a hamstring injury from last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, but Pulis has admitted that long-term absentee, Mamady Sidibe, will be included in his 25-man match day squad from next month.

It was thought that the Malian international would be out of action for the entire season, having snapped his Achilles tendon against Tottenham in August.

Speaking to the Sentinel Pulis said: “He’s had a long, hard road back to fitness, but he is making sound progress. He’ll be a welcome addition.”

Kick-off is 3.00pm at the DW Stadium.

Let North Staffs Football know your thoughts about the match, and should Eidur Gudjohnsen be given more of a chance?

Click below to see Maynor Figueroa’s 60-yard strike in the Potters 2-2 draw last season.

Stoke see off Liverpool for second-successive win

Second-half goals from Ricardo Fuller and Kenywne Jones helped Stoke City see off Liverpool and record their second win of the week at the Britannia Stadium, writes Ted Woodward.

The Potters started the game brightly and their combination of fast flowing football and Rory Delaps deadly long-throws caused the Liverpool defence problems.

In a first-half not short of controversy, referee Mark Halsey denied Stoke what appeared to be a good penalty shout as Maxi Rodriguez appeared to push Ricardo Fuller inside the Liverpool penalty area.

Rory Delap

Soon after, Steven Gerrard’s 30-yard strike and a low drive from Raul Meireles forced good saves from Stoke’s stopper Asmir Begovic.

The breakthrough came 11 minutes into the second-half as another thunderbolt throw-in from Rory Delap provided the opening goal.

The former Irish international’s throw was poorly dealt with by the Liverpool defence and was allowed to rattle around the area before Ricardo Fuller poked home his third goal of the season.

The two teams continued to exchange attempts but with Fernando Torres largely non-existent Liverpool were left with little attacking zest.

Maxi Rodriguez did his best to bring the scores level but his effort was fired straight into the arms of Begovic.

Tony Pulis’s men were able to wrap up the victory in the 90th minute when Jermaine Pennant slipped through Jones who calmly side-footed the ball past Jose Reina.

A frustrating afternoon for Liverpool was summed up when Lucas Leiva was sent-off for a second-bookable offence.

The win seals Stoke’s first against Liverpool in 26 years, sees The Potters climb into the top half of the table.

Let North Staffs Football know what you thought of the game and the result.

Late Dean Whitehead goal clinches Stoke City victory

Dean Whitehead grabbed Stoke City’s winning goal as they edged a frantic 3-2 win over Birmingham City, writes Ted Woodward.

Robert Huth put the Potters 1-0 up before the break pouncing on a loose ball and Ricardo Fuller’s superb individual effort doubled the home side’s advantage.

But Birmingham responded through Keith Fahey’s strike and Cameron Jerome’s header to level the score.

Whitehead (pictured) secured Stoke’s first win in five matches as he picked up a deflected Matthew Etherington cross to scramble the ball over a sprawling Ben Foster in the Blues goal.

The Potters started the game the better of the side’s and in a half of few chances looked more likely to break the deadlock.

Tony Pulis’s men were rewarded for their persistence and took the lead at the end of a dull first half.

Dean Whitehead

Kenywne Jones’s effort rebounded off Birmingham’s defence and Robert Huth pounced to rifle past Foster who could only struggle to get a hand to the ball as it nestled inside the keepers left-hand post.

Foster was easily Birmingham’s best player in the first half, twice thwarting Stoke by bravely diving in at the feet of both Fuller and Danny Higginbotham.

In the second half Stoke’s wingers Jermaine Pennant and Etherington caused problems for the opposition with their teasing crosses into the Birmingham area.

However the tide soon turned for Birmingham when Alex McLeish withdrew the ineffectual Jean Beausejour and replaced him with Irishman Keith Fahey.

Fahey’s introduction allowed Birmingham to get a foothold in the game as they began to heap pressure on Stoke pinning them back in their own half.

Asmir Begovic was called into action to deny Roger Johnson, forcing the Bosnian, who was making only his eighth appearance for The Potters, to tip the ball over the bar.

Cameron Jerome should have put Birmingham level when he was released down the left side of the Stoke penalty area but failed to finish as the ball was hurriedly cleared away.

From the resulting clearance Pennant picked up the ball on the edge of his own area and worked hard to find Fuller just inside the opposition half.

The burley Jamaican then charged at the Birmingham defence cutting in from the right before curling a beautifully placed left-footed shot past the Blues stopper Foster to score his 100th goal in British football.

A frantic five minutes soon followed with Birmingham super-sub Fahey chesting down a headed Stoke clearance and placing the ball between three defenders and the post to pull a goal back for the visitors.

Moments later Stephen Carr crossed into the Stoke five-yard area and met a rising Cameron Jerome who was able to guide the ball across Begovic’s goal into the bottom corner.

Birmingham then pushed for the winner, Craig Gardner twice testing Begovic with long range strikes.

Britannia Stadium

But it was Stoke who were to secure their first league win in five games as Birmingham failed to clear a harmless Stoke free-kick which fell to Matthew Etherington.

The winger, who had threatened throughout the game, slipped a tricky little ball into the area and Scott Dann let the ball bobble between his legs allowing Whitehead to secure a much needed win for Tony Pulis’ side.

The manager, who has seen his team suffer at the hands of some debatable refereeing decisions this season, will have had no problems with tonight’s official Mark Clatterberg, who had very little trouble to deal with throughout the game.

The win sees Stoke rise above Birmingham to 15th in the Premier League and three points away from the relegation zone in what was the visitors 100th Premier League defeat.

Stoke City: Begovic, Higginbotham, Huth, Faye, Collins, Pennant (Whelan 73), Whitehead, Delap, Etherington (Wilson (90), Fuller (Walters 90+4), Jones

Subs not used: Sorensen, Wilkinson, Sanli, Gudjohnsen

To listen to a review of all the weekend’s games, click on the link below.

http://www.onmvoice.com/player/player.swf?a=33604&ap=0&color=default