Sometimes you have good spells and sometimes you don't

Last updated : 16 September 2002 By Tony Scholes

We can’t say we have turned the corner yet but we have moved out of the relegation places whilst Stoke have dropped into them and that left Stoke boss Steve Cotterill far from happy.

Cotterill said after the game, "We keep shooting ourselves in the foot. In the second half I thought we did quite well, in the first half it was quite nip and tuck and I couldn’t believe it was 0-0. We had to weather a bit of a storm in the second half and I thought we weathered it.

"Our goal was in the run of play and all of a sudden we’ve given away a corner and we didn’t mark our men. For the second we could have stopped the cross and marked better in the box. I thought we were good for a point."

On the sending off of Tommy Mooney, Cotterill initially said he would check the video but having seen it has now decided to appeal against the decision,

"It was no sending off as far as I am concerned. There was certainly no stamping which seemed to be the suggestion at the time.

"The referee was standing five yards away when it happened but couldn’t have seen it at the time. I can’t believe he won’t change his mind after seeing the video."

Stan meanwhile was happy to collect maximum points at home for the first time this season and after the match he said,

"It was a good match, particularly in the second half. We shaded it I thought and showed a lot of character and resilience. Their goal came against the run of play but we kept pegging away and we had a better balance in the second half.

"Robbie Blake had a bit of a virus and was struggling but the balance in the first half wasn’t quite right and with Gareth’s aerial ability and Ian Moore and then Dimitri’s pace I thought we would be better that way.

They’ve done very well but I’ve said before that throughout the season sometimes you have good spells and sometimes you don’t but there’s a long way to go."

Burnley grab late victory

Ron Clarke (Sunday Times)

ONE week in Lancashire has proved a long time in football for Stoke City. Beaten by Bury in midweek, Stoke returned to the county yesterday only to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. After taking a barely deserved late lead, they somehow contrived to concede two goals in quick succession. To compound the felony, Tommy Mooney was sent off for apparently stamping on Tony Grant.

Quality was forgotten in an afternoon when entertainment was higher on the agenda and there was a catalogue of early chances for the buoyant hosts. With a little more composure they could have had the contest wrapped up by the interval.

Robbie Blake hit a post, Lee Briscoe stumbled when scoring would have been easier and Glen Little had a goal-bound shot blocked. For the visitors, a fierce Bjarni Gudjonsson free kick was their best early effort.

The real action only came in the last 20 minutes, however. First, Gudjonsson volleyed in Jurgen Vandeurzen’s floated cross, but the lead lasted just 60 seconds. Burnley won a corner from the restart and there was Arthur Gnohere to head home. Then, on 81 minutes, Little delivered the perfect cross for substitute Dimitri Papadopoulos to glance in at the far post.